ITT Educational Services, Inc. and Pearson Education Launch Online IT e-Commerce Degree Program
INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana – June 13, 2001 – ITT Educational Services, Inc.
(NYSE:ESI) and Pearson Education, the world’s largest educational publisher, have developed an online information technology (IT) bachelor’s degree program in Technical Project Management for Electronic Commerce. The program, to be offered online by ITT Technical Institutes, differs from most in that it focuses on technical infrastructure development.
“Many e-commerce programs emphasize only the business administration end of the subject. Our program is different in that it emphasizes the technical skills that business and industry seek as they incorporate the Internet into their overall enterprise systems,” said ESI chairman, president and CEO Rene R. Champagne. “We are delighted to be working with Pearson Education, because they are an international leader in educational content. The combination of ESI’s leadership in technical education and Pearson’s unparalleled content resources means that students will be offered a valuable learning experience.”
The program’s project management core focuses on IT project management processes, such as structuring project life-cycles and workflows and status assessment techniques. Courses include Project Management Systems, Project Cost and Budget Management and Project Human Resource Management, among others. The technical core focuses on IT technical standards and protocols, programming and skills used in creating the infrastructures utilized in electronic business. Courses include E-Commerce Technology System Design, Managing and Maintaining e-Business Websites and Managing and Maintaining a Network, among others.
“Demand for high-tech professionals has far exceeded the supply of qualified workers. The Information Technology Association of America estimates that nearly 425,000 IT jobs will go unfilled in the US in 2001,” said Will Ethridge, president of Pearson Higher Education. “The Technical Project Management for Electronic Commerce program represents a best of breed alliance between Pearson and ESI, establishing a superior educational solution to help meet the demand for highly qualified IT professionals.”
The educational offering includes interest/skill evaluations and assessments, online tutorials, instructor feedback and proctored final exams. Students will have the opportunity to utilize a variety of media designed to deliver course content and tools, such as printed text, CDs containing embedded tools, study guides and interactive web-based exercises. Pearson Custom Publishing, the largest provider of custom materials in the educational market, provides the textual and electronic materials used in program courses.
The announcement marks the culmination of ESI’s plan to develop a program resulting in a bachelor’s degree for students possessing an associate degree or the equivalent quarterly hours of college credit. The program will initially be offered to associate degree graduates of ITT Technical Institutes. The first class in the program is scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 2001.
About ITT Educational Services, Inc.
ITT Educational Services, Inc. is a leading provider of technology-oriented postsecondary degree programs. Currently, ESI operates 70 ITT Technical Institutes in 28 states, which predominantly provide career-focused, degree programs to approximately 28,000 students. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, ESI has been actively involved in the higher education community in the United State since 1969. The ITT Technical Institutes have graduated more than 150,000 students, including 80,000 in the last ten years. For more information, visit www.itt-tech.edu/.
About Pearson Education
With offices in 30 countries, Pearson Education is the world’s largest education business. Its leading brands include, Addison Wesley, Allyn & Bacon, Benjamin Cummings, Longman, Prentice Hall, Pearson Learning, Scott Foresman, and NCS Pearson. Pearson Education is the global leader in online learning through its CourseCompass program 1,800 textbook companion websites, NCS Learn, and the InformIT portal for technology professionals. Pearson’s Learning Network, www.learningnetwork.com, brings online education to all Internet users via four interactive networks: K-12, Higher Education, Professional Development and Lifelong Learning. Pearson is the global education business of Pearson plc, the international media group. For more information, visit www.pearsoned.com/.