AIU Online Opens Portland Admissions Center
May 25, 2004
CONTACT: Bart Levitt
AIU Online
847-851-5105
blevitt@aiuonline.edu
Expects to Employ 400 in First Year; Open House for Prospective Employees on May 26
Hoffman Estates, Ill., May 25, 2004 – American InterContinental University (AIU) Online, one of the nation’s fastest-growing universities, announced today that it has opened a regional admissions center in Portland, Ore., its first facility outside the Chicago area. AIU Online expects to employ as many as 400 Portland-area residents during the center’s first year of operation.
“AIU Online is growing rapidly and our new Portland facility will play a pivotal role in our student recruitment initiatives,” said Nick Fluge, chief operating officer of AIU Online and president of the Online Education Group of parent company Career Education Corporation (Nasdaq: CECO). “AIU Online has grown significantly since its launch three years ago, with more than 14,000 students currently enrolled. Portland has a high-quality work force and is an ideal place for us to establish a major admissions center to meet future growth demands.”
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Fluge said AIU Online already employs more than 70 people at the Portland center and is actively recruiting admissions advisors. The position entails working with potential students to help determine their educational needs and guide them through the university application and acceptance process. AIU Online will host an open house for prospective admissions advisors on May 26 at 7:00 p.m. (Pacific) at 14600 NW Greenbrier Parkway, Beaverton, Ore., 97006.
“Last year, AIU Online generated more than 880,000 leads,” Fluge said. “We expect to generate even more leads this year, and we’ll need an increasing number of admissions representatives in differing time zones to meet the information and planning needs of our prospective students.”
The new admissions center is the second major facility to be opened by AIU Online’s parent Career Education Corporation in the Portland area. CEC acquired Western Culinary Institute in 1996 and has overseen its significant expansion, including its introduction of the world-renowned Le Cordon Bleu culinary arts program and its new campus in the Galleria. Fluge served as president of WCI from 1989 to 1996 and was instrumental in developing the Le Cordon Bleu partnership for CEC in 1999. He also serves as chief operating officer for LCB Schools of North America.
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Greg Ogdahl, also a former president of Western Culinary Institute, has been named regional director of the new center.
Located at Cornell Oaks Corporate Center in Beaverton, Ore., the center is readily accessible by public transportation. Hours of operation will be Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Interested individuals can apply at www.aiujobs.com.
AIU Online offers online degrees in Business Administration, Information Technology, Education, Criminal Justice, Healthcare Management, Human Resource Management, Marketing and Visual Communications. For more information visit www.aiuonline.edu.
American InterContinental University is a wholly owned subsidiary of Career Education Corporation (Nasdaq:CECO). CEC (www.careered.com) is the world’s largest on-campus provider of private, for-profit postsecondary education and has a rapidly-growing presence in online education. CEC’s Colleges, Schools and Universities Group operates 79 campuses in the U.S., Canada, France, the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates and had approximately 85,300 students as of April 30, 2004. AIU Online is the Web-based virtual campus of American InterContinental University, an international university with onsite campuses located in Atlanta, GA; Los Angeles, CA; Ft. Lauderdale, FL; Houston, TX; London, England; and Dubai, United Arab Emirates. American InterContinental University has been educating students for more than 30 years and is regionally accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
The number of employees AIU Online expects to employ at its Portland admissions center mentioned in this release is a “forward-looking statement.” It is based upon various assumptions, and certain risks and uncertainties could cause the number of employees at the Portland admissions center to differ materially from the figure stated in the release. Factors that could cause such differences include delays associated with opening the new admissions center, a lack of qualified applicants, changes in general economic conditions and those matters disclosed in Career Education Corporation’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Career Education Corporation assumes no obligation to update this forward-looking statement.