Instructors Win Career Education Corporation Educator of the Year Awards
Twelve finalists represent CEC campuses from across the country

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. – January 24, 2008 – Four outstanding educators received Career Education Corporation's (NASDAQ:CECO) "Educator of the Year" award, Gary E. McCullough, president and CEO of Career Education, said today. Faculty from across the nation were selected and submitted for consideration to CEC. Out of 5196 instructors employed by schools, colleges and universities owned by CEC, 105 were recommended for consideration at the campus level in 2007. After independent judging, eight finalists and four winners were selected in four categories: Teaching, Professional Growth, Leadership and Student Success.

"I am extremely proud of the caliber of instructors throughout the CEC system," said Dr. Donna Gray, vice president of academic affairs for CEC. "The winners of this award demonstrate a focus not only on student learning and how to best achieve it, but also a continued interest in professional development and community service."

The Four Educator of the Year Award Winners for 2007
Christopher Broughton, a photography teacher at Brooks Institute in Santa Barbara, California, received the 2007 Excellence in Teaching award. Because the field of photography has changed so drastically with the use of new technology, Broughton completely rewrote the foundational photography class—all the while teaching a normal class load. Broughton included step-by-step guides to new software, and then taught it to both new students and future course faculty. Evaluations by the students were used to adjust and fine-tune the course, and the availability of tutoring further enhanced the student learning environment.

Jane Nickles, of Texas Culinary Academy in Austin, Texas, won the 2007 Professional Growth award for her work in the area of "Wine and Beverage." The award recognizes the development of expertise in either the field of teaching or in the subject that one teaches, benefitting both the student and the teacher by strengthening the classroom experience. Nickles received a grant from the Wine and Food Foundation of Texas in April 2007 to support further research and writing about her favorite subject, the pairing of wine and food. An instructor at The Texas Culinary Academy for more than nine years, for the last three years Nickles has taught the "Wine and Beverage" class as part of the Associate of Applied Sciences degree in Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Arts.

The winner of the 2007 Leadership award was Raymond Wesolowski of the Pennsylvania Culinary Institute (PCI) in Pittsburgh. The Leadership award recognizes positive role modeling and collaboration with peers and the outside community; the ability to lead new projects while assuming responsibility for the outcome; interest in the improvement of campus life and volunteerism; and the demonstration of a high level of professionalism. Raymond, a 1991 graduate of PCI, joined the teaching staff in 1998. Many of the chefs who had taught him as a student helped Raymond to become a lead instructor over the last next ten years. Chef Ray thus has the unique perspective of being on both the delivering and receiving side of the curriculum. As result of Chef Ray's participation as a culinary judge in a yearly fundraiser for the Lupus Center of Pittsburgh, PCI students were offered the opportunity to volunteer with the 25 restaurants that were submitting food for the competition.

Valmore Brown, of Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts Miami, received the 2007 Student Success award. Student Success means those activities that help a student reach his or her goals – graduation and placement. Some of these activities may include academic support and counseling, attendance at orientation and graduation and other student events, or promotion of and involvement with students in community awareness. Brown was recognized for his consistent efforts to support his students, both in and outside the classroom. Whether it was sponsorship of an extracurricular club or extra time in the kitchen to perfect a student's technique, Brown went above and beyond to help his students achieve their goals.

"We are honored by the passion these instructors demonstrated in their respective classrooms," said McCullough. "Their passion translates into a superior experience for students, which is ultimately our goal."

About Career Education Corporation
The colleges, schools, and universities that are part of the Career Education Corporation (CEC) family offer high quality education to a diverse population of approximately 90,000 students across the world in a variety of career-oriented disciplines. The more than 75 campuses that serve these students are located throughout the U.S. and in Canada, France, Italy, and the United Kingdom, and offer doctoral, master's, bachelor's, and associate degrees and diploma and certificate programs. Approximately one third of our students attend the web-based virtual campuses of American InterContinental University Online and Colorado Technical University Online.

CEC is an industry leader whose gold-standard brands are recognized globally. Those brands include Le Cordon Bleu Schools North America; Harrington College of Design; Brooks Institute; International Academy of Design & Technology; American InterContinental University; Colorado Technical University and Sanford-Brown Institutes and Colleges. Through its schools, CEC is committed to providing quality education, enabling students to graduate and pursue rewarding careers.

For more information, see the company's website at http://www.careered.com. The company's website includes a detailed listing of individual campus locations and web links to its more than 75 colleges, schools, and universities.