Career Education Corporation and Le Cordon Bleu Launch Joint Restaurant Management Program.

Business Editors

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 31, 2000

Career Education Corporation (NASDAQ: CECO) and famed French cooking school Le Cordon Bleu announced today they have signed an agreement to launch the first Le Cordon Bleu Restaurant Management Program in the United States.

The agreement is CEC's second with Le Cordon Bleu. The two companies first partnered in 1999 to bring the world-renowned Le Cordon Bleu culinary arts program to the United States. With eight culinary schools in the United States, CEC is one of the world's largest providers of culinary instruction. Six of the eight schools now offer the LCB culinary program.

"Le Cordon Bleu has brought more than just a prestigious brand name to our schools. The marriage of haute French cuisine and American culinary training has resulted in a new level of culinary education in the United States," said John M. Larson, chairman, president and chief executive office of Career Education Corporation. "With this new program we can now offer our students world class training in every facet of a career in the restaurant industry."

Nick Fluge, chief operating officer, Le Cordon Bleu, USA, said: "The LCB Restaurant Management Program was initially developed 10 years ago by Le Cordon Bleu. The current program goes beyond traditional culinary training and presents a program that is exciting, unique and industry-current. The $376 billion restaurant industry creates a heavy demand for trained restaurant managers."

The new program will be introduced at Western Culinary Institute, Portland, Oregon, in January 2001, according to Fluge.

Career Education Corporation is one of the largest providers of private, for-profit, postsecondary education in North America. The Company currently operates 28 campuses in 15 states and two Canadian provinces. CEC schools enjoy long operating histories and offer a wide variety of bachelor's degree, associate degree and diploma programs in career-oriented disciplines within the Company's core curricula of visual communication and design technologies, information technology, business studies and culinary arts.

The forward-looking statements contained in this release are based upon various assumptions, and certain risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially from those stated. Factors that could cause such differences include those matters disclosed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Career Education Corporation assumes no obligation to update its forward-looking statements.