Close to 200,000 Community College Students Can Log On to Mascot.com to Interact With Classmates, Faculty, and Administrators.

Business/Technology Editors

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 10, 2000

Mascot Network, Inc. Creates Sense of Community Among 2-Year College

Students, Many of Whom Commute to Campus

Mascot Network, Inc., the leading provider of higher education enterprise portals, today announced that with the beginning of the new school year over 30 2-year and community colleges have deployed Mascot's services to bring a sense of community to a diverse group of students. The schools' student populations range from 60,000 annual commuters at Illinois' College of DuPage to tiny Central Maine Technical College's 668 students in Auburn.

With a college-specific homepage located on each student's desktop, Mascot Network provides a password-protected gateway to Web-enabled campus information, student-focused discounted e-commerce services, a distance learning center, and online student directory.

"Mascot's 'Campus in a Click' is designed to strengthen and extend the college's sense of community, and deepen the students' relationship with the school," said Jaja Jackson, president and co-founder of Mascot Network. "With the growing popularity of lifetime learning, workforce development, and distance learning, Mascot recognized the needs these colleges have to be able to communicate quickly and effectively with all their constituents and to instill in them a sense of belonging to their specific institution. By clicking on www.mascot.com, students and faculty immediately become participants in their school's virtual online student center where information is updated daily," he explained.

Mascot's Web-based services are built upon a single interoperable platform, which interface seamlessly--and cost-effectively-- with a school's existing information technology infrastructure. The "Campus in a Click" suite of services can be up and running at a school site within 8 weeks.

According to Gary E. Wenger, Vice President, Information Technology at the College of DuPage "Mascot has provided College of DuPage with student web portal services that will enhance our efforts to improve student communications and provide a greater sense of community for our commuter campus. From the onset, our working relationship with Mascot was easy, efficient and professional. They met and coordinated interests and issues of both students and College personnel to insure that the system integrated with our current processes. The partnership between COD and Mascot benefits our student community by providing easier access to information about the college and our community with a simple mouse click. We are very excited about the new services that Mascot will be providing."

About Mascot Network

Founded in 1998 and headquartered in Cambridge, Mass., Mascot Network (http://www.mascotnetwork.com) is the leading provider of higher education enterprise portals for colleges and universities. Mascot Network's Web-based service helps students, faculty and staff communicate and participate more fully in campus life, while helping colleges attract and retain the best and brightest. Mascot Network is campus-specific with content designed to strengthen and extend the university community and deepen the student's relationship with their school. With 65 schools now deployed, Mascot Network counts among its clients Arizona State University, Columbia University, Providence College, Merrimack College, and Springfield Technical Community College.