Harcourt Higher Education Receives Approval to Grant Degrees Via Online College.

Business/Technology Editors

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 21, 2000

Harcourt General Inc. (NYSE:H) today announced that its Harcourt Higher Education division received approval to grant degrees through a fully online college that will make advanced education accessible and convenient, while maintaining high academic standards. Harcourt Higher Education can now accept applications, and will begin offering courses this fall.

"Harcourt Higher Ed represents a convergence of Harcourt's century of experience in education with the opportunities offered by the Internet and the growing need for life-long learning," said Dr. Robert V. Antonucci, president and chief executive officer of Harcourt Higher Education. "Our approach is based on high standards, quality and access. By providing this mode of distance learning, we will offer our students an opportunity that many otherwise wouldn't have."

Harcourt Higher Education will serve students by developing a broad offering of professionally-oriented online courses and programs. Students start taking courses in November, and by the end of the year there will be more than 100 courses in the Harcourt Higher Education curriculum. Courses will start every two to four weeks.

The virtual college will initially award associate degrees in business and information technology, and bachelor's degrees in health studies, business and information technology.

All course work will be done on the Web, and Harcourt Higher Education will emphasize a highly interactive experience for students. Each course will include extensive online discussions with instructors and other students. Instructors, with experience in some of the top universities and private companies in the country, will communicate with students one-on-one over the Internet. An extensive online library will be available for students who need reference material or access to print resources.

Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Harcourt is able to start offering courses throughout the United States following today's approval of its license application by the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education.

"Receiving this licensure from the board is a milestone for us," said James P. Levy, president of Harcourt Inc., a wholly owned Harcourt General subsidiary. "Our long-planned institution of higher learning is a natural extension of what we have been doing for years. The Harcourt name has long been associated with quality instructional materials and Harcourt Learning Direct, the world's premier distance learning institution, has been serving millions of students for more than a century."

Harcourt Higher Education will complement today's academic system. It will use the Internet to provide opportunities for people who, for a variety of reasons, may not have access to traditional post-secondary education. Busy professionals with families will benefit from these online programs as will people in rural areas without transportation to a "bricks-and-mortar" college and other people who lack access to a traditional college.

The venture's ties to Harcourt General, one of the world's largest and most respected publishers of textbooks and corporate training materials, immediately establishes it as a market leader. Course developers have drawn, and will continue to draw, content from Harcourt's leading publishers, including Holt Rinehart & Winston, Harcourt College Publishers and Harcourt Health Sciences, as well as other major textbook publishers. The parent company also has established a strong reputation in the field of distance learning, educating more than 400,000 adult students a year by mail, e-mail and television.

Through its Harcourt Inc. subsidiary, Harcourt General of Newton, Mass., is a leading global multiple-media publisher, providing educational training and assessment products and services to classroom, corporate, professional and consumer markets. More information about Harcourt Higher Education is available on the college's Web site at www.harcourthighered.com.