July, 2005

Press Release- ReadyMinds/UMUC Announce Online Partnership

Lyndhurst, NJ, July 2005 - ReadyMinds, a national provider of distance counseling and counselor training, and University of Maryland University College (UMUC) announced today their partnership to provide UMUC students, alumni and staff personalized ReadyMinds career counseling services online, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Distance delivery of ReadyMinds career counseling to UMUC audiences will enable the university to offer career counseling virtually, independent of time or place.

More than 90,000 students worldwide-including approximately 50,000 U.S. service members in 28 foreign countries-attend UMUC annually. It is the largest public university in the United States offering online programs and is highly regarded for tailoring programs and services to meet the unique needs of nontraditional students.

Randy Miller, founder and CEO of ReadyMinds, expressed satisfaction with having been chosen as the professional provider to service the UMUC population. He additionally indicated that "The UMUC population, consisting of students throughout the world as well as those associated with the United States Armed Forces, is a prime example of a population that can benefit from the ReadyMinds model and our personalized career counseling program. We look forward to serving these deserving individuals and our long-term agreement with UMUC."

According to Kim Kelley, UMUC's Associate Provost, the new alliance with ReadyMinds will provide UMUC students and alumni a much-needed service designed to help them explore their career opportunities, handle their life transitions expertly, and offer them services to identify and secure meaningful work opportunities to enhance their lives.

"UMUC is committed to providing its students and alumni high-quality career services that expertly utilize the Web and are available whenever and wherever UMUC's students need them," said Kelley. "Our non-traditional student population was not adequately served with place-bound career counseling and the ReadyMinds model permits us to expand and develop our vision of offering online career counseling."

The ReadyMinds Program, which was developed eight years ago, is utilized by numerous academic institutions, organizations, and agencies throughout the United States.

About ReadyMinds

Founded in 1997, ReadyMinds owns and operates readyminds.com and is a privately held company that has emerged as the leading global provider of distance career counseling and training services. The ReadyMinds' distance career counseling process was initially designed with the assistance of business leaders and career counseling experts to help individuals focus on their career planning and develop action plans to achieve their immediate career goals. In addition to the counseling of individuals, ReadyMinds provides training for counselors seeking to further enhance their professional development in the area of distance counseling. ReadyMinds abides by the guidelines set forth by the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC); the NBCC Code of Ethics and the Standards for the Ethical Practice of Web Counseling. For more information on the company, please visit http://www.readyminds.com.

About UMUC

For more than 50 years, University of Maryland University College (UMUC) has excelled in serving nontraditional and adult student populations through both traditional classroom teaching and various distance delivery formats to serve these students' unique needs. Today, UMUC is the largest public university in the United States offering online programs. Currently, the university offers more than 90 distinct undergraduate and graduate degree and certificate programs completely online, in addition to a comprehensive array of online student and academic services.

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