eCollege Honored as Finalist in Software & Information Industry Association's 23rd Annual CODiE Awards

DENVER, March 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- eCollege is a finalist in the Software & Information Industry Association's (SIIA) 23rd Annual CODiE Awards. The nation's leading provider of comprehensive eLearning technology and services to the education industry is honored in the Best Postsecondary Enterprise Solution category.

Established in 1986, the CODiE Awards celebrate outstanding achievement and vision in the software, digital information and education technology industries. Through a unique combination of journalist and peer review, the CODiE Awards recognize 68 categories of outstanding products and services. This year's finalists represent an impressive array of technology and business excellence, passion and success. They were chosen from more than 1,100 nominations, submitted by more than 600 companies.

"Competition is tough this year and that makes selection as a CODiE finalist a real achievement," said Ken Wasch, SIIA president. "All the companies on this year's list should feel justifiably proud of their recognition."

A Pearson company, eCollege provides an on-demand eLearning platform used to support online distance education and technology-enhanced education across the education enterprise. Because eCollege provides a Software-as-a-Service solution, as well as key support services, colleges and universities are free to focus on improving education and student success rather than managing technology.

Thirteen Pearson products were named as finalists in this year's (SIIA) CODiE Awards. Honors for Pearson's products span the award program's software, content and education categories. In addition to eCollege, the Pearson products recognized this year are DRA(R)2 Online Writer, ELLIS, FamilyEducation, KnowledgeBox(R), NovaNET(R), PASeries(R) (Progress Assessment Series(R)), Pearson Inform(TM) 4.1, PowerSchool(R) Premier, SuccessMaker(R) Enterprise, WriteToLearn(TM) 4.0, Waterford Early Learning(TM)-Reading and Waterford Early Learning-Math and Science.

In the next step of the CODiE Awards process, SIIA members will select winners in each category. The 2008 CODiE Awards will be presented on May 20 at the CODiE Awards Gala at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco. For a complete list of the 2008 CODiE Award finalists, visit http://www.siia.net/codies/2008/finalists.asp.

About SIIA

The Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) is the principal trade association for the software and digital content industry. SIIA provides global services in government relations, business development, corporate education and intellectual property protection to more than 800 leading software and information companies. For further information, visit http://www.siia.net.

About Pearson

Pearson NYSE: PSO is the global leader in educational publishing, assessment, information and services, helping people of all ages to learn at their own pace, in their own way. The company is home to such respected brands as Scott Foresman, Prentice Hall, PowerSchool, Addison Wesley, Allyn & Bacon, Longman and many others. Pearson's comprehensive offerings help inform targeted instruction and intervention so that success is within reach of every student. Pearson's other primary businesses include the Financial Times Group and the Penguin Group.