STRAIGHTERLINE JOINS BALTIMORE CITY'S TECHNOLOGY INCUBATOR

The Company will join the seventy-one start-up technology companies at Emerging Technology Centers

BALTIMORE, MD (Aug 30, 2010) – StraighterLine (www.straighterline.com), provider of online education solutions that allow students to take ultra-affordable online college courses for credit, announced today that they have moved their company headquarters to Baltimore City and joined the Emerging Technology Centers (ETC), the City’s technology incubator. StraighterLine provides students a flexible and convenient start to college with high-quality, one-on-one tutor-supported and extremely affordable online general education courses, including College Algebra, Pre-Calculus, English Composition, Accounting, Economics and Business Statistics, with more planned. Students receive credit for completed StraighterLine courses when they enroll in any school in StraighterLine’s network of regionally accredited partner colleges or by enrolling in a college that awards credit for courses reviewed by the American Council on Education. The StraighterLine offerings reduce the cost of freshman year to under $40 a credit with individualized curriculum and 24/7 on-demand instructional guidance. “We are thrilled to be in Baltimore City.  We are growing our network of partner colleges and we look forward to adding many Baltimore area colleges,” says Burck Smith, CEO of StraighterLine.  “Our courses let students reap the benefits of lower prices and greater flexibility enabled by online delivery.” “We are excited that StraighterLine chose to locate in Baltimore City,” notes Ann Lansinger, President of ETC. “The technology community in Baltimore is growing rapidly and the entrepreneurial environment at the ETC is one that helps companies like StraighterLine move ahead as far and as fast as possible.” Currently StraighterLine has 15 colleges in their partner network including Capella University, Fort Hays State University, Kaplan University, Western Governors University and WGU Indiana, several community colleges, and more. StraighterLine courses have been evaluated and recommended by the American Council on Education's (ACE) Credit Recommendation Service and have met or exceeded the Distance Education and Training Council's (DETC) standards for online course quality. About StraighterLine (www.straighterline.com ) StraighterLine provides students with a new online option for obtaining required college credits from accredited colleges and universities. StraighterLine's ultra-affordable online college courses are the first to include 24/7 live, on-demand instruction. StraighterLine offers various entry-level college courses with many more under development. There are no set due dates for StraighterLine courses and students may start at any time with monthly or up to six months of access. For more information, visit www.straighterline.com or call 1-877-str8erline (1-877-787-8375).   About the ETC (www.etcbaltimore.com) The ETC, a venture of the Baltimore Development Corporation, is a non-profit business incubator focused on growing early-stage technology and biotechnology companies.  The ETC promotes economic development, providing business, technical, and networking connections to help these companies grow and prosper – adding to both the job and tax base of Baltimore City. To date, ETC client companies have received over $865 million in funding and have been issued nearly 200 patents.  Since 1999 ETC has provided assistance to 201 companies of which 71 are current companies. Eighty-three percent of its graduate clients are still in business. ### CONTACT: Charles Martin [email protected] (202) 667-0901