Our Lady of the Lake University Receives $1 Million AT&T Grant to Bring InsideTrack Success Coaching to All First-Year Students

SAN FRANCISCO, CA, November 3, 2006 — Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU) has received a $1 million grant from the AT&T Foundation to provide InsideTrack Success Coaching to all first-year students. The San Antonio, Texas, university serves primarily Hispanic students, many of whom are the first in their family to attend college.

InsideTrack partners with colleges and universities nationwide to increase student engagement, persistence and graduation rates. The company's Success Coaches work one-on-one with students to help them overcome challenges and improve their overall effectiveness so that they stay in school, achieve their goals and graduate.

"Coaches can enhance the performance of students just as they enhance the performance of executives and athletes — by encouraging and motivating them to succeed," says Alan Tripp, the CEO of InsideTrack. "We are very pleased that OLLU has recognized the value of Success Coaching and that the AT&T Foundation is making it possible for the university's first-year students to benefit from this approach to student support."

OLLU students meet with their InsideTrack coach once a week to define and achieve objectives such as clarifying educational and career goals, improving academic performance, managing financial commitments, using time more efficiently, and juggling school with work and family obligations. In 15 controlled case studies, the first-year attrition rate of students who received InsideTrack Success Coaching decreased by more than 25 percent. Students also earned more academic credits, attained higher GPAs and reported higher rates of satisfaction with their college experience.

"InsideTrack Success Coaches can provide the guidance and feedback that our students need in order to excel," says Dr. Tessa Martinez Pollack, OLLU's president. "We would like to thank AT&T, whose philanthropic leadership on this initiative reflects their profound understanding of what first-generation college students need to be successful."

According to James Shelley, AT&T senior vice president of State Regulatory Affairs, "It is essential that college freshman get the assistance that they need in order to manage academic, financial and time-management issues. And we, at AT&T, are proud to support OLLU and its mission to increase student engagement and strengthen graduation rates. We hope that this grant will provide leadership skills and a solid academic foundation so that OLLU students walk away with the knowledge that they need in order to succeed in life."

About InsideTrack
InsideTrack pioneered the concept of student success coaching in 1999 and has provided student coaching services to more than 50,000 college students to date. As a result of improved student success, InsideTrack has helped client colleges to increase student retention, total enrollment and graduation rates, as well as tuition revenue. To learn more about InsideTrack, visit www.insidetrack.com.