ARLINGTON, Va., June 13, 2005 -- The U.S. Department of Education's Federal Student Aid (FSA) office awarded Pearson Government Solutions a three-year contract (inclusive of all option periods), which started in January 2005, to build on existing work to enhance the agency's Enterprise Architecture program.

The program was established as a result of the Clinger-Cohen Act and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations, which require federal agencies to make information technology (IT) investment decisions that support business drivers and are consistent with their IT architectures. As the government's first performance-based organization, operating like a business to deliver federal financial aid to eligible postsecondary students and their parents, FSA bases its IT investments on explicit consideration of costs, risks, and results. To obtain and maintain products and services that are mutually compatible and interoperate effectively, FSA must employ an enterprise-wide approach for architecture.

Under a previous contract, Pearson Government Solutions worked with FSA for 20 months to rebaseline its Enterprise Architecture, which comprises three major components: business processes, capital planning and investment control (CPIC), and IT infrastructure. The new contract will continue to support alignment of EA with the CPIC process, maintenance of the Enterprise Architecture data repository, support integration with the larger Department of Education, and track and respond to federal Enterprise Architecture requirements.

FSA is a $73 billion-per-year financial services organization, providing grants and loans to over 10 million Americans a year and managing a loan portfolio of approximately $357 billion. The agency's goals for the Enterprise Architecture program are to emphasize governance, strategic planning, performance measurement, enhancement, and maturity of the Enterprise Architecture environment, and to update its Enterprise Architecture services.

"To help FSA provide quality products and services to its customers, we must ensure its IT environment continues to be responsive to the demands of changing business needs,"said Mac Curtis, President and CEO, Pearson Government Solutions.

With nearly 5,000 employees worldwide, Pearson Government Solutions, based in Arlington, Va., serves customers in the U.S. federal, state and local, and international government; higher education institutions and student financial aid entities; and the worldwide telecommunications industry. The company designs, builds, and operates solutions that optimize public sector entities' performance in delivering information, benefits, and services to their constituents. Clients include the Federal Communications Commission; the U.S. Departments of Defense, Education, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Justice, Labor, and Veterans Affairs; the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

Pearson Government Solutions is a business of Pearson, the international media company. Pearson's primary operations include Pearson Education, the Financial Times Group, and the Penguin Group.

Contact:
Eileen Rivera
(703) 284-5674
Eileen.Rivera@pearson.com