Acxiom(R) Online Authentication Product Meets Demands of New Education Policy

FactCheck-X(TM) Authenticate helps ensure that distance learning
students earning the credit are the students doing the work
LITTLE ROCK, Ark.--(Business Wire)--
In an effort to increase online academic integrity, new higher
education policies require nationally accredited colleges and
universities to verify that the distance learning student who
registers for a course is the same student who performs the work. This
is an issue for any institution that offers distance learning courses.

The recently signed Higher Education instructs accreditation
agencies to ensure institutions have policies and evidence of how they
verify student identities in distance learning. Acxiom(R) is working
with community colleges, public and private universities, industry
trade associations and accreditation organizations to ensure the
implementation of this new policy is consistent with authentication
best practices in other industries and fits the unique needs of the
distance-learning student.

FactCheck-X(TM) Authenticate is an online tool originally created
by Acxiom to guard organizations against the risk of identity theft
and fraud. The solution uses biographical data to create challenge
exams to authenticate the identity of the individual logging on. These
exams are user friendly because the information they use - such as
house number, subdivision name or hunting license data - is known to
the person being authenticated but not to others.

"Acxiom helps colleges and universities maintain their academic
integrity standards by verifying student identity," said Tim Christin,
managing director, Acxiom Risk Mitigation. "This online tool works
without an enrollment process, expensive hardware or broadband
requirements."

"The institutions and students who have participated in pilot
programs of this solution have been pleased," Michael Jortberg, Acxiom
education project leader, said. "The ease of use, integration and
flexibility of this offering are appealing to college and university
professionals responsible for verification and authentication."

National American University and Acxiom presented the results of a
collaborative program developed to authenticate online learners at
the Higher Learning Commission annual meeting in April. The pilot
allowed NAU students enrolled in select online courses to experience
online identification strategies.

"Of the students who completed the survey about the pilot
program, we found that 94 percent indicated their strong preference
for Acxiom's online authentication service," Dr. Jeffrey Bailie,
dean of online instruction at NAU said. Bailie said that 72 percent of
the students had previously relied on face-to-face proctored exams.

Bailie also said that proctored examinations require university
personnel to securely distribute examinations to qualified proctors
nationwide and require students to report to approved testing
locations at designated times.

"We believe that FactCheck-X Authenticate will meet the
expectations of distance learners who increasingly
insist on 'anywhere-anytime' distance learning, while also
reducing administrative costs associated with the
'this-time-this-place' examination of traditional, on-site education."

Acxiom's solution does not require webcams or fingerprints, and
institutions using FactCheck-X Authenticate are notified of pass/fail
rates of the authentication exams. The entire process is delivered by
Acxiom through a Web interface, alleviating any student data
management and authentication burden for schools. Because the
university or college releases no information about students, there is
no risk of noncompliance with the Family Educational Rights and
Privacy Act (FERPA).

To share more about FactCheck-X Authenticate's benefits for
distance learning programs, Acxiom will participate in the upcoming
Sloan-C International Conference on Online Learning, the Distance
Education and Training Council (DETC), and the Western Cooperative for
Educational Telecommunications (WCET) distance education conferences
in October and November.

Risk Mitigation

Acxiom's risk management capabilities are proven to empower
organizations to make decisions that increase security and
profitability, while reducing fraud across the enterprise. This is
accomplished through a complete suite of risk solutions which include
identification, investigative and authentication services.

About Acxiom Corporation

The global leader in interactive marketing services, Acxiom
connects clients with their customers through deep consumer insight,
powering effective and profitable marketing initiatives and business
decisions. Our consultative approach spans multiple industries and
incorporates decades of experience in consumer data and analytics,
information technology, data integration, and consulting solutions for
effective marketing across digital, Internet, email, mobile and direct
mail channels. Founded in 1969, Acxiom is headquartered in Little
Rock, Ark., and serves clients around the world from locations in the
United States, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific. For more information
about Acxiom, visit www.acxiom.com.

Acxiom is a registered trademark of Acxiom Corporation.

Acxiom Public Relations
Scott Maple, 501-252-2335
scott.maple@acxiom.com
GACXM

Copyright Business Wire 2008