UPDATE 2-Career Education posts Q1 results below expectations

* Q1 shr $0.32, ex items, vs. est. $0.36

* Q1 rev $437.4 mln vs. est. $445.8 mln

* Shares fall 11 pct in trade after the bell

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By Amulya Nagaraj

BANGALORE, May 6 (Reuters) - Education company Career Education Corp (CECO.O), posted quarterly results that were below expectations, hurt by a drop in revenue in one of its segments, even as its peers posted strong profits.

Shares of the company were down 11 percent at $18.90 in trading after the bell. They closed at $21.14 Wednesday on Nasdaq.

"Results in the university segment was disappointing. The segment is lagging what we are seeing across the group in terms of enrollment" analyst Trace Urdan from Signal Hill said.

New student starts in the university segment rose 2 percent in the quarter. Online student university starts rose 1 percent.

Most education companies have been benefitting from the recession, along with the rise in unemployment rate, as students turn to post-secondary education to sharpen their skills and improve their career prospects.

For the first quarter, the company posted earnings of $23.3 million, or 26 cents a share, on revenue of $437.4 million.

Revenue from transitional schools was $6.7 million, down from $24.4 million, a year earlier.

Lincoln Educational Services posted a 12-fold jump in quarterly profit earlier on Wednesday, helped by a 42 percent rise in student starts, and raised its 2009 outlook. [ID:nBNG434372] For alerts, double click [ID:nWNAB4682] (Editing by Jarshad Kakkrakandy)