Columbia University School Of Dental And Oral Surgery Partners With Arcmesa To Develop Online Continuing Education Courses For Dentists

New York, NY – April 2002 – Columbia University School of Dental and Oral Surgery has announced that it will develop online continuing education courses for dentists in collaboration with ArcMesa Educators, a multi-profession provider of continuing education. “This is an exciting opportunity for the School of Dental and Oral Surgery,” says Dr. Ira Lamster, dean of the school. “We are a forward-looking institution that believes in providing education beyond the traditional walls of a dental school. Offering CME courses online will benefit our practicing faculty and alumni, as well as dentists across the country. In addition, foreign institutions seeking an affiliation with us will now have an opportunity to do so via the Internet.” According to the terms of the agreement, the School of Dental and Oral Surgery will select and develop the content for continuing education courses, which ArcMesa will publish both on the Internet and in print. In New York State, practicing dentists are required to have 45 hours of continuing education every three years to maintain their license. New Jersey requires dentists to have 40 hours of continuing education every two years. According to the American Dental Association, 47 states mandate continuing dental education for practicing dentists. “ArcMesa is dedicated to offering high quality, custom-designed continuing education activities to a number of professions,” says Ken Meyer, executive vice president, ArcMesa Educators. “Online courses are beneficial to our clients not only because of the 24/7 accessibility of the materials, but also because we are able to offer a wider variety of topics and presentation mediums, all of which have instant grading and certification.” “The availability and accessibility of high quality continuing dental education is obviously of great concern to the dental community,” Dr. Lamster says. “This partnership gives the School of Dental and Oral Surgery a unique opportunity to address those needs.” Under the agreement, the School of Dental and Oral Surgery will produce a minimum of four courses per year, consisting of two or more continuing dental education credits each. Dr. Lamster expects the first of these courses to be available online by June 2002. More information on courses will be available on the ArcMesa web site, www.arcmesa.com, or by calling 800-597-6372. The School of Dental and Oral Surgery (SDOS) at Columbia University, founded in 1917, is located at the Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center campus in northern Manhattan. SDOS is vigorously committed to education, patient care, and research. Recognizing the value to the public and the dental specialties, SDOS established the first formal specialty education program in orthodontics in the 1920s. SDOS went on to establish programs in periodontics, endodontics, oral/maxillofacial surgery, prosthodontics, pediatric dentistry and advanced programs. SDOS encourages and supports all forms of academic research efforts that have direct impact on improving oral health by fostering faculty and student participation in research and training students in current research methodologies. For more information on the School of Dental and Oral Surgery, visit cpmcnet.columbia.edu/dental. ArcMesa Educators, a subsidiary of Arc Communications Inc., (ACOC.OB and ACOCP.OB) is a provider of interactive, on-line programs to help health care professionals stay abreast of new trends and techniques in their fields while meeting their state-mandated CE/CME requirements for continuing education. Arc Communications Inc is a diversified, full-service “new media” and communications technology company. Arc offers a full range of marketing services for clients in the pharmaceutical and high technology industries. More information on Arc is available on its web site, /www.arcomm.com.

# # #

The information contained in this press release, including any ``forward-looking statements'' within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 contained herein, should be reviewed in conjunction with the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K and other publicly available information regarding the Company, copies of which are available from the Company upon request. Such publicly available information sets forth many risks and uncertainties related to the Company's business and such statements, including risks and uncertainties related to that are unpredictable and outside of the influence and/or control of the Company.

Tags

ACOCP, Arc Communications Inc, Ken Meyer, OB, SDOS