Admissions Marketing Survey Finds Growing Use of Web for College Applications

40% Increase in Web-based Applications Financial Aid, Class Schedules and Course Offerings Now Common on Sites

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 23, 2001--The year 2000 may have ended with a sluggish outlook for e-commerce, but this past year was a boon for college and university Web sites, according to a survey released today by TMP Worldwide Inc., (NASDAQ: TMPW; ASX: TMP) the leading global provider of career services and solutions, including the preeminent Internet career portal, Monster(R).com. TMP is also the parent company to JOBTRAK.COM, a significant Internet player in the college job listing and resume arena, acquired by the company in November 2000. The TMP Worldwide annual year-end Survey on Admissions Marketing and the Internet Among American Universities for 2000, the fourth that it has conducted, found a 40 percent increase in Web-based applications from prospective students. The TMP Worldwide survey drew its results from 199 colleges and universities across the United States.

"Clearly, the world of higher education has recognized the value of offering prospective students both online and offline venues for communication," said John Meagle, Vice President, Educational Marketing at TMP Worldwide, who oversaw the survey. "I'm quite confident that we'll see an increased reliance of colleges and universities on the Internet and its evolving technology to broaden the scope of their recruiting outreach and streamline the application process."

Every institution surveyed maintains a Web site. TMP also found that nearly half of the college Web sites surveyed are updated daily. This is a significant change from 1999, when a similar proportion (48 percent) updated their sites only weekly. The number of pages offered has also jumped more than threefold - from an average of 71 pages in 1999 to 241 pages in 2000.

The most common features of sites include admissions applications (which jumped from 65 percent in 1999 to 88 percent in 2000), financial aid, the academic calendar and an overview of the school. Seven in ten university sites also offer course offerings, special events and a campus map. Thirty-four percent of survey respondents would like to add a virtual tour to their site.

One in ten colleges surveyed currently accept application fees directly through their Web site, more than double the percentage from 1999, and at least 16 percent plan to add this feature. Among advanced features offered by Web sites, Java scripting was most common, appearing in 47 percent of sites. Over a quarter of college Web sites also offer audio and video clips, while chat rooms, at only 12 percent, are still relatively rare.

For colleges and universities seeking to broaden their applicant pool, the Web has been a useful tool. Among those respondents who were able to judge their Web site's impact in this area, nearly half (48 percent) found that out of state enrollment had increased, up from a third in 1999. Similarly, those schools found that the Web site had enhanced international enrollment, with 38 percent measuring an increase.

While colleges and universities have rapidly increased their dependence on the Web for recruiting prospective students, the majority still relies on traditional means to drive traffic to their sites. Over 75 percent cited the school catalog, business cards, college guides and direct mail as means of promoting their sites, while fewer than one in five placed banner ads on college-related Web sites, and only six percent purchased banner ads on search engines.

"From the rapid growth of Monster.com, we've seen that today's employees are more and more inclined to proactively manage their careers on the Web," said Jim Treacy, COO of TMP Worldwide. "It's not surprising that colleges and universities are recognizing that students are also inclined to use the Web to manage their college application process."

The studentcommunications unit of TMP Worldwide's Recruitment Advertising division conducted this survey. Studentcommunications manages educational marketing and campus recruitment for a wide array of companies. For a copy of the complete 2000 survey, please contact Andrea Retzky at 212/445-8247 or aretzky@bsmg.com. About TMP Worldwide

Founded in 1967, TMP Worldwide, now with more than 8,750 employees in 31 countries, is the leading global provider of career services and solutions and the parent company to online careers portal Monster(R).com. TMP Worldwide is also the world's largest Recruitment Advertising agency network, and one of the world's largest Executive Search & Executive Selection agencies. TMP Worldwide, headquartered in New York, is also the world's largest Yellow Pages advertising agency and a provider of traditional and interactive direct marketing services. The company's clients include more than 90 of the Fortune 100 and more than 480 of the Fortune 500 companies. More information about TMP Worldwide is available at www.tmp.com About Monster.com

Monster.com, headquartered in Maynard, Mass., is a leading global careers Web site, recording over 18.3 million unique visits during the month of November 2000 according to independent research conducted by I/PRO. Monster.com connects the most progressive companies with the most qualified career-minded individuals, offering innovative technology and superior services that give them more control over the recruiting process. The Monster.com global network consists of local content and language sites in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, Belgium, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, France, Germany, Ireland, Spain and Luxembourg. More information about Monster.com is available at www.monster.com or by calling 1-800-MONSTER. Monster.com is the flagship brand of the Interactive Division of TMP Worldwide Inc. Special Note: The above statements include forward-looking statements based on current management expectations. Factors that could cause future results to differ from these expectations include the following: risks associated with acquisitions, competition and seasonality. Additional factors are described in the company's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

--30--eb/ny*

CONTACT: BSMG Worldwide Andrea H. Retzky 212/445-8247 aretzky@bsmg.com OR TMP Worldwide Dan Bustillos 212/351-7084 dan.bustillos@tmp.com