Bowling Green State University Extends Its Relationship With Blackboard for Enhanced Campus Service Offerings

WASHINGTON, DC, Mar 29, 2006 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX News Network) -- Blackboard Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBB), a leading provider of enterprise software and services to the education industry, announced today that Bowling Green State University (BGSU) will convert its campus commerce system to the Blackboard Transaction System to implement a campus-wide, one card system offering students improved, more convenient and reliable services. BGSU already relies on the Blackboard Academic Suite(TM) for its e-learning initiatives.

The Blackboard Transaction System is used by hundreds of schools in the United States and Canada to manage the administration, processing and reporting functions for all campus transactions. It securely processes millions of transactions involving payments, data access and authentication, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

More than 21,000 BGSU students and 2,700 faculty/staff and administrators will convert to the Blackboard Transaction System beginning this May for a wide variety of campus services including vending, facilities access and laundry.

"Integrating and expanding many commerce functions under the Blackboard Transaction system will offer significant advantages for the students, faculty and staff at Bowling Green," said Jeff Nelson, the director of bookstore and enterprise services at Bowling Green State University. "With the Blackboard Transaction System we will be able to better control the costs of campus service offerings while improving efficiency."

"We are thrilled to have Bowling Green State University as the newest Blackboard Commerce Suite community member," said Michael Chasen, CEO of Blackboard. "Bowling Green is really paving the way in its use of technology to enhance the educational experience by fostering both Networked Learning Environments(TM) and Network Transaction Environments(TM) for the members of its campus community. We applaud their insight and leadership and look forward to working closely with them along the way."

The Blackboard Transaction System is part of the Blackboard Commerce Suite(TM), a package of three enterprise software applications supporting cashless transactions on-campus, off-campus and online and allowing for identification and security access. By utilizing an existing student debit account at the university, the Blackboard Transaction System provides students with a safe, secure, cashless and convenient way to make transactions and access campus facilities.

About Blackboard

Blackboard Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBB) is a leading provider of enterprise software applications and related services to the education industry. Founded in 1997, Blackboard enables educational innovations everywhere by connecting people and technology. With two product suites, the Blackboard Academic Suite(TM) and the Blackboard Commerce Suite(TM), Blackboard is used by millions of people at academic institutions around the globe, including colleges, universities, K-12 schools and other education providers, as well as textbook publishers and student-focused merchants that serve education providers and their students. Blackboard is headquartered in Washington, D.C., with offices in North America, Europe and Asia.

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Any statements in this press release about future expectations, plans and prospects for Blackboard and other statements containing the words "believes," "anticipates," "plans," "expects," "will," and similar expressions, constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including the factors discussed in the "Risk Factors" section of our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on February 15, 2006 with the SEC. In addition, the forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the Company's views as of March 29, 2006. The Company anticipates that subsequent events and developments will cause the Company's views to change. However, while the Company may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company's views as of any date subsequent to March 29, 2006.

Contact:
Senior Manager, Public Relations; Blackboard:
Melissa Chotiner
Blackboard Inc.
+1 202 463-4860 ext. 2404
Contact via http://www.marketwire.com/mw/emailprcntct?id=B1D562485FB9C79D

SOURCE: Blackboard Inc.