BBBB Blackboard (MM)

Leading Schools, Colleges and Universities Purchase Blackboard Content System(TM) Streamlined Content Management Improves e-Learning Potential for Education Institutions WASHINGTON, Aug. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Blackboard Inc. (NASDAQ:BBBB) announced that a number of leading schools, colleges and universities have licensed the Blackboard Content System(TM) in the first half of 2004. The Blackboard Content System was made available to the education industry in March of this year. "The digital era has dramatically increased the sheer volume of content available within an academic learning system, and educators are demanding an efficient way to manage this content enterprise-wide," said Michael Chasen, CEO of Blackboard. "The early success of the Blackboard Content System launch underscores the widespread need for this breed of technology." The higher education market typically leads technology revolutions in the education industry, and the move toward advanced content management is no exception. Of the many recent adopters of the Blackboard Content System, a majority are colleges or universities, including: Clemson University, Cambridge University, the United States Military Academy, Virginia Commonwealth University and Troy State University. Additionally, technology leaders and innovators throughout the education market have adopted the Blackboard Content System, including Spectrum Pacific Learning and the University of California College Prep. "The ability to efficiently create, access and share content through Blackboard Content System has drastically reduced our administrative overhead and made course preparation considerably more manageable for our faculty," said Patty Herkins, Manager, Technology and Computing at The University of California College Prep Online. "In just four months, we can already see a significant increase in productivity that is tangible both financially and academically as our students and staff become more fully immersed in the e- Learning experience." The Blackboard Content System is available to all enterprise level Blackboard Learning System(TM) clients and includes the following key benefits: * Learning Content Management -- to easily share and reuse large volumes of content assets across courses, organizations, groups, departments and the entire institution. * e-Portfolios -- to document academic and career growth of students and faculty members. * Virtual Hard Drive -- to economically accommodate institutional storage needs. * Library Digital Asset Management -- to incorporate library resources in course preparation. About Blackboard Inc. Blackboard is a leading provider of enterprise software and services to the education industry. The Company's product line consists of five software applications bundled in two suites, the Blackboard Academic Suite TM and the Blackboard Commerce Suite(TM). Blackboard's clients include colleges, universities, 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 and staff in North America, Europe and Asia. 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 our Registration Statement filed on Form S-1 with the SEC. In addition, the forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the Company's views as of August 4, 2004. 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 August 4, 2004. DATASOURCE: Blackboard Inc. CONTACT: Corporate and Investor Contact: Michael J. Stanton of Blackboard Inc., +1-202-463-4860 ext. 2305; or Media Inquiries: Dan Baum of DBC Public Relations, +1-866-774-4720, for Blackboard Inc. Web site: http://www.blackboard.com/

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