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University College Syddanmark Makes Strategic Choice for Learning by Selecting Blackboard Learn, Release 9.1

Release 9.1 Will Establish Single, Innovative Platform for Users Across Campuses

AMSTERDAM – 20 April, 2011 – Blackboard Inc. (Nasdaq: BBBB) today announced that University College Syddanmark selected Blackboard Learn™, Release 9.1 as part of a strategic investment to establish Syddanmark as a leader in e-learning within University Colleges in Denmark and to better serve student and faculty users across different campuses that are currently using a variety of course management systems.

Syddanmark selected Release 9.1 after a formal evaluation of course management systems that included product demonstrations, faculty surveys and client referrals. Blackboard was selected over competing providers due to its ability to significantly enhance collaborative learning opportunities and the advanced functionality of its mobile solutions. 

Formed in January 2010 through the merger of University College West and University College South, Syddanmark has two main campuses in Esbjerg and Haderslev and three smaller satellite campuses in Kolding, Aabenraa and Soenderborg. Blackboard Learn, Release 9.1 will be used as a single academic portal across the entire institution through which all departments can work together online.

Release 9.1 will enable university officials to provide a wider range of study options, giving users a range of social learning and collaborative learning tools such as wikis, blogs and user groups. The platform also enables teachers to increase student engagement by seamlessly integrating multimedia content from Web sources to create a more visually impactful course experience.

“Operating at the cutting edge of educational technology solutions, Blackboard is the perfect partner to assist us in achieving our strategic ambition of being at the forefront of educational excellence and efficiency,” said Chris Mienert, Educational Development Consultant at University College Syddanmark, which serves approximately 5,500 students and employs roughly 700 staff members. “With a number of geographically remote campuses and an increasing number of our students involved in blended and distance learning courses, Blackboard Learn, Release 9.1 gives us the opportunity to create a single virtual campus for all of our students and teachers and will dramatically improve our learning environment by making our courses much more interactive and dynamic.”

In addition to deploying Blackboard Learn, Release 9.1, Syddanmark officials are also planning to leverage the Blackboard Mobile™ Learn application in coming months to give the campus community access to courses and content on a variety of mobile devices.

In preparation for its upgrade to Release 9.1 in September, the University will leverage free resources including video tutorials and instructional training materials created by Blackboard to help acclimate users to the new system quickly and seamlessly.

“We’ve invested much in a comprehensive platform that brings courses, collaboration and mobile learning together to deliver a truly impactful platform,” said Ray Henderson, President of Blackboard Learn. “We’re pleased to see that our direction seems well aligned with that of leading institutions like Syddanmark that have a real vision for how technology can enhance the learning experience.”

Blackboard Learn, Release 9.1 is being used by more than 1,200 institutions worldwide. It integrates web 2.0 technologies such as YouTube, SlideShare and Flickr and is the most comprehensive technology platform for teaching and learning, community building, content management and measuring learning outcomes.

For more information about Blackboard Learn, please visit http://www.blackboard.com/Platforms/Learn/Overview.aspx. 

About Blackboard Inc.
Blackboard Inc. (Nasdaq: BBBB) is a global leader in enterprise technology and innovative solutions that improve the experience of millions of students and learners around the world every day. Blackboard's solutions allow thousands of higher education, K-12, professional, corporate, and government organizations to extend teaching and learning online, facilitate campus commerce and security, and communicate more effectively with their communities. Founded in 1997, Blackboard is headquartered in Washington, D.C., with offices in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.

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 Form 10-K filed on February 18, 2011 with the SEC. In addition, the forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the Company’s views as of April 20, 2011. 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 April 20, 2011.

CONTACTS
Geraldine Fernandez/Robert Hickling, Say Communications
+44 (0) 20 8971 6400 or blackboard@saycomms.co.uk 

Matthew Maurer, Blackboard Inc.
(202) 463-4860 ext. 2637 or matthew.maurer@blackboard.com