TERMS OF SERVICE

In General.  In general, the Learnvia services consist of access to and use of online learning environments comprised of exposition, graphics, tutors, labs, simulations, assessments and other information, tools and materials.  Individual online learning environments (courses) on the Learnvia system are subject-specific.  Any and all information, tools, materials and/or services provided or accessed through the Learnvia system and/or otherwise provided or accessed in connection with the Learnvia system are collectively referred to as the “Services.”

Academic Access.  Academic access to courses on the Learnvia system allows instructors to create specific sections of courses, and to control schedules, enrollment and access to course materials.  Academic access also supplements student materials with instructor specific tools and materials, including quizzes, checkpoints and exams, grade and record-keeping and the Learnvia “Instructor Dashboard.”  Academic courses are normally created by an educator with instructor-permissions on the Learnvia system.  Additional instructors and teaching-assistants may also be given access to an academic course.  Students are enrolled in a course, have access to materials and have their activities tracked via the instructor tools.

Manual and LMS-Provisioned Courses.  An academic course may be manually created by an individual with Learnvia instructor permissions using one of two models: manual or LMS-provisioned.

• Manual Model:   Using this model, students self-enroll in the academic course, using an alphanumeric key that their instructor provides them, and visit the Learnvia website to create an Learnvia account, login and access their course.
• LMS-Provisioned Model:  Institutions with a compatible LMS may provision and provide access to academic courses using Basic LTI as an integration mechanism.  Using this model, an instructor creates an academic course on Learnvia and generates a link that can be embedded in the institution’s LMS.  Students accessing this link will have an account created for them and will be enrolled in the course if necessary.  Students with pre-existing accounts or who were previously enrolled will be taken directly to their course materials.  This LMS-provisioned model allows students a single sign-on experience between their institution’s LMS and the Learnvia system.

Term of Student Access.  Once enrolled, students have access to their respective courses on the Learnvia system for at least twelve (12) months.

Confidentiality of Student Information and Data.  Confidentiality of student information and data on the Learnvia system is maintained in accordance with CMU policies and standards.  Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, CMU has the right to access, preserve and/or disclose account information and student information and data if required to do so by law or in a good faith belief that such access preservation or disclosure is reasonably necessary to: (a) comply with legal process; (b) enforce these Terms of Service; (c) respond to claims that information provided by a student violates the rights of third parties; (d) respond to your requests for assistance; or (e) protect the rights, property or personal safety of CMU, Learnvia users and/or the public. Further, CMU reserves the right to cooperate with legitimate law enforcement requests for information at its sole discretion. Anonymized student data may be used for ongoing research and/or course improvements, but only if the student has opted in to permit such use via a CMU-approved informed consent form.   The terms of the Learnvia Privacy Policy, at https://staging.learnvia.org/privacy/, are incorporated into these Terms of Service by Reference.

Scheduled Maintenance Window. We reserve a weekly maintenance window on Thursdays between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time (PT). During this window the Service may be intermittently unavailable. We strive to complete routine maintenance within 60 minutes.

Emergency Maintenance. We may perform urgent maintenance outside the windows above to address security or service-impacting issues. We will notify affected users as soon as practicable.

Time Zone. All times are stated in Pacific Time (America/Los_Angeles) and will observe daylight saving time changes.

No CMU Status or Credit Conferred. Using the Services does not confer any CMU course credit and/or any employment or student status at CMU.

Permitted Use of the Services:  The Services may be used by you and your institution for their respective personal, academic, educational non-commercial use (which includes student instruction, student work in the classroom and/or homework, grading, and instructor educational activities).  Except for these limited rights, no other rights are granted to the Services and you may not copy, reproduce, alter, modify, create derivative works, or publicly display any part of the Services, or use any part of the Services for the purpose of developing, training, or operating artificial intelligence or other machine learning systems/models. CMU (and/or its content providers, as applicable) own and retain all intellectual property rights they have in and to the Services, including but not limited to the information, tools and materials provided in connection with the Services.

Revocation, Suspension or Termination of Accounts: CMU retains the right to revoke, suspend and/or terminate any or all user account privileges at any time in its sole and absolute discretion including, without limitation, for any violation of these Terms of Service. CMU shall not be liable to you or your institution or any third party for any termination of an account or access to the Services.  Consistent with the foregoing, CMU shall have the right in its sole and absolute discretion to suspend or terminate the Services or any or all of your access to it for any reason. 

Disclaimer of Warranties:  THE SERVICES, AND ALL MATERIALS, TOOLS, INFORMATION, PRODUCTS AND SERVICES INCLUDED IN THE SERVICES, ARE PROVIDED “AS IS,” “AS AVAILABLE” WITH NO WARRANTIES WHATSOEVER. CMU, ITS TRUSTEES, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, REPRESENTATIVES, AFFILIATES, LICENSORS, CONTENT PROVIDERS, CONTRACTORS (INCLUDING ANY THIRD PARTY PROVIDERS) AND FUNDERS/SPONSORS (COLLECTIVELY THE “LEARNVIA PARTIES”) EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW ALL EXPRESS, IMPLIED, AND STATUTORY WARRANTIES AND DUTIES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION: THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT; ANY WARRANTIES REGARDING THE SECURITY, RELIABILITY, TIMELINESS, AND PERFORMANCE OF THE SERVICES; ANY WARRANTIES FOR ANY GOODS, INFORMATION OR ADVICE OBTAINED THROUGH THE SERVICES REGARDLESS OF SOURCE (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY GOODS OR INFORMATION OR ADVICE RECEIVED THROUGH ANY LINKS PROVIDED IN THE SERVICES).

YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT YOU DOWNLOAD OR OTHERWISE OBTAIN ANY AND ALL MATERIALS, TOOLS, INFORMATION, DATA AND/OR OTHER CONTENT THROUGH THE USE OF THE SERVICES AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION AND RISK AND THAT YOU WILL BE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGES TO YOUR COMPUTER SYSTEM OR LOSS OF DATA THAT RESULTS FROM THE DOWNLOAD OF SUCH ITEMS.  

SOME STATES OR OTHER JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES, SO THE ABOVE EXCLUSIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. YOU MAY ALSO HAVE OTHER RIGHTS THAT VARY FROM STATE TO STATE AND JURISDICTION TO JURISDICTION.

Limitation of Liability; Limitation on Damages:  UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHALL CMU OR ANY OTHER LEARNVIA PARTIES BE LIABLE TO YOU, YOUR INSTITUTION OR ANY OTHER USER ON ACCOUNT OF USE OR MISUSE OF OR RELIANCE ON THE SERVICES ARISING FROM ANY CLAIM RELATING TO THESE TERMS OF SERVICE OR THE SUBJECT MATTER HEREOF. SUCH LIMITATION OF LIABILITY SHALL APPLY TO PREVENT RECOVERY OF INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, AND PUNITIVE DAMAGES WHETHER SUCH CLAIM IS BASED ON WARRANTY, CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), OR OTHERWISE, (EVEN IF CMU AND/OR THE LEARNVIA PARTIES HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES). IN ADDITION, IN NO EVENT SHALL CMU OR ANY OTHER LEARNVIA PARTIES BE LIABLE FOR DIRECT DAMAGES RELATING TO THESE TERMS OF SERVICE OR THE SUBJECT MATTER HEREOF IN AN AMOUNT MORE THAN ONE HUNDRED U.S. DOLLARS ($100.00) IN THE AGGREGATE, WHICHEVER IS LESS. SUCH LIMITATIONS ON LIABILITY AND DAMAGES SHALL APPLY NOTWITHSTANDING ANY FAILURE OF ESSENTIAL PURPOSE OF ANY LIMITED REMEDY AND TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.

To the maximum extent permitted under applicable law, you (on behalf of yourself and your institution and their respective heirs, executors, administrators, personal representatives, beneficiaries, agents, successors and assigns) hereby irrevocably and unconditionally remise, release and forever waive any and all manner of claims, suits, actions or demands against CMU and other Learnvia Parties arising out of or relating to the access to and/or use of (or inability to use) the Services by you and/or your institution, whether arising out of CMU’s and/or any of the Learnvia Parties’ negligence or otherwise.

Some states or other jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of liability for certain damages, so the above limitations and exclusions shall apply only to the extent permitted under applicable law.

Force Majeure: Under no circumstances shall CMU or any other Learnvia Parties be liable for any delay or failure in performance resulting directly or indirectly from acts of nature, forces, or causes beyond its and/or their reasonable control, including, without limitation, Internet failures, computer equipment failures, telecommunication equipment failures, other equipment failures, electrical power failures, strikes, labor disputes, riots, insurrections, civil disturbances, shortages of labor or materials, fires, floods, storms, explosions, acts of God, war, governmental actions, orders of domestic or foreign courts or tribunals, non-performance of third parties, or loss of or fluctuations in heat, light, or air conditioning.

Notices:  All notices and other communications provided to you by us under these Terms of Service will be in writing and delivered by email to the address associated with your account. You are responsible for ensuring your email address is current and accurate. You agree that all notices, disclosures, and other communications that we provide to you electronically satisfy any legal requirement that such communications be in writing.  Any notices or other communications provided by you to us under these Terms of Service should be sent by certified mail to the following address:

Carnegie Mellon University
5000 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
Attn:  Learnvia /Simon Initiative
Email:  nbier@cmu.edu

Updates:  We may update these Terms of Service based upon evolving laws, regulations and industry standards, or as we may make changes to our business including the Services. We will post changes to our Terms of Service on this page and encourage you to review our Terms of Service when you use the Services to stay informed. If we make changes that materially alter the Terms of Service, CMU will endeavor to provide additional notice, such as via email or through the Services. If you disagree with the changes to these Terms of Service, you should discontinue your use of the Services.

Modifications to/Cancellations of Learnvia Systems/Services:    CMU RESERVES THE RIGHT TO MODIFY OR CANCEL THE LEARNVIA SYSTEM AND SERVICES, AND/OR ANY RELATED PRODUCT AND/OR SERVICE IN WHOLE OR IN PART AT ANY TIME.

Miscellaneous: If any provision of these Terms of Service is held to be invalid or unenforceable, such provision shall be deemed superseded by a valid enforceable provision that most closely matches the intent of the original provision and the remaining provisions shall be enforced. CMU’s failure to act with respect to a breach by you, your institution or any other users does not waive CMU’s right to act with respect to subsequent or similar breaches. The failure of CMU to exercise or enforce any right or provision of these Terms of Service shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. The section headings and subheadings contained in these Terms of Service are included for convenience only and shall not limit or otherwise affect the terms of these Terms of Service. These Terms of Service and any disputes related to them shall be interpreted in accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania without regard to its conflicts of laws provisions. All claims and/or controversies of every kind and nature arising out of or relating to these Terms of Service, including any questions concerning its existence, negotiation, validity, meaning, performance, non-performance, breach, continuance or termination shall be settled (1) at CMU’s election, by binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) in accordance with its Commercial Arbitration Rules and, in such case (a) the arbitration proceedings shall be conducted before a panel of three arbitrators, with each party selecting one disinterested arbitrator from a list submitted by the AAA and the two disinterested arbitrators selecting a third arbitrator from the list, (b) each party shall bear its own costs of arbitration, (c) all arbitration hearings shall be conducted in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, and (d) the provisions hereof shall be a complete defense to any suit, action or proceeding instituted in any Federal, state or local court or before any administrative tribunal with respect to any claim or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms of Service and which is arbitrable as provided in these Terms of Service, provided that either party may seek injunctive relief in a court of law or equity to assert, protect or enforce its rights hereunder (2) in the event that CMU does not elect binding arbitration as permitted in point (1) above, exclusively in the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania or, if such Court does not have jurisdiction, in any court of general jurisdiction in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania and each party consents to the exclusive jurisdiction of any such courts and waives any objection which such party may have to the laying of venue in any such courts. Notwithstanding any provision hereof, for all purposes of these Terms of Service each party shall be and act as an independent contractor and not as partner, joint venture, agent, employee or employer of the other and shall not bind nor attempt to bind the other to any contract. You are agreeing to these Terms of Service on behalf of you and your institution for the benefit of CMU and the other Learnvia Parties. You agree that, except as otherwise expressly provided in these Terms of Service, there shall be no third-party beneficiaries to these Terms of Service. These Terms of Service represent the entire agreement with CMU regarding the subject matter hereof, superseding any and all prior or contemporaneous oral or written understandings.

Updated August 2025

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