Policies Terms of Use
These Terms of Use (“Terms”) were last updated on March 1, 2020.
Liberty University Online Academy (“LUOA,” “we,” “our,” or “us”) is a division of Liberty University, Inc. (“Liberty”). Liberty is a private, Christian, nonprofit, higher education institution founded in 1971. Liberty develops Christ-centered men and women with the values, knowledge, and skills essential to impact the world. Liberty’s purpose and mission statement can be found here.
LUOA exists to support parents and guardians in their Biblical responsibility to nurture and train their children. Thus, LUOA provides opportunities that allow students to develop spiritually and academically through an individualized, Christ-centered, technology-based, online homeschooling academic experience.
THESE TERMS APPLY ONLY TO THE USE OF LUOA’S ACCREDITED ONLINE PRIVATE CHRISTIAN K-12 CURRICULUM.
These Terms constitute an agreement between LUOA and each individual end-user (“you,” “your,” or “user”) governing the use of and access to LUOA’s service. LUOA’s service model offers homeschooling parents/guardians and schools valuable educational content. We need rules to keep our platform and services safe for you, us, and our student community. As such, these Terms apply to all your activities on the LUOA website, Canvas (the platform LUOA uses to host and display its curricular content), Canvas’ mobile applications, and other related services (collectively, the “Service”). The Service is an online learning and activity resource including assessments that you, as parents, can use as part of your curriculum for your child.
BY USING OUR SERVICE, YOU ARE AGREEING TO USE THE SERVICE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THESE TERMS AND TO REVIEW LUOA’S PRIVACY POLICY. PLEASE ALSO NOTE THAT LUOA MAY CHANGE THESE TERMS AND THE PRIVACY POLICY.
IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THESE TERMS, YOU SHOULD NOT AND MAY NOT ACCESS OR USE THE SERVICE.
Privacy Policy
PLEASE REVIEW THE CURRENT VERSION OF THE PRIVACY POLICY HERE.
Our Privacy Policy explains how and whether we collect and use your personally identifiable information and other data related to you. Our Privacy Policy governs Registration Data and certain other information about you. Our Privacy Policy also governs our use of any content in any form submitted by the user. We have the right to change the Privacy Policy at any time and for any reason without notifying you, and that Privacy Policy is specifically incorporated into these Terms by reference as the Privacy Policy may be changed.
Our Privacy Policy ensures that we maintain users’ personally identifiable information in a safe, secure, and responsible manner. The Privacy Policy does not apply to information that we may collect outside the use of the Service, such as over the phone, by fax, or through conventional mail. LUOA protects the privacy of all educational records as required by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) and other applicable federal and state laws to the extent such laws apply.
Any feedback, comments, or suggestions you may provide regarding LUOA or the Services is entirely voluntary, and we will be free to use such feedback, comments, or suggestions as we see fit and without any obligation to you.
IF YOU DISAGREE WITH OUR PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION COLLECTION AND USE PRACTICES, YOU SHOULD NOT AND MAY NOT ACCESS OR USE THE SERVICE.
Account Policies
To access the Service, you must apply to and register for courses at LUOA. LUOA activates your courses once you complete Financial Check-In (FCI) and make the necessary payments. When setting up and maintaining your account, you must provide and continue to provide accurate and complete information, including a valid email address.
Users must be at least 18 years of age to apply to LUOA for themselves or on behalf of a minor in their care in order to use the Service. If you are younger than the required age, you may not apply to LUOA, but we encourage you to invite a parent or guardian to help you apply and enroll in courses that are appropriate for you. If we discover that you have created an account and you are younger than the required age for consent to use online services, we will terminate your account.
You must provide all equipment necessary to access the Service and are responsible for all fees you incur when accessing the Service. Additionally, you are responsible for your conduct and your compliance with these Terms.
You have complete responsibility for your account and everything that happens on your account, including any harm or damage (to us or anyone else) that someone causes using your account with or without your permission. This means you need to be careful with your password. You may not transfer your account to someone else or use someone else’s account without his or her permission. If you contact us to request access to an account, we will not grant you such access unless you can provide us the login credential information for that account. In the event of the death of a user, we will close the account of that user.
If you share your account login credentials with someone else, you are responsible for what happens with your account, and we will not intervene in disputes between students, parents, or instructors who have shared account login credentials. You must notify us immediately upon learning that someone else may be using your account without your permission (or if you suspect any other breach of security) by contacting our Support Team at LUOAStudentSupport@liberty.edu. We may request some information from you to confirm that you are indeed the owner of your account.
Registration Data
When you apply to LUOA and register for courses, you agree to: (a) provide true, accurate, current, and complete information about yourself (such information being the “Registration Data”) and (b) maintain and promptly update the Registration Data to keep it true, accurate, current, and complete. If you provide any information that is untrue, inaccurate, not current, or incomplete, or if LUOA has reasonable grounds to suspect that such information is untrue, inaccurate, not current, or incomplete, then LUOA has the right to suspend or terminate your account and/or refuse any and all current or future use of its Service.
Grant of Limited License
The Service and all associated materials we provide are the solely-owned or appropriately-licensed property of LUOA. We grant to you, and your listed users, a personal, revocable, limited, nonexclusive, and nontransferable license to use the Service on a single computer or smart device at a time conditioned upon your continued compliance with these Terms. We reserve all rights not granted in these Terms. You may use the licensed content in the Service during the applicable term solely for its educational use. We reserve and retain all applicable rights, titles, and interests (including but not limited to copyrights, patents, trademarks, service marks, and other intellectual property rights) in and to the Service and all associated materials. Any remuneration you pay for the Service and associated materials constitutes a license fee for the use of the Service and associated materials.
Copyright, trademark, and other laws of both the United States and foreign countries protect our platforms and Service. Nothing gives you a right to use the Liberty or LUOA name or any of the LUOA or Liberty trademarks, logos, domain names, or other distinctive brand features.
You also agree that:
- (a) You will not copy, reproduce, duplicate, translate, reverse engineer, adapt, decompile, disassemble, reverse assemble, modify, or alter the Service or any portion thereof without our prior written consent, except as provided for herein. You also will not merge or include the Service or any portion thereof with any computer program, nor create any derivative works or programs from the Service or any portion thereof, without our prior written consent.
- (b) You will submit in writing to the address listed at the bottom of this Agreement any requests for permission to reproduce, duplicate, adapt, or otherwise exploit any portion of the Service. We have the sole and exclusive discretion to grant any permissions.
- (c) You will not rent, lease, sell, assign, transfer, re-license, sub-license, or convey the Service or any part thereof for any purpose. Any attempted rental, lease, sale, assignment, transfer, re-license, sub-license, conveyance, gift, or other disposition of the Service in violation of this Agreement is null and void. Any act or failure to prevent an act in violation of this Agreement may result in civil and/or criminal prosecution.
- (d) This Agreement governs programs or software that entities other than us develop and/or own and that we include with or incorporate into the Service (“Third Party Software”). You will not use Third-Party Software for any purpose other than its intended use in conjunction with the Service.
We respect the intellectual property of others, and we ask our users to do the same. If you believe that there is any intellectual property infringement in the Service, please contact Liberty’s designated copyright agent, listed below. Only the copyright owner or its authorized representative may file a report of copyright infringement. If you believe that a work residing or accessible on or through the Service infringes a copyright, please notify us via email by providing us the following information:
- (a) a description of the copyrighted work together with a description of where the material is located (e.g., a URL or the like) or otherwise can be found;
- (b) your contact information (address, telephone number, and email) and your electronic or physical signature;
- (c) a statement that you have a good faith belief that the copyright owner or agent has not authorized the material you identified; and
- (d) a statement under penalty of perjury that the information you provided is accurate and that the copyright owner has authorized you to make the complaint on its behalf.
If you believe we are using your copyrighted material in the Service without your permission, please promptly notify the designated copyright agent.
Contact information for Liberty’s designated copyright agent for notice of claims of infringement is as follows:
Copyright Agent
Liberty University, Inc.
1971 University Blvd.
Lynchburg, VA 24515
dmca-email@liberty.edu
We may also take any appropriate action in the event we receive a proper counter-notice under the law.
Third-Party Sites and Content
The Service may contain, or may send you through or to, links to other websites (“Third Party Sites”) as well as articles, photographs, text, graphics, pictures, designs, music, sound, video, information, applications, software, and other content or items belonging to or originating from third parties (“Third Party Content”). We do not regularly check such Third Party Sites and Third Party Content for accuracy, appropriateness, or completeness, and we are not responsible for any Third Party Sites users access through the Service. We are also not responsible for any Third Party Content posted on, available through, or installed from the Service, including the content, accuracy, offensiveness, opinions, reliability, privacy practices, or other policies of or contained in the Third Party Sites or the Third Party Content. The mere fact that the Service includes, links to, or permits the use or installation of any Third Party Site or any Third Party Content does not imply that we approve or endorse those Third Party Sites or that Third Party Content. Although some computers may employ filtering software to prevent access to certain Third Party Sites, we shall have no responsibility or liability whatsoever for any Third Party Sites or Third Party Content users access through the Service.
Disclaimers
It may happen that our platform is down, either for planned maintenance or because something goes wrong with the site. It may also happen that we encounter security issues. These are just examples. You accept that you will not have any recourse against us in any of these and similar cases where our platform is down.
The Service and its content are provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis. We (and our affiliates, suppliers, partners, and agents) make no representations or warranties about the suitability, reliability, availability, timeliness, security, lack of errors, or accuracy of the Service or its content and expressly disclaim any warranties or conditions (express or implied), including implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title, and non-infringement. We (and our affiliates, suppliers, partners, and agents) make no warranty that you will obtain specific results from use of the Service. Your use of the Service (including any content) is entirely at your own risk. Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of implied warranties, so some of the above exclusions may not apply to you.
We may decide to cease making available certain features of the Service at any time and for any reason. Under no circumstances will we or our affiliates, suppliers, partners or agents be held liable for any damages due to such interruptions or lack of availability of such features. We are not responsible for delay or failure of our performance of the Service caused by events beyond our reasonable control, such as an act of war, hostility, or sabotage; natural disaster; electrical, internet, or telecommunication outage; or government restrictions.
Limitation of Liability
YOU FULLY ACCEPT THESE RISKS INHERENT IN USING THE SERVICE, AND YOU AGREE THAT YOU WILL HAVE NO RECOURSE TO SEEK DAMAGES AGAINST US EVEN IF YOU SUFFER LOSS OR DAMAGE FROM USING OUR PLATFORM AND SERVICE.
To the extent permitted by law, we (and our affiliates, employees, directors, suppliers, partners, and agents) will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, punitive, or consequential damages (including loss of data, revenue, profits, or business opportunities, or personal injury or death), whether arising in contract, warranty, tort, product liability, or otherwise, and even if we have been advised of the possibility of damages in advance.
In no event shall our total liability (and the liability of each of our affiliates, employees, directors, suppliers, partners, and agents) to you or any third parties under any circumstance connected with this Agreement exceed the greater of (i) one hundred dollars or (ii) the amount you have paid us in the twelve months before the event giving rise to your claims. Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of liability for consequential or incidental damages, so some of the above may not apply to you.
Controlling Law
The laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia (except for its conflicts of laws principles) interpret, govern, construe, and enforce these Terms and your use of the Service. All parties and all courts shall construe these Terms in a manner so as to conform to all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations.
Litigation in a federal or state court located in Lynchburg, Virginia will resolve any case or controversy arising out of or related to, either directly or indirectly, these Terms, or the business relationship between LUOA and the user. In the event of such litigation, neither LUOA nor the user will contest or challenge the jurisdiction or venue of these courts. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the user waives all questions of jurisdiction or venue for the purpose of carrying out this provision.
Entire Agreement
These Terms set forth terms governing your use of the Service and supersede and replace any other prior or contemporaneous agreements applicable to the subject matter of these Terms. These Terms create no third-party beneficiary rights. These Terms shall inure to the benefit of LUOA and its respective legal representatives, successors, and assigns.
Assignment & Severability
Our failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver of its right to do so later. You may not assign any of your rights under these Terms, and any such attempt will be void. We may assign our rights to any of its affiliates or subsidiaries or to any successor in interest of any business associated with the Service.
If a court of competent jurisdiction holds any provision of these Terms to be contrary to law, we shall change and interpret such provision so as to best accomplish the objectives of the original provision to the fullest extent allowed by law, and the remaining provisions of these Terms will remain in full force and effect.
Indemnification & Injunctive Relief
If you behave in a way that gets us in legal trouble, we may exercise legal recourse against you. You agree to indemnify and hold LUOA, Liberty, and its subsidiaries, affiliates, directors, officers, employees, agents, co-branders, and other partners harmless from and against all claims, causes of action, losses, fees, liabilities, damages, judgments, costs, and expenses, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, expert witness fees, court costs, and/or costs of appeal, in any action arising out of or related to enforcement of or a breach of this Agreement, and/or arising out of or related to the use or modification of any of the licensed content in the Service in violation of these Terms.
You acknowledge and agree that we would be damaged irreparably in the event you do not perform any of the provisions of these Terms in accordance with their specific terms or otherwise breach any of the provisions of these Terms. Accordingly, you agree that we shall be entitled to injunctive relief, in addition to any other remedies, to prevent breaches of the provisions of these Terms and to enforce specifically, without posting bond, this Agreement and the terms and provisions hereof.
Legal Actions and Notices
Neither LUOA nor the user may bring an action, regardless of form, arising out of or relating to this Agreement more than one year after the cause of action has accrued. Any time we give notice or otherwise communicate with the user hereunder, we will give it in writing and send it by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, or by email to the email associated with your account. Any time the user gives notice or otherwise communicates with us hereunder, the user agrees to give it in writing and send it by registered or certified mail return receipt requested or by email to LUOAStudentSupport@liberty.edu.