Please sign in or create an account. It's FREE and easy to join!
V 1.1—Effective on September 17, 2020
Our vision is to empower our community to improve authentic assessment, learner success, skills recognition, and lifelong learning.
Our mission is to connect assessment and education professionals to allow them to be more productive and successful.
Our passion is to empower our community with communities of practice-based collaboration opportunities for our community members by enabling you and many other professionals to meet, exchange ideas, learn, teach, collaborate and innovate in a network of trusted relationships.
AEFIS Academy is designed to promote communities of practice where everyone can learn, teach, collaborate, and innovate among the greatest minds and thought leaders in authentic assessment, learner success, skills recognition, and lifelong learning.
We’ve prepared these Terms of Service to facilitate participation in our community and to establish ground rules concerning collaboration and use of the resources available through AEFIS Academy. While you can and should read the actual Terms of Service by scrolling down or clicking [here], we’ve prepared this short summary of some of the more important points:
You are free to:
Under the following conditions:
With the understanding that:
Disclaimer: This summary is not a part of the Terms of Service and is not a legal document. It is simply a handy reference for understanding our Terms of Service. Think of it as the user-friendly interface to the legal language of our Terms of Service.
Welcome to AEFIS, INC! AEFIS provides our website www.aefisacademy.org (including all web pages, sub-domains, and sub-parts therein contained, the “Website”) as a service to our partners and community centered around communities of practice, collaboration, and help resources.
A. Your use of the Website any and all services (collectively, the “Services”) available on or through the Website or otherwise provided by AEFIS, INC and its affiliates (“AEFIS”) is subject to the following Terms of Service (“TOS”). Except as set forth herein, the Website and Services are owned and operated by AEFIS. The Website and Services are offered subject to your acceptance without modification of all of the terms and conditions contained herein and all other operating rules, policies, and procedures that may be published from time to time on the Website by AEFIS.
B. BY USING THE WEBSITE OR ACCESSING ANY PART OF THE SERVICES, YOU (“USER”) AGREE TO COMPLY WITH ALL OF THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS HEREOF AND ALL OTHER OPERATING RULES, POLICIES AND PROCEDURES THAT MAY BE PUBLISHED FROM TIME TO TIME ON THE WEBSITE BY AEFIS. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO ANY OF SUCH TERMS, CONDITIONS, RULES, POLICIES OR PROCEDURES, DO NOT USE OR ACCESS THE SERVICES. The right to use the Website and access the Services is personal to User and is not transferable to any other person or entity.
C. AEFIS shall have the right at any time to change or discontinue any aspect or feature of the Website or the Services, including, but not limited to, content, and equipment needed for access or use and shall not be liable to you or any third party for exercising such right.
AEFIS shall have the right at any time to change or modify this TOS or other terms and conditions applicable to User’s use of the Website or access to the Services or any part thereof, or to impose new conditions, including, but not limited to, adding fees and charges for use. It is your responsibility to check this TOS periodically for changes. Your continued use of the Services following the posting of any changes to this TOS constitutes acceptance of those changes. If any change to this TOS is not acceptable to you, your sole remedy is to cease accessing and otherwise using the Services.
User shall be responsible for obtaining and maintaining all Internet connectivity, hardware, software and other equipment needed for access to and use of the Website, the Services and all charges related thereto.
A. User shall use the Website and Services for lawful purposes only. User shall not post or transmit through the Website any material, without AEFIS’s express prior approval, which contains advertising or any solicitation with respect to products or services and User shall not use the Website to advertise or perform any commercial solicitation, including, but not limited to, the solicitation of users to become subscribers of other on-line information services competitive with AEFIS.
B. You agree that all material, including without limitation, information, data, software, text, design elements, graphics, images, video, sound and other content (collectively, “Content”), contained in or delivered via the Website or otherwise made available by AEFIS in connection with the Website or the Services excluding Community Content (collectively, “Site Content”) is owned by AEFIS and its licensors. The Site Content is protected under the United States copyright laws. User may not modify, publish, transmit, participate in the transfer or sale, create derivative works, or in any way exploit, any of the Site Content, in whole or in part. Except as otherwise expressly permitted under copyright law, no copying, redistribution, retransmission, publication or commercial exploitation of downloaded material will be permitted without the express permission of AEFIS and the copyright owner. In the event of any permitted copying, redistribution or publication of Site Content, You shall not change or delete any author attribution, trademark legend, or copyright notice. User acknowledges that it does not acquire any ownership rights in the Website, the Services or Site Content.
C. User shall not upload, post or otherwise make available on the Website any material protected by copyright, trademark or other proprietary right without the express permission of the owner of the copyright, trademark or other proprietary right and the burden of determining that any material is not protected by copyright rests with User. User shall be solely liable for any damage resulting from any infringement of copyrights, proprietary rights, or any other harm resulting from such a submission.
D. Community Content: For any Content that you make available on the Website (“Community Content”) (a) if you are the owner of such Community Content, you hereby license such Community Content to AEFIS and the public under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 License located at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/legalcode and may be used under the terms of that license or any later version of thereof, or (b) such Community Content is in the public domain (such as Content that is not copyrightable or Content you make available under CC0), or (c) if not owned by you, (i) is available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 License or (ii) is available under any more permissive Creative Commons license or (iii) you are authorized by law to post or share through any of the Services, such as under the fair use doctrine, and that is prominently marked as being subject to third party copyright. All Community Content must be appropriately marked with licensing (or other permission status such as fair use) and attribution information.
E. You represent and warrant that you have all the rights, power, authority and authorization necessary to contribute, provide and make available to AEFIS and others the Community Content and to grant the licenses provided herein, that the Community Content complies with all applicable laws and regulations (foreign and domestic) and (iii) that you have all authorizations, consents, approvals and have made all disclosures required to provide the Community Content as provided in this TOS.
F. You agree that if you include a link from any other website to the Website, such link shall open in a new browser window. You agree not to link from any other website to this Website in any manner such that the Website, or any page of the Website, is “framed,” surrounded or obfuscated by any third party content, materials or branding. We reserve the right to revoke your right to link to the Website from the other website at any time upon written notice to you.
G. The foregoing provisions of Section 4 are for the benefit of AEFIS and its third-party content providers and licensors and each shall have the right to assert and enforce such provisions directly or on its own behalf.
AEFIS hereby grants you a non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-assignable, non-sublicensable, revocable right to access and use the Services solely (i) in compliance with this TOS, and (ii) to the extent permitted under all applicable laws and regulations (foreign and domestic). Notwithstanding the foregoing, you shall not, and shall not permit anyone else to, directly or indirectly: (i) modify, reproduce, distribute, scrape, frame or create derivatives of any part of the Website, Services or Site Content; (ii) reverse engineer, disassemble, decompile or otherwise attempt to discover the source code or structure, sequence and organization of all or any part of the Website or Services (except as permitted by applicable law); (iii) rent, lease, resell, distribute or use the Website or Services for timesharing or as a service bureau; (iv) remove or alter any proprietary notices or labels on or in the Services or Site Content; or (v) engage in any activity not otherwise permitted by this TOS or AEFIS’s policies.
The Website may contain email services, bulletin board services, chat areas, news groups, forums, communities, and/or other message or communication facilities designed to enable User to communicate with others. User agrees to use such Services only to post, send and receive messages and material that are proper. By way of example, and not as a limitation, User agrees that when using the Website or Services, User will not:
AEFIS shall have the right, but not the obligation, to monitor the content of the Website, including chat rooms and forums, to determine compliance with this TOS and any operating rules established by AEFIS. AEFIS reserves the right to review materials and content posted to the Website and to remove any materials in its sole discretion. AEFIS reserves the right to terminate User’s access to any or all of the Website or Services at any time, without notice, for any reason whatsoever. AEFIS reserves the right at all times to disclose any information as it deems necessary to satisfy any applicable law, regulation, legal process or governmental request, or to edit, refuse to post or to remove any information or materials, in whole or in part, in AEFIS’s sole discretion. Materials uploaded to the Website may be subject to posted limitations on usage, reproduction and/or dissemination; User is responsible for adhering to such limitations if User downloads the materials. You understand that the technical processing and transmission of the Services, including the materials may involve (i) transmissions over or storage using various networks; and/or (ii) changes to conform and adapt to technical requirements of connecting networks or devices.
Always use caution when giving out any personally identifiable information while using the Website or Services. AEFIS does not control or endorse the content, messages or information provided by other users and, therefore, AEFIS specifically disclaims any liability with regard to such content, messages or information and any actions resulting from User’s participation in any part of the Website or access to the Services.
If any portion of the Website requires User to open an account, User must complete the registration process by providing AEFIS with current, complete and accurate information as prompted by the applicable registration form and maintain and promptly update the information to keep it true, accurate, current and complete. If you provide any information that is untrue, inaccurate, not current or incomplete, or AEFIS has reasonable grounds to suspect that such information is untrue, inaccurate, not current or incomplete, AEFIS has the right to suspend or terminate or refuse any and all of your current or future use of the Services (or any portion thereof) immediately and without notice to you. The information may be used by AEFIS in accordance with the Privacy Notice (as defined herein). TO USE THE SERVICES, YOU MUST BE AT LEAST 18 YEARS OF AGE, OR THE LEGAL AGE OF MAJORITY WHERE YOU RESIDE IF THAT JURISDICTION HAS AN OLDER AGE OF MAJORITY.
User also will choose a password and a user name. User is entirely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of User’s password and account. Furthermore, User is entirely responsible for any and all activities that occur under User’s account, whether by User or a third party and whether or not authorized by user. User agrees to notify AEFIS immediately of any unauthorized use of User’s account or any other breach of security. AEFIS will not be liable for any loss that User may incur as a result of someone else using User’s password or account, either with or without User’s knowledge. However, User could be held liable for losses incurred by AEFIS or another party due to someone else using User’s account or password. User may not use anyone else’s account at any time and may not share User’s account.
Recognizing the global nature of the Internet, you agree to comply with all local rules regarding online conduct and acceptable Content and your use of the Website and the Services. By way of example and not of limitation, you agree to comply with all applicable laws and regulations (foreign and domestic) regarding the transmission of technical data exported from the United States or the country in which you reside. In addition, the Services may be subject to United States export controls. No part of the Services may be exported or re-exported into, or to a national or resident of, any country to which the U.S. has embargoed goods and/or services of the same type as the Services. By using the Services or any part thereof, you represent and warrant that you are not located in, and you are not a national or resident of, any such country. Further, no part of the Services may be exported or re-exported to any person or entity appearing on the Office of Foreign Assets Control’s Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List or the Bureau of Industry and Security’s Denied Persons List. By using the Services or any part thereof, you represent and warrant that you are not a person or entity or under the control of or affiliated with a person or entity that appears on any such list.
A. USER EXPRESSLY AGREES THAT USE OF THE WEBSITE AND SERVICES IS AT USER’S SOLE RISK. NEITHER AEFIS NOR ANY OF ITS RESPECTIVE MEMBERS, MANAGERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, THIRD-PARTY CONTENT PROVIDERS OR LICENSORS WARRANT THAT USE OF THE WEBSITE OR SERVICES WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR FREE; NOR DO THEY MAKE ANY WARRANTY AS TO THE RESULTS THAT MAY BE OBTAINED FROM USE OF THE WEBSITE OR SERVICES OR AS TO THE ACCURACY, RELIABILITY OR CONTENT OF ANY INFORMATION SERVICE PROVIDED THROUGH THE WEBSITE.
B. USER EXPRESSLY AGREES THAT NEITHER AEFIS NOR ANY OF ITS RESPECTIVE MEMBERS, MANAGERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, THIRD PARTY CONTENT PROVIDERS OR LICENSORS SHALL BE LIABLE FOR ANY TERMINATION OF USER’S RIGHT TO USE OR OTHERWISE ACCESS THE WEBSITE OR THE SERVICES.
C. THE WEBSITE AND SERVICES ARE PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” BASIS WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, WARRANTIES OF TITLE OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, ALL OF WHICH ARE HEREBY DISCLAIMED, OTHER THAN THOSE WARRANTIES WHICH ARE IMPLIED BY AND INCAPABLE OF EXCLUSION, RESTRICTION OR MODIFICATION UNDER THE LAWS APPLICABLE TO THIS AGREEMENT.
D. THIS DISCLAIMER OF LIABILITY APPLIES TO ANY DAMAGES OR INJURY CAUSED BY ANY FAILURE OF PERFORMANCE, ERROR, OMISSION, INTERRUPTION, DELETION, DEFECT, DELAY IN OPERATION OR TRANSMISSION, COMPUTER VIRUS, COMMUNICATION LINE FAILURE, THEFT OR DESTRUCTION OR UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO, ALTERATION OF, OR USE OF RECORD, WHETHER FOR BREACH OF CONTRACT, TORTIOUS BEHAVIOR, NEGLIGENCE, OR UNDER ANY OTHER CAUSE OF ACTION. USER SPECIFICALLY ACKNOWLEDGES THAT AEFIS IS NOT LIABLE FOR THE DEFAMATORY, OFFENSIVE OR ILLEGAL CONDUCT OF OTHER USERS OR THIRD-PARTIES AND THAT THE RISK OF INJURY FROM THE FOREGOING RESTS ENTIRELY WITH USER.
E. IN NO EVENT WILL AEFIS OR ANY OF ITS RESPECTIVE MEMBERS, MANAGERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, THIRD PARTY CONTENT PROVIDERS OR LICENSORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE DAMAGES, LOSS OF PROFITS, GOODWILL, USE, DATA OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES (EVEN IF AEFIS HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES), THE COST TO PROCURE SUBSTITUTE SERVICES OR ANY OTHER MATTER OUTSIDE THE REASONABLE CONTROL OF AEFIS ARISING OUT OF THIS AGREEMENT, THE SERVICES OR THE WEBSITE. USER HEREBY ACKNOWLEDGES THAT THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SECTION SHALL APPLY TO ALL CONTENT ON THE WEBSITE. THE FOREGOING LIMITATIONS SHALL NOT APPLY TO THE EXTENT PROHIBITED BY APPLICABLE LAW. THE LIABILITY OF AEFIS UNDER THESE TOS SHALL NOT EXCEED $100.
F. FORCE MAJEURE – AEFIS WILL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY FAILURE OR DELAY IN PERFORMANCE DUE TO CIRCUMSTANCES BEYOND ITS REASONABLE CONTROL, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ACTS OF GOD, ACTS OF STATE OR FEDERAL AUTHORITIES, WAR, RIOT, TERRORISM, CRIMINAL ACTS, EMBARGOES, ACTS OF CIVIL OR MILITARY AUTHORITIES, FIRE, FLOODS, ACCIDENTS, SERVICE OUTAGES RESULTING FROM EQUIPMENT AND/OR SOFTWARE FAILURE AND/OR TELECOMMUNICATIONS FAILURES, POWER FAILURES, NETWORK FAILURES, FAILURES OF THIRD PARTY SERVICE PROVIDERS (INCLUDING PROVIDERS OF INTERNET SERVICES AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS), HACKING, VIRUSES, OR DENIAL OF SERVICE ATTACKS.
G. IN CONSIDERATION OF BEING PERMITTED TO ACCESS AND USE THE WEBSITE AND THE SERVICES, YOU HEREBY AGREE TO RELEASE AEFIS AND ITS MEMBERS, MANAGERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, THIRD PARTY CONTENT PROVIDERS OR LICENSORS FROM ALL DAMAGES (WHETHER DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR OTHERWISE), LOSSES, LIABILITIES, COSTS AND EXPENSES OF EVERY KIND AND NATURE, KNOWN AND UNKNOWN, ARISING OUT OF OR IN ANY WAY CONNECTED WITH DISPUTES BETWEEN YOU AND THIRD PARTIES (INCLUDING OTHER AEFIS CUSTOMERS OR END USERS) IN CONNECTION WITH THE SERVICES, YOUR ACCESS AND USE OF THE SERVICES, OR ANY EVENTS LISTED THEREON.
User agrees to defend, indemnify and hold harmless AEFIS and its respective members, managers, directors, officers, employees and agents from and against all claims, damages, losses, liability, costs and expenses, including attorneys’ fees, arising out of or resulting from any claim, demand, suit, proceeding (whether before an arbitrator, court, mediator or otherwise), investigation or settlement made by any third party (each a “Claim”) due to or arising out of your use of, contribution to or connection with the Website or the Services, your violation of this TOS or any of AEFIS’s policies, including your violation of any rights of another. AEFIS reserves the right to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter which is subject to indemnification under this Section, and in such case, you agree to cooperate with all reasonable requests in assisting AEFIS’s defense of such matter.
All information provided by you or collected by AEFIS in connection with the Website or Services is governed by AEFIS’s privacy notice (“Privacy Notice”), a copy of which is located at https://www.aefisacademy.org/privacy, which is hereby incorporated by reference into and made a part of this TOS. AEFIS strongly recommends that you review the Privacy Notice carefully.
Notices to you may be made via either e-mail or United States mail to the address below. You hereby consent to receiving notice via e-mail. The Website may also provide notices of changes to this TOS or other matters by displaying notices or links to notices to you generally on the Website. Any notice from you to us shall be sent in writing to our mailing address at AEFIS, INC, 1429 Walnut Street, 10th Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19102.
PLEASE READ THIS SECTION CAREFULLY. IT AFFECTS YOUR RIGHTS AND WILL HAVE A SUBSTANTIAL IMPACT ON HOW CLAIMS YOU AND AEFIS HAVE AGAINST EACH OTHER ARE RESOLVED.
You and AEFIS agree that any claim or dispute at law or equity that has arisen, or may arise, between you and AEFIS (including any claim or dispute between you and a third-party agent of AEFIS) that relates in any way to or arises out of this or future versions of these TOS, your use of or access to the Website and Services, or the actions of AEFIS or its agents will be resolved in accordance with the provisions set forth in this Section.
A. Applicable Law. You agree that, except to the extent inconsistent with or preempted by federal law, the laws of the State of Delaware, without regard to principles of conflict of laws, will govern this Agreement and any claim or dispute that has arisen or may arise between you and AEFIS, except as otherwise stated in this Agreement.
B. Agreement to Arbitrate. You and AEFIS each agree that any and all disputes or claims that have arisen, or may arise, between you and AEFIS (including any disputes or claims between you and a third-party agent of AEFIS) that relate in any way to or arise out of this Agreement, your use of or access to the Website or Services, the actions of AEFIS or its agents, or any products or services offered through the Services shall be resolved exclusively through final and binding arbitration, rather than in court. Alternatively, you may assert your claims in small claims court, if your claims qualify and so long as the matter remains in such court and advances only on an individual (non-class, non-representative) basis. The Federal Arbitration Act governs the interpretation and enforcement of this Agreement to Arbitrate.
C. Prohibition of Class and Representative Actions and Non-Individualized Relief. YOU AND AEFIS AGREE THAT EACH OF US MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS, OR REPRESENTATIVE OR PRIVATE ATTORNEY GENERAL ACTION OR PROCEEDING. UNLESS BOTH YOU AND AEFIS AGREE OTHERWISE, THE ARBITRATOR MAY NOT CONSOLIDATE OR JOIN MORE THAN ONE PERSON’S OR PARTY’S CLAIMS, AND MAY NOT OTHERWISE PRESIDE OVER ANY FORM OF A CONSOLIDATED, REPRESENTATIVE, CLASS, OR PRIVATE ATTORNEY GENERAL ACTION OR PROCEEDING. ALSO, THE ARBITRATOR MAY AWARD RELIEF (INCLUDING MONETARY, INJUNCTIVE, AND DECLARATORY RELIEF) ONLY IN FAVOR OF THE INDIVIDUAL PARTY SEEKING RELIEF AND ONLY TO THE EXTENT NECESSARY TO PROVIDE RELIEF NECESSITATED BY THAT PARTY’S INDIVIDUAL CLAIM(S). ANY RELIEF AWARDED CANNOT AFFECT OTHER USERS. If a court decides that applicable law precludes enforcement of any of this paragraph’s limitations as to a particular claim for relief, then that claim (and only that claim) must be severed from the arbitration and may be brought in court, subject to your and AEFIS’ right to appeal the court’s decision. All other claims will be arbitrated.
D. Arbitration Procedures. Arbitration is more informal than a lawsuit in court. Arbitration uses a neutral arbitrator instead of a judge or jury, and court review of an arbitration award is very limited. However, an arbitrator can award the same damages and relief on an individual basis that a court can award to an individual. An arbitrator should apply the terms of this Agreement as a court would. All issues are for the arbitrator to decide, except that issues relating to arbitrability, the scope or enforceability of this Agreement to Arbitrate, or the interpretation of the portion of this Agreement entitled “Prohibition of Class and Representative Actions and Non-Individualized Relief”, shall be for a court of competent jurisdiction to decide.
The arbitration will be conducted by the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) under its rules and procedures, including the AAA’s Consumer Arbitration Rules (as applicable), as modified by this Agreement. The AAA’s rules are available at www.adr.org or by calling the AAA at 1-800-778-7879. The use of the word “arbitrator” in this provision shall not be construed to prohibit more than one arbitrator from presiding over an arbitration; rather, the AAA’s rules will govern the number of arbitrators that may preside over an arbitration conducted under this Agreement.
A party who intends to seek arbitration must first send to the other, by certified mail, a Notice of Dispute (“Notice”). The Notice to AEFIS should be sent to AEFIS at the address set forth in the Notice section above. AEFIS will send any Notice to you to the physical address we have on file associated with your AEFIS account; it is your responsibility to keep your physical address up to date.
If you and AEFIS are unable to resolve the claims described in the Notice within 30 days after the Notice is sent, you or AEFIS may initiate arbitration proceedings. A form for initiating arbitration proceedings is available on the AAA’s site at www.adr.org. In addition to filing this form with the AAA in accordance with its rules and procedures, the party initiating the arbitration must mail a copy of the completed form to the opposing party. You may send a copy to AEFIS at the address set forth in the Notice section above. In the event AEFIS initiates an arbitration against you, it will send a copy of the completed form to the physical address we have on file associated with your AEFIS account. Any settlement offer made by you or AEFIS shall not be disclosed to the arbitrator.
The arbitration hearing shall be held in the county in which you reside or at another mutually agreed location. If the value of the relief sought is $10,000 or less, you or AEFIS may elect to have the arbitration conducted by telephone or based solely on written submissions, which election shall be binding on you and AEFIS subject to the arbitrator’s discretion to require an in-person hearing, if the circumstances warrant. In cases where an in-person hearing is held, you and/or AEFIS may attend by telephone, unless the arbitrator requires otherwise.
The arbitrator will decide the substance of all claims in accordance with applicable law, including recognized principles of equity, and will honor all claims of privilege recognized by law. The arbitrator shall not be bound by rulings in prior arbitrations involving different users, but is bound by rulings in prior arbitrations involving the same AEFIS user to the extent required by applicable law. The arbitrator’s award shall be final and binding and judgment on the award rendered by the arbitrator may be entered in any court having jurisdiction thereof.
E. Costs of Arbitration. Payment of all filing, administration and arbitrator fees will be governed by the AAA’s rules, unless otherwise stated in this Agreement.
F. Severability. With the exception of any of the provisions in the Section entitled “Prohibition of Class and Representative Actions and Non-Individualized Relief”, if an arbitrator or court decides that any part of this Agreement to Arbitrate is invalid or unenforceable, the other parts of this Agreement shall still apply.
G. Future Amendments to this Section. Notwithstanding any provision in the Agreement to the contrary, you and we agree that if we make any amendment to this Legal Disputes Section (other than an amendment to any notice address or site link provided herein) in the future, that amendment shall not apply to any claim that was filed in a legal proceeding against AEFIS prior to the effective date of the amendment. The amendment shall apply to all other disputes or claims governed by this Agreement that have arisen or may arise between you and AEFIS. We will notify you of amendments to this Agreement by posting the amended terms on www.aefis.com at least 30 days before the effective date of the amendments and by providing notice through email. If you do not agree to these amended terms, you may close your account within the 30-day period and you will not be bound by the amended terms.
H. Judicial Forum for Legal Disputes. Unless you and we agree otherwise, in the event that the Legal Disputes section above is found not to apply to you or to a particular claim or dispute, either as a result of your decision to opt out of the Agreement or as a result of a decision by the arbitrator or a court order, you agree that any claim or dispute that has arisen or may arise between you and AEFIS must be resolved exclusively by a state or federal court located in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. You and AEFIS agree to submit to the personal jurisdiction of the courts located within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for the purpose of litigating all such claims or disputes.
I. You agree that regardless of any statute or law to the contrary, any claim or cause of action by you arising out of or related to use of the Services or these TOS must be filed within one (1) year after such claim or cause of action arose or be forever barred.
A. This TOS, the Privacy Notice, and any operating rules established by AEFIS constitute the entire agreement of the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof, and supersede all previous written or oral agreements between the parties with respect to such subject matter.
B. No waiver by either party of any breach or default hereunder shall be deemed to be a waiver of any preceding or subsequent breach or default.
C. The section headings used herein are for convenience only and shall not be given any legal import.
D. If any provision of this TOS is found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, the parties nevertheless agree that the arbitrator or court should endeavor to give effect to the parties’ intentions as reflected in the provision, and the other provisions of this TOS shall remain in full force and effect.
AEFIS, the AEFIS logo, AEFIS Academy, and the AEFIS Academy logo are trademarks of AEFIS, INC. Other company, product, and service names used in connection with the Website or Services may be trademarks or service marks owned by third parties (the “Third-Party Trademarks”, and, collectively with AEFIS’s trademarks, the “Trademarks”). Access to the Website and the offering of the Services shall not be construed as granting, by implication, estoppel, or otherwise, any license or right to use any Trademark displayed on the Website or in connection with the Services without the prior written consent of AEFIS specific for each such use. The Trademarks may not be used to disparage AEFIS, any third party or AEFIS’s products or services, or in any manner (in AEFIS’s sole judgment) that may damage any goodwill in the Trademarks. Use of any Trademarks as part of a link to or from any site is prohibited unless AEFIS approves the establishment of such a link by prior written consent specific for each such link. All goodwill generated from the use of any of AEFIS’s trademarks shall inure to AEFIS’s benefit.
© Copyright 2021 – AEFIS, INC. All rights reserved. All other trademarks appearing on the Website are the property of their respective owners.
Our website address is: https://www.aefisacademy.org.
When visitors leave comments on the site we collect the data shown in the comments form, and also the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string to help spam detection.
An anonymized string created from your email address (also called a hash) may be provided to the Gravatar service to see if you are using it. The Gravatar service privacy policy is available here: https://automattic.com/privacy/. After approval of your comment, your profile picture is visible to the public in the context of your comment.
If you upload images to the website, you should avoid uploading images with embedded location data (EXIF GPS) included. Visitors to the website can download and extract any location data from images on the website.
If you leave a comment on our site you may opt-in to saving your name, email address and website in cookies. These are for your convenience so that you do not have to fill in your details again when you leave another comment. These cookies will last for one year.
If you visit our login page, we will set a temporary cookie to determine if your browser accepts cookies. This cookie contains no personal data and is discarded when you close your browser.
When you log in, we will also set up several cookies to save your login information and your screen display choices. Login cookies last for two days, and screen options cookies last for a year. If you select “Remember Me”, your login will persist for two weeks. If you log out of your account, the login cookies will be removed.
If you edit or publish an article, an additional cookie will be saved in your browser. This cookie includes no personal data and simply indicates the post ID of the article you just edited. It expires after 1 day.
Articles on this site may include embedded content (e.g. videos, images, articles, etc.). Embedded content from other websites behaves in the exact same way as if the visitor has visited the other website.
These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with that embedded content, including tracking your interaction with the embedded content if you have an account and are logged in to that website.
If you leave a comment, the comment and its metadata are retained indefinitely. This is so we can recognize and approve any follow-up comments automatically instead of holding them in a moderation queue.
For users that register on our website (if any), we also store the personal information they provide in their user profile. All users can see, edit, or delete their personal information at any time (except they cannot change their username). Website administrators can also see and edit that information.
If you have an account on this site, or have left comments, you can request to receive an exported file of the personal data we hold about you, including any data you have provided to us. You can also request that we erase any personal data we hold about you. This does not include any data we are obliged to keep for administrative, legal, or security purposes.
Visitor comments may be checked through an automated spam detection service.
By logging in, you are agreeing to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
V 1.1—Effective on September 17, 2020
Our vision is to empower our community to improve authentic assessment, learner success, skills recognition, and lifelong learning.
Our mission is to connect assessment and education professionals to allow them to be more productive and successful.
Our passion is to empower our community with communities of practice-based collaboration opportunities for our community members by enabling you and many other professionals to meet, exchange ideas, learn, teach, collaborate and innovate in a network of trusted relationships.
AEFIS Academy is designed to promote communities of practice where everyone can learn, teach, collaborate, and innovate among the greatest minds and thought leaders in authentic assessment, learner success, skills recognition, and lifelong learning.
We’ve prepared these Terms of Service to facilitate participation in our community and to establish ground rules concerning collaboration and use of the resources available through AEFIS Academy. While you can and should read the actual Terms of Service by scrolling down or clicking [here], we’ve prepared this short summary of some of the more important points:
You are free to:
Under the following conditions:
With the understanding that:
Disclaimer: This summary is not a part of the Terms of Service and is not a legal document. It is simply a handy reference for understanding our Terms of Service. Think of it as the user-friendly interface to the legal language of our Terms of Service.
Welcome to AEFIS, INC! AEFIS provides our website www.aefisacademy.org (including all web pages, sub-domains, and sub-parts therein contained, the “Website”) as a service to our partners and community centered around communities of practice, collaboration, and help resources.
A. Your use of the Website any and all services (collectively, the “Services”) available on or through the Website or otherwise provided by AEFIS, INC and its affiliates (“AEFIS”) is subject to the following Terms of Service (“TOS”). Except as set forth herein, the Website and Services are owned and operated by AEFIS. The Website and Services are offered subject to your acceptance without modification of all of the terms and conditions contained herein and all other operating rules, policies, and procedures that may be published from time to time on the Website by AEFIS.
B. BY USING THE WEBSITE OR ACCESSING ANY PART OF THE SERVICES, YOU (“USER”) AGREE TO COMPLY WITH ALL OF THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS HEREOF AND ALL OTHER OPERATING RULES, POLICIES AND PROCEDURES THAT MAY BE PUBLISHED FROM TIME TO TIME ON THE WEBSITE BY AEFIS. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO ANY OF SUCH TERMS, CONDITIONS, RULES, POLICIES OR PROCEDURES, DO NOT USE OR ACCESS THE SERVICES. The right to use the Website and access the Services is personal to User and is not transferable to any other person or entity.
C. AEFIS shall have the right at any time to change or discontinue any aspect or feature of the Website or the Services, including, but not limited to, content, and equipment needed for access or use and shall not be liable to you or any third party for exercising such right.
AEFIS shall have the right at any time to change or modify this TOS or other terms and conditions applicable to User’s use of the Website or access to the Services or any part thereof, or to impose new conditions, including, but not limited to, adding fees and charges for use. It is your responsibility to check this TOS periodically for changes. Your continued use of the Services following the posting of any changes to this TOS constitutes acceptance of those changes. If any change to this TOS is not acceptable to you, your sole remedy is to cease accessing and otherwise using the Services.
User shall be responsible for obtaining and maintaining all Internet connectivity, hardware, software and other equipment needed for access to and use of the Website, the Services and all charges related thereto.
A. User shall use the Website and Services for lawful purposes only. User shall not post or transmit through the Website any material, without AEFIS’s express prior approval, which contains advertising or any solicitation with respect to products or services and User shall not use the Website to advertise or perform any commercial solicitation, including, but not limited to, the solicitation of users to become subscribers of other on-line information services competitive with AEFIS.
B. You agree that all material, including without limitation, information, data, software, text, design elements, graphics, images, video, sound and other content (collectively, “Content”), contained in or delivered via the Website or otherwise made available by AEFIS in connection with the Website or the Services excluding Community Content (collectively, “Site Content”) is owned by AEFIS and its licensors. The Site Content is protected under the United States copyright laws. User may not modify, publish, transmit, participate in the transfer or sale, create derivative works, or in any way exploit, any of the Site Content, in whole or in part. Except as otherwise expressly permitted under copyright law, no copying, redistribution, retransmission, publication or commercial exploitation of downloaded material will be permitted without the express permission of AEFIS and the copyright owner. In the event of any permitted copying, redistribution or publication of Site Content, You shall not change or delete any author attribution, trademark legend, or copyright notice. User acknowledges that it does not acquire any ownership rights in the Website, the Services or Site Content.
C. User shall not upload, post or otherwise make available on the Website any material protected by copyright, trademark or other proprietary right without the express permission of the owner of the copyright, trademark or other proprietary right and the burden of determining that any material is not protected by copyright rests with User. User shall be solely liable for any damage resulting from any infringement of copyrights, proprietary rights, or any other harm resulting from such a submission.
D. Community Content: For any Content that you make available on the Website (“Community Content”) (a) if you are the owner of such Community Content, you hereby license such Community Content to AEFIS and the public under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 License located at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/legalcode and may be used under the terms of that license or any later version of thereof, or (b) such Community Content is in the public domain (such as Content that is not copyrightable or Content you make available under CC0), or (c) if not owned by you, (i) is available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 License or (ii) is available under any more permissive Creative Commons license or (iii) you are authorized by law to post or share through any of the Services, such as under the fair use doctrine, and that is prominently marked as being subject to third party copyright. All Community Content must be appropriately marked with licensing (or other permission status such as fair use) and attribution information.
E. You represent and warrant that you have all the rights, power, authority and authorization necessary to contribute, provide and make available to AEFIS and others the Community Content and to grant the licenses provided herein, that the Community Content complies with all applicable laws and regulations (foreign and domestic) and (iii) that you have all authorizations, consents, approvals and have made all disclosures required to provide the Community Content as provided in this TOS.
F. You agree that if you include a link from any other website to the Website, such link shall open in a new browser window. You agree not to link from any other website to this Website in any manner such that the Website, or any page of the Website, is “framed,” surrounded or obfuscated by any third party content, materials or branding. We reserve the right to revoke your right to link to the Website from the other website at any time upon written notice to you.
G. The foregoing provisions of Section 4 are for the benefit of AEFIS and its third-party content providers and licensors and each shall have the right to assert and enforce such provisions directly or on its own behalf.
AEFIS hereby grants you a non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-assignable, non-sublicensable, revocable right to access and use the Services solely (i) in compliance with this TOS, and (ii) to the extent permitted under all applicable laws and regulations (foreign and domestic). Notwithstanding the foregoing, you shall not, and shall not permit anyone else to, directly or indirectly: (i) modify, reproduce, distribute, scrape, frame or create derivatives of any part of the Website, Services or Site Content; (ii) reverse engineer, disassemble, decompile or otherwise attempt to discover the source code or structure, sequence and organization of all or any part of the Website or Services (except as permitted by applicable law); (iii) rent, lease, resell, distribute or use the Website or Services for timesharing or as a service bureau; (iv) remove or alter any proprietary notices or labels on or in the Services or Site Content; or (v) engage in any activity not otherwise permitted by this TOS or AEFIS’s policies.
The Website may contain email services, bulletin board services, chat areas, news groups, forums, communities, and/or other message or communication facilities designed to enable User to communicate with others. User agrees to use such Services only to post, send and receive messages and material that are proper. By way of example, and not as a limitation, User agrees that when using the Website or Services, User will not:
AEFIS shall have the right, but not the obligation, to monitor the content of the Website, including chat rooms and forums, to determine compliance with this TOS and any operating rules established by AEFIS. AEFIS reserves the right to review materials and content posted to the Website and to remove any materials in its sole discretion. AEFIS reserves the right to terminate User’s access to any or all of the Website or Services at any time, without notice, for any reason whatsoever. AEFIS reserves the right at all times to disclose any information as it deems necessary to satisfy any applicable law, regulation, legal process or governmental request, or to edit, refuse to post or to remove any information or materials, in whole or in part, in AEFIS’s sole discretion. Materials uploaded to the Website may be subject to posted limitations on usage, reproduction and/or dissemination; User is responsible for adhering to such limitations if User downloads the materials. You understand that the technical processing and transmission of the Services, including the materials may involve (i) transmissions over or storage using various networks; and/or (ii) changes to conform and adapt to technical requirements of connecting networks or devices.
Always use caution when giving out any personally identifiable information while using the Website or Services. AEFIS does not control or endorse the content, messages or information provided by other users and, therefore, AEFIS specifically disclaims any liability with regard to such content, messages or information and any actions resulting from User’s participation in any part of the Website or access to the Services.
If any portion of the Website requires User to open an account, User must complete the registration process by providing AEFIS with current, complete and accurate information as prompted by the applicable registration form and maintain and promptly update the information to keep it true, accurate, current and complete. If you provide any information that is untrue, inaccurate, not current or incomplete, or AEFIS has reasonable grounds to suspect that such information is untrue, inaccurate, not current or incomplete, AEFIS has the right to suspend or terminate or refuse any and all of your current or future use of the Services (or any portion thereof) immediately and without notice to you. The information may be used by AEFIS in accordance with the Privacy Notice (as defined herein). TO USE THE SERVICES, YOU MUST BE AT LEAST 18 YEARS OF AGE, OR THE LEGAL AGE OF MAJORITY WHERE YOU RESIDE IF THAT JURISDICTION HAS AN OLDER AGE OF MAJORITY.
User also will choose a password and a user name. User is entirely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of User’s password and account. Furthermore, User is entirely responsible for any and all activities that occur under User’s account, whether by User or a third party and whether or not authorized by user. User agrees to notify AEFIS immediately of any unauthorized use of User’s account or any other breach of security. AEFIS will not be liable for any loss that User may incur as a result of someone else using User’s password or account, either with or without User’s knowledge. However, User could be held liable for losses incurred by AEFIS or another party due to someone else using User’s account or password. User may not use anyone else’s account at any time and may not share User’s account.
Recognizing the global nature of the Internet, you agree to comply with all local rules regarding online conduct and acceptable Content and your use of the Website and the Services. By way of example and not of limitation, you agree to comply with all applicable laws and regulations (foreign and domestic) regarding the transmission of technical data exported from the United States or the country in which you reside. In addition, the Services may be subject to United States export controls. No part of the Services may be exported or re-exported into, or to a national or resident of, any country to which the U.S. has embargoed goods and/or services of the same type as the Services. By using the Services or any part thereof, you represent and warrant that you are not located in, and you are not a national or resident of, any such country. Further, no part of the Services may be exported or re-exported to any person or entity appearing on the Office of Foreign Assets Control’s Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List or the Bureau of Industry and Security’s Denied Persons List. By using the Services or any part thereof, you represent and warrant that you are not a person or entity or under the control of or affiliated with a person or entity that appears on any such list.
A. USER EXPRESSLY AGREES THAT USE OF THE WEBSITE AND SERVICES IS AT USER’S SOLE RISK. NEITHER AEFIS NOR ANY OF ITS RESPECTIVE MEMBERS, MANAGERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, THIRD-PARTY CONTENT PROVIDERS OR LICENSORS WARRANT THAT USE OF THE WEBSITE OR SERVICES WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR FREE; NOR DO THEY MAKE ANY WARRANTY AS TO THE RESULTS THAT MAY BE OBTAINED FROM USE OF THE WEBSITE OR SERVICES OR AS TO THE ACCURACY, RELIABILITY OR CONTENT OF ANY INFORMATION SERVICE PROVIDED THROUGH THE WEBSITE.
B. USER EXPRESSLY AGREES THAT NEITHER AEFIS NOR ANY OF ITS RESPECTIVE MEMBERS, MANAGERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, THIRD PARTY CONTENT PROVIDERS OR LICENSORS SHALL BE LIABLE FOR ANY TERMINATION OF USER’S RIGHT TO USE OR OTHERWISE ACCESS THE WEBSITE OR THE SERVICES.
C. THE WEBSITE AND SERVICES ARE PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” BASIS WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, WARRANTIES OF TITLE OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, ALL OF WHICH ARE HEREBY DISCLAIMED, OTHER THAN THOSE WARRANTIES WHICH ARE IMPLIED BY AND INCAPABLE OF EXCLUSION, RESTRICTION OR MODIFICATION UNDER THE LAWS APPLICABLE TO THIS AGREEMENT.
D. THIS DISCLAIMER OF LIABILITY APPLIES TO ANY DAMAGES OR INJURY CAUSED BY ANY FAILURE OF PERFORMANCE, ERROR, OMISSION, INTERRUPTION, DELETION, DEFECT, DELAY IN OPERATION OR TRANSMISSION, COMPUTER VIRUS, COMMUNICATION LINE FAILURE, THEFT OR DESTRUCTION OR UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO, ALTERATION OF, OR USE OF RECORD, WHETHER FOR BREACH OF CONTRACT, TORTIOUS BEHAVIOR, NEGLIGENCE, OR UNDER ANY OTHER CAUSE OF ACTION. USER SPECIFICALLY ACKNOWLEDGES THAT AEFIS IS NOT LIABLE FOR THE DEFAMATORY, OFFENSIVE OR ILLEGAL CONDUCT OF OTHER USERS OR THIRD-PARTIES AND THAT THE RISK OF INJURY FROM THE FOREGOING RESTS ENTIRELY WITH USER.
E. IN NO EVENT WILL AEFIS OR ANY OF ITS RESPECTIVE MEMBERS, MANAGERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, THIRD PARTY CONTENT PROVIDERS OR LICENSORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE DAMAGES, LOSS OF PROFITS, GOODWILL, USE, DATA OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES (EVEN IF AEFIS HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES), THE COST TO PROCURE SUBSTITUTE SERVICES OR ANY OTHER MATTER OUTSIDE THE REASONABLE CONTROL OF AEFIS ARISING OUT OF THIS AGREEMENT, THE SERVICES OR THE WEBSITE. USER HEREBY ACKNOWLEDGES THAT THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SECTION SHALL APPLY TO ALL CONTENT ON THE WEBSITE. THE FOREGOING LIMITATIONS SHALL NOT APPLY TO THE EXTENT PROHIBITED BY APPLICABLE LAW. THE LIABILITY OF AEFIS UNDER THESE TOS SHALL NOT EXCEED $100.
F. FORCE MAJEURE – AEFIS WILL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY FAILURE OR DELAY IN PERFORMANCE DUE TO CIRCUMSTANCES BEYOND ITS REASONABLE CONTROL, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ACTS OF GOD, ACTS OF STATE OR FEDERAL AUTHORITIES, WAR, RIOT, TERRORISM, CRIMINAL ACTS, EMBARGOES, ACTS OF CIVIL OR MILITARY AUTHORITIES, FIRE, FLOODS, ACCIDENTS, SERVICE OUTAGES RESULTING FROM EQUIPMENT AND/OR SOFTWARE FAILURE AND/OR TELECOMMUNICATIONS FAILURES, POWER FAILURES, NETWORK FAILURES, FAILURES OF THIRD PARTY SERVICE PROVIDERS (INCLUDING PROVIDERS OF INTERNET SERVICES AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS), HACKING, VIRUSES, OR DENIAL OF SERVICE ATTACKS.
G. IN CONSIDERATION OF BEING PERMITTED TO ACCESS AND USE THE WEBSITE AND THE SERVICES, YOU HEREBY AGREE TO RELEASE AEFIS AND ITS MEMBERS, MANAGERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, THIRD PARTY CONTENT PROVIDERS OR LICENSORS FROM ALL DAMAGES (WHETHER DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR OTHERWISE), LOSSES, LIABILITIES, COSTS AND EXPENSES OF EVERY KIND AND NATURE, KNOWN AND UNKNOWN, ARISING OUT OF OR IN ANY WAY CONNECTED WITH DISPUTES BETWEEN YOU AND THIRD PARTIES (INCLUDING OTHER AEFIS CUSTOMERS OR END USERS) IN CONNECTION WITH THE SERVICES, YOUR ACCESS AND USE OF THE SERVICES, OR ANY EVENTS LISTED THEREON.
User agrees to defend, indemnify and hold harmless AEFIS and its respective members, managers, directors, officers, employees and agents from and against all claims, damages, losses, liability, costs and expenses, including attorneys’ fees, arising out of or resulting from any claim, demand, suit, proceeding (whether before an arbitrator, court, mediator or otherwise), investigation or settlement made by any third party (each a “Claim”) due to or arising out of your use of, contribution to or connection with the Website or the Services, your violation of this TOS or any of AEFIS’s policies, including your violation of any rights of another. AEFIS reserves the right to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter which is subject to indemnification under this Section, and in such case, you agree to cooperate with all reasonable requests in assisting AEFIS’s defense of such matter.
All information provided by you or collected by AEFIS in connection with the Website or Services is governed by AEFIS’s privacy notice (“Privacy Notice”), a copy of which is located at https://www.aefisacademy.org/privacy, which is hereby incorporated by reference into and made a part of this TOS. AEFIS strongly recommends that you review the Privacy Notice carefully.
Notices to you may be made via either e-mail or United States mail to the address below. You hereby consent to receiving notice via e-mail. The Website may also provide notices of changes to this TOS or other matters by displaying notices or links to notices to you generally on the Website. Any notice from you to us shall be sent in writing to our mailing address at AEFIS, INC, 1429 Walnut Street, 10th Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19102.
PLEASE READ THIS SECTION CAREFULLY. IT AFFECTS YOUR RIGHTS AND WILL HAVE A SUBSTANTIAL IMPACT ON HOW CLAIMS YOU AND AEFIS HAVE AGAINST EACH OTHER ARE RESOLVED.
You and AEFIS agree that any claim or dispute at law or equity that has arisen, or may arise, between you and AEFIS (including any claim or dispute between you and a third-party agent of AEFIS) that relates in any way to or arises out of this or future versions of these TOS, your use of or access to the Website and Services, or the actions of AEFIS or its agents will be resolved in accordance with the provisions set forth in this Section.
A. Applicable Law. You agree that, except to the extent inconsistent with or preempted by federal law, the laws of the State of Delaware, without regard to principles of conflict of laws, will govern this Agreement and any claim or dispute that has arisen or may arise between you and AEFIS, except as otherwise stated in this Agreement.
B. Agreement to Arbitrate. You and AEFIS each agree that any and all disputes or claims that have arisen, or may arise, between you and AEFIS (including any disputes or claims between you and a third-party agent of AEFIS) that relate in any way to or arise out of this Agreement, your use of or access to the Website or Services, the actions of AEFIS or its agents, or any products or services offered through the Services shall be resolved exclusively through final and binding arbitration, rather than in court. Alternatively, you may assert your claims in small claims court, if your claims qualify and so long as the matter remains in such court and advances only on an individual (non-class, non-representative) basis. The Federal Arbitration Act governs the interpretation and enforcement of this Agreement to Arbitrate.
C. Prohibition of Class and Representative Actions and Non-Individualized Relief. YOU AND AEFIS AGREE THAT EACH OF US MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS, OR REPRESENTATIVE OR PRIVATE ATTORNEY GENERAL ACTION OR PROCEEDING. UNLESS BOTH YOU AND AEFIS AGREE OTHERWISE, THE ARBITRATOR MAY NOT CONSOLIDATE OR JOIN MORE THAN ONE PERSON’S OR PARTY’S CLAIMS, AND MAY NOT OTHERWISE PRESIDE OVER ANY FORM OF A CONSOLIDATED, REPRESENTATIVE, CLASS, OR PRIVATE ATTORNEY GENERAL ACTION OR PROCEEDING. ALSO, THE ARBITRATOR MAY AWARD RELIEF (INCLUDING MONETARY, INJUNCTIVE, AND DECLARATORY RELIEF) ONLY IN FAVOR OF THE INDIVIDUAL PARTY SEEKING RELIEF AND ONLY TO THE EXTENT NECESSARY TO PROVIDE RELIEF NECESSITATED BY THAT PARTY’S INDIVIDUAL CLAIM(S). ANY RELIEF AWARDED CANNOT AFFECT OTHER USERS. If a court decides that applicable law precludes enforcement of any of this paragraph’s limitations as to a particular claim for relief, then that claim (and only that claim) must be severed from the arbitration and may be brought in court, subject to your and AEFIS’ right to appeal the court’s decision. All other claims will be arbitrated.
D. Arbitration Procedures. Arbitration is more informal than a lawsuit in court. Arbitration uses a neutral arbitrator instead of a judge or jury, and court review of an arbitration award is very limited. However, an arbitrator can award the same damages and relief on an individual basis that a court can award to an individual. An arbitrator should apply the terms of this Agreement as a court would. All issues are for the arbitrator to decide, except that issues relating to arbitrability, the scope or enforceability of this Agreement to Arbitrate, or the interpretation of the portion of this Agreement entitled “Prohibition of Class and Representative Actions and Non-Individualized Relief”, shall be for a court of competent jurisdiction to decide.
The arbitration will be conducted by the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) under its rules and procedures, including the AAA’s Consumer Arbitration Rules (as applicable), as modified by this Agreement. The AAA’s rules are available at www.adr.org or by calling the AAA at 1-800-778-7879. The use of the word “arbitrator” in this provision shall not be construed to prohibit more than one arbitrator from presiding over an arbitration; rather, the AAA’s rules will govern the number of arbitrators that may preside over an arbitration conducted under this Agreement.
A party who intends to seek arbitration must first send to the other, by certified mail, a Notice of Dispute (“Notice”). The Notice to AEFIS should be sent to AEFIS at the address set forth in the Notice section above. AEFIS will send any Notice to you to the physical address we have on file associated with your AEFIS account; it is your responsibility to keep your physical address up to date.
If you and AEFIS are unable to resolve the claims described in the Notice within 30 days after the Notice is sent, you or AEFIS may initiate arbitration proceedings. A form for initiating arbitration proceedings is available on the AAA’s site at www.adr.org. In addition to filing this form with the AAA in accordance with its rules and procedures, the party initiating the arbitration must mail a copy of the completed form to the opposing party. You may send a copy to AEFIS at the address set forth in the Notice section above. In the event AEFIS initiates an arbitration against you, it will send a copy of the completed form to the physical address we have on file associated with your AEFIS account. Any settlement offer made by you or AEFIS shall not be disclosed to the arbitrator.
The arbitration hearing shall be held in the county in which you reside or at another mutually agreed location. If the value of the relief sought is $10,000 or less, you or AEFIS may elect to have the arbitration conducted by telephone or based solely on written submissions, which election shall be binding on you and AEFIS subject to the arbitrator’s discretion to require an in-person hearing, if the circumstances warrant. In cases where an in-person hearing is held, you and/or AEFIS may attend by telephone, unless the arbitrator requires otherwise.
The arbitrator will decide the substance of all claims in accordance with applicable law, including recognized principles of equity, and will honor all claims of privilege recognized by law. The arbitrator shall not be bound by rulings in prior arbitrations involving different users, but is bound by rulings in prior arbitrations involving the same AEFIS user to the extent required by applicable law. The arbitrator’s award shall be final and binding and judgment on the award rendered by the arbitrator may be entered in any court having jurisdiction thereof.
E. Costs of Arbitration. Payment of all filing, administration and arbitrator fees will be governed by the AAA’s rules, unless otherwise stated in this Agreement.
F. Severability. With the exception of any of the provisions in the Section entitled “Prohibition of Class and Representative Actions and Non-Individualized Relief”, if an arbitrator or court decides that any part of this Agreement to Arbitrate is invalid or unenforceable, the other parts of this Agreement shall still apply.
G. Future Amendments to this Section. Notwithstanding any provision in the Agreement to the contrary, you and we agree that if we make any amendment to this Legal Disputes Section (other than an amendment to any notice address or site link provided herein) in the future, that amendment shall not apply to any claim that was filed in a legal proceeding against AEFIS prior to the effective date of the amendment. The amendment shall apply to all other disputes or claims governed by this Agreement that have arisen or may arise between you and AEFIS. We will notify you of amendments to this Agreement by posting the amended terms on www.aefis.com at least 30 days before the effective date of the amendments and by providing notice through email. If you do not agree to these amended terms, you may close your account within the 30-day period and you will not be bound by the amended terms.
H. Judicial Forum for Legal Disputes. Unless you and we agree otherwise, in the event that the Legal Disputes section above is found not to apply to you or to a particular claim or dispute, either as a result of your decision to opt out of the Agreement or as a result of a decision by the arbitrator or a court order, you agree that any claim or dispute that has arisen or may arise between you and AEFIS must be resolved exclusively by a state or federal court located in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. You and AEFIS agree to submit to the personal jurisdiction of the courts located within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for the purpose of litigating all such claims or disputes.
I. You agree that regardless of any statute or law to the contrary, any claim or cause of action by you arising out of or related to use of the Services or these TOS must be filed within one (1) year after such claim or cause of action arose or be forever barred.
A. This TOS, the Privacy Notice, and any operating rules established by AEFIS constitute the entire agreement of the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof, and supersede all previous written or oral agreements between the parties with respect to such subject matter.
B. No waiver by either party of any breach or default hereunder shall be deemed to be a waiver of any preceding or subsequent breach or default.
C. The section headings used herein are for convenience only and shall not be given any legal import.
D. If any provision of this TOS is found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, the parties nevertheless agree that the arbitrator or court should endeavor to give effect to the parties’ intentions as reflected in the provision, and the other provisions of this TOS shall remain in full force and effect.
AEFIS, the AEFIS logo, AEFIS Academy, and the AEFIS Academy logo are trademarks of AEFIS, INC. Other company, product, and service names used in connection with the Website or Services may be trademarks or service marks owned by third parties (the “Third-Party Trademarks”, and, collectively with AEFIS’s trademarks, the “Trademarks”). Access to the Website and the offering of the Services shall not be construed as granting, by implication, estoppel, or otherwise, any license or right to use any Trademark displayed on the Website or in connection with the Services without the prior written consent of AEFIS specific for each such use. The Trademarks may not be used to disparage AEFIS, any third party or AEFIS’s products or services, or in any manner (in AEFIS’s sole judgment) that may damage any goodwill in the Trademarks. Use of any Trademarks as part of a link to or from any site is prohibited unless AEFIS approves the establishment of such a link by prior written consent specific for each such link. All goodwill generated from the use of any of AEFIS’s trademarks shall inure to AEFIS’s benefit.
© Copyright 2021 – AEFIS, INC. All rights reserved. All other trademarks appearing on the Website are the property of their respective owners.
Our website address is: https://www.aefisacademy.org.
When visitors leave comments on the site we collect the data shown in the comments form, and also the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string to help spam detection.
An anonymized string created from your email address (also called a hash) may be provided to the Gravatar service to see if you are using it. The Gravatar service privacy policy is available here: https://automattic.com/privacy/. After approval of your comment, your profile picture is visible to the public in the context of your comment.
If you upload images to the website, you should avoid uploading images with embedded location data (EXIF GPS) included. Visitors to the website can download and extract any location data from images on the website.
If you leave a comment on our site you may opt-in to saving your name, email address and website in cookies. These are for your convenience so that you do not have to fill in your details again when you leave another comment. These cookies will last for one year.
If you visit our login page, we will set a temporary cookie to determine if your browser accepts cookies. This cookie contains no personal data and is discarded when you close your browser.
When you log in, we will also set up several cookies to save your login information and your screen display choices. Login cookies last for two days, and screen options cookies last for a year. If you select “Remember Me”, your login will persist for two weeks. If you log out of your account, the login cookies will be removed.
If you edit or publish an article, an additional cookie will be saved in your browser. This cookie includes no personal data and simply indicates the post ID of the article you just edited. It expires after 1 day.
Articles on this site may include embedded content (e.g. videos, images, articles, etc.). Embedded content from other websites behaves in the exact same way as if the visitor has visited the other website.
These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with that embedded content, including tracking your interaction with the embedded content if you have an account and are logged in to that website.
If you leave a comment, the comment and its metadata are retained indefinitely. This is so we can recognize and approve any follow-up comments automatically instead of holding them in a moderation queue.
For users that register on our website (if any), we also store the personal information they provide in their user profile. All users can see, edit, or delete their personal information at any time (except they cannot change their username). Website administrators can also see and edit that information.
If you have an account on this site, or have left comments, you can request to receive an exported file of the personal data we hold about you, including any data you have provided to us. You can also request that we erase any personal data we hold about you. This does not include any data we are obliged to keep for administrative, legal, or security purposes.
Visitor comments may be checked through an automated spam detection service.