Virtual University Terms of Service, Copyright and Disclaimer

The following Terms of Service ("TOS") govern use of this web site (the "Service.") Please read them carefully. By using the Service, you agree to be bound by these terms and conditions.

Membership: The Service is provided to individuals who are at least 18 years old and minors who have parental consent to use the Service ("Members.") The Service is offered by Virtual University ("VU") at its sole discretion. VU reserves the right to alter, suspend, or terminate the Service, and to decline, restrict, modify, suspend or terminate any Member's account or use of the Service at any time and for any reason at its sole discretion.

Privacy Policy: VU does not sell or trade its mailing lists and will not divulge your address, telephone number or other Personal Identifying Information to advertisers, sponsors or other non-related third parties except where such disclosure is required by law or is reasonably necessary to: (a) comply with legal process; (b) enforce the TOS; or (c) protect the rights, property, or personal safety of VU, its users and the public.

Registration Information: In consideration of your use of the Service, you agree to: (a) provide true, accurate and current information about yourself on the Service's registration form and (b) maintain and promptly update your registration data to keep it current. If you provide any information that is inaccurate, not current or incomplete, or if VU has reasonable grounds to suspect that such information is inaccurate, not current or incomplete, VU has the right to suspend or terminate your account and may refuse any and all current or future use of the Service (or any portion thereof).

Proprietary Content: You acknowledge that all content on this web site, including but not limited to all text, graphics, sounds, music, software and video files herein ("Content") is protected by copyright, trademark, patent, or other proprietary rights and laws. You may make a single copy of the Content on magnetic medium (i.e., hard disk or floppy disk), and a single "hard copy" printout of the Content, if desired, for personal, noncommercial use only, provided that you keep all copyright notices intact and do not alter such copies in any way. You may not otherwise copy, transmit, modify, reproduce, upload, republish, or distribute this Content in any manner without VU's written consent.

Trademarks: Virtual University , Virtual U, VU, VUWeb, VUNews, Share Your Knowledge with the World, Empowerment Through Knowledge, Global Online Learning Community , What Do You Want to Learn Today? and other VU graphics, logos and service names are trademarks of VU. Such trademarks may not be used in connection with any product or service that is not VU's, in any manner that reflects unfavorably on VU, or in any manner that is likely to cause confusion among Members or the general public.

Netiquette: By participating in bulletin boards, chat rooms, and other forums on this web site which are accessible to Members and/or the general public, you agree that you will not:

defame, abuse, harass, intimidate, annoy, or threaten any other person;
make bigoted, hateful, vulgar, obscene, racially offensive or discourteous statements, or post any such materials;
interfere with another Member's use and enjoyment of the Service;
advocate illegal activity or discuss illegal activities with the intent to commit them or incite others to do so;
post any material that contains a computer virus, pirated music or software, or violates any right of any third party or any law, including intellectual property laws;
solicit any person, or post commercial advertising of any kind, unless such materials are expressly authorized by VU.

Messages and other materials posted by Members or the public on bulletin boards, in chat rooms, or elsewhere on this web site may be edited or deleted at VU's sole discretion.

VU Discussion Boards: Ongoing discussion occurs on classroom and other VU bulletin boards. These boards are not "free speech" zones but rather an extension of your online classroom and subject to moderation just as you would expect the blackboard in a traditional classroom to be managed by the instructor. You acknowledge and agree that complaints, insults, advertising or solicitations of any kind, political or moral rants, provocative or disruptive remarks, and off-topic messages are not permitted. Also, you should always use discretion and common sense when posting messages: never divulge your telephone number, work or home address, credit card numbers, or other confidential information on a public bulletin board at VU or anywhere else on the Internet.

You agree that you will not post copyrighted material of any kind whatsoever on classroom or other VU bulletin boards. The appropriate way to share a useful resource with fellow students is to post the URL where the material can be found together with a brief description of the resource so classmates can click on through to that information.

Consent and Release: By corresponding with VU and its staff or by posting homework, class projects, exams or any other writings, graphics, suggestions, comments, concepts or other Content on VU discussion boards or by transmitting such Content to VU by email, fax or any other means, you grant VU a royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive and sublicensable right and license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, transmit, perform and display such Content worldwide, in whole or part, and to incorporate such content in other works in any form, media or technology now known or later developed without any compensation to you whatsoever. Notwithstanding the foregoing, you retain full copyright interest in and sole, exclusive ownership of all homework papers, essays. graphics and any other original Content which you create and subsequently post on VU discussion boards: you are only granting VU a nonexclusive right to use this material and only in the manner herein described. You may edit, revise, repost, adapt, or publish such original Content on your own website or elsewhere, and in any form or venue you wish without restriction.

Refunds and Chargebacks: Registration fees are nonrefundable and defray the cost of enrollment processing; however, if you are dissatisfied with your learning experience at VU, you may request a one-time courtesy refund. In consideration of this guaranteed refund policy, you agree to refrain from initiating credit card chargebacks and stop payments on checks and that doing so will result in penalty fees being assessed to your account as more fully explained in our Student Handbook.

Limitation of Liability: VU makes no representation that Content on this site is appropriate for, or authorized for use, in all countries, states, or other jurisdictions, or that the Service will meet your requirements. VU does not warrant or represent that the Content is accurate, complete, correctly sequenced, timely, or reliable; or that the Service will be uninterrupted or error free or software defects, if any, will be corrected. The Service is provided on an "AS IS" and "as available" basis. To the full extent allowed by law, VU disclaims all warranties, express or implied, including but not limited to warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. You expressly agree that use of the Service is at your own risk. Any Content downloaded or otherwise obtained through the Service is at your own initiative and you are solely responsible for any damage to your computer system or loss of data resulting from such Content. You further agree that VU is not responsible or liable for any illegal, offensive, obscene, threatening, or defamatory content or conduct of any other party(ies), or any infringement of another's rights, including intellectual property rights.

Under no circumstances, including but not limited to negligence or breach of contract, will VU or any related party(ies) be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, punitive, or consequential damages (including lost profits) arising from your use of the Service, or any omissions, errors, or defects in the Service or the Content, even if VU has been advised or is aware that such conditions may exist. In no event and under no circumstance shall VU aggregate liability to you or any other third party for any loss, damage or claim arising out of the Service which exceeds the total amount paid by you to VU, if any, for the Service.

Some jurisdictions do not allow the limitation or exclusion of liability for incidental or consequential damages, in which case some or all of the foregoing provisions may not apply to you.

Indemnification: You agree to indemnify and hold VU and its parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, officers and employees harmless from any and all losses, actions, suits, controversies, proceedings, demands, claims or causes of action of any kind whatsoever, whether by formal or informal proceeding, or by letter, brought or asserted in any manner, and all losses, claims, liabilities, costs, interest, penalties, expenses and damages whatsoever (including reasonable attorneys' fees and costs of suit, whether incurred before, during, or on appeal of any trial, arbitration, or bankruptcy proceeding), regardless of cause or responsibility for negligence and whether or not caused by you, VU, or others, related to or arising, directly or indirectly, from your use or inability to use the Service.

Updates: VU reserves the right to change the TOS at any time and to notify you by posting an updated TOS on the VU web site. Any use of the Service by you after such update shall be deemed to constitute irrevocable acceptance by you of such amendments, modifications, or new conditions.

Termination: Either you or VU may terminate the Service at any time, with or without cause, and effective immediately. In addition, VU, at its sole discretion, may terminate your account for: (1) violation of the letter or spirit of the TOS; or (2) if any information that you provide to VU is inaccurate. Upon termination of the Service, you agree to immediately discontinue use of the Service and destroy all Content and materials obtained from it.

General: This agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the state of California without effect to any principles of conflicts of law. You and VU agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts located in the county of San Luis Obispo in the state of California. If any provision of this agreement is held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be unenforceable, then such provision shall be construed, as nearly as possible, to reflect the intentions of the parties, and all remaining provisions shall remain in full force and effect. VU's failure to exercise or enforce any right or provision hereunder shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision unless acknowledged and agreed to by VU in writing. Any rights not expressly granted herein are reserved.

You and VU mutually agree that any cause of action arising out of, or related to this Service, must commence within one year after the cause of action arose; otherwise, such action is permanently barred.