Terms and Conditions

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THESE AACTE ONLINE COMMUNITY TERMS OF USE (the “Terms”) FORM A LEGAL AGREEMENT BETWEEN YOU, THE END USER (“you”) AND AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF COLLEGES FOR TEACHER EDUCATION (“AACTE,” “we,” or “us”) THAT APPLIES EACH TIME YOU USE OR ACCESS AACTE’S CONNECT360 WEBSITE AND ALL ASSOCIATED CONTENT (collectively, “Connect360”). IN PARTICULAR, THESE TERMS CONTAIN PROVISIONS REGARDING MANDATORY ARBITRATION AND YOUR WAIVER OF A RIGHT TO A JURY TRIAL. YOU SHOULD THEREFORE READ CAREFULLY EACH PROVISION OF THE TERMS, AS THEY GOVERN YOUR USE OF CONNECT360 AND ALL OF ITS FEATURES. THE TERMS INCORPORATE ALL POLICIES AND NOTICES REFERENCED HEREIN OR POSTED TO CONNECT360. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE WITH ANY OF THESE TERMS, YOU ARE NOT GRANTED PERMISSION TO ACCESS OR OTHERWISE USE CONNECT360 AND ARE INSTRUCTED TO EXIT CONNECT360 IMMEDIATELY.

Welcome to our online community Connect360! Through Connect360, you will be able to communicate, share, and learn with other users of AACTE programs and services ("AACTE Programs"). These Terms apply no matter how you access Connect360, whether on our website, via our mobile, online, or personal computer applications, or through other means. If you are accessing or using Connect360 on behalf of your organization, you represent that you are authorized to accept these Terms on behalf of your organization, and all references to "you" reference your organization.

NOTE – Any use of or access to Connect360 by anyone not a member of AACTE is prohibited without express prior written consent from AACTE.

From time to time, we may modify these Terms. Unless we specify otherwise, changes become effective upon our posting of the updated Terms to Connect360, and the updated Terms will apply to all use of Connect360 after they are posted. Your continued use of and access to Connect360 following any update to the Terms shall constitute your full acceptance and agreement to the updated Terms. We will use reasonable efforts to notify you of the changes through communications via Connect360, email, or other means required by applicable law.

    1. USE OF CONNECT360 AND REGISTRATION. AACTE grants you a limited, non-exclusive, revocable, non-transferable, non-sublicensable right to use and access Connect360 only for your non-commercial purposes (except to the extent otherwise expressly permitted by AACTE in a separate writing). You may not modify, copy, distribute, transmit, display, perform, reproduce, publish, license, create derivative works from, transfer, or sell in any way any content (including, without limitation, any text, graphics, logos, button icons, images, audio clips, and software), information, or other materials included on Connect360 without AACTE’s prior written permission. You will be required to set up an account in order to access and post on Connect360, and you may receive a username and password or other login credentials in connection with your account. You have complete responsibility for your account and everything that happens on your account, including if somebody accesses your account without your permission. Accordingly, you agree to keep your password or other login credentials secure and confidential, and to immediately notify AACTE if your credentials have been stolen or accessed by any unauthorized person or entity. You have the right to delete your account, edit your account information, and edit or delete Submissions (defined below), but you understand and agree that if you choose to make such changes or deletions, they will not apply retroactively and AACTE may retain some or all of the associated information or content at its discretion. To change your account information, you can go to "My Account” settings in the drop-down of your profile on Connect360. We reserve the right (but have no obligation) to change, add to, update, or disable Connect360 or any part thereof at any time.

    2. SUBMISSIONS. You are solely responsible for any Content or Contributions you Submit to, on, or through Connect360 (in each case, as defined below):

      1. "Content" shall mean any text, information, data, graphics, messages, sounds, videos, content, or other materials you post to Connect360, excluding Contributions.
      2. "Contribution" shall mean the code, documentation, or other original works of authorship or proprietary materials submitted by you (including any modifications or additions) for inclusion in an existing Work, including without limitation any modifications to or derivative works based on the Work.
      3. "Submission" means any form of electronic, verbal or written Content, communication information, or other proprietary materials posted to Connect360 and/or sent, disclosed, transmitted, or otherwise provided to AACTE or its representatives, including but not limited to communication on electronic mailing lists, source code control systems, and issue tracking systems that are managed by, or on behalf of, AACTE. “Submit” or “Submitted” means the act of providing a Submission to Connect360 and/or AACTE through any of the foregoing methods.
      4. "Work" shall mean any of the programs, projects, proprietary materials, creative content, or documentation owned or managed by AACTE.

        Submitting a Submission, you do not lose any ownership rights you may have to it. However, you do grant us certain licenses to your Submission, as set forth below:

    3. SUBMISSION LICENSE GRANTS.
      1. Content License. By Submitting any Content, you grant us a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, fully paid, perpetual, irrevocable, fully sublicenseable and fully transferable license to use, reproduce, distribute, prepare derivative works of, translate, reformat, and publicly display and perform your Content in connection with Connect360 and our business (including without limitation for our marketing and publicity purposes). Without limiting the foregoing, you also grant us the right to share and your Content with other users of Connect360. You understand that once you Submit your Content, your Content becomes public and can be seen by AACTE and any users of Connect360 (and other websites, platforms, and applications that may access or reference Connect360), and we are not responsible for keeping it confidential.
      2. Contribution Copyright License. You hereby grant to AACTE and to recipients of software distributed by AACTE a perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, no-charge, royalty-free, irrevocable, fully sublicensable, fully transferable license to reproduce, prepare derivative works of, publicly display, publicly perform, translate, and distribute your Contributions and such derivative works in any format or medium worldwide. You agree that all Contributions are non-confidential hereunder and that AACTE has no obligation to you to maintain the confidentiality of any Contribution.
      3. Contribution Patent License.  You hereby grant to AACTE and to recipients of software, products, and services distributed by AACTE a perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, no-charge, royalty-free, irrevocable (except as stated in this Section) patent license to make, have made, use, offer to sell, sell, import, and otherwise transfer the Work, where such license applies only to those patent claims licensable by you that are necessarily infringed by your Contribution(s) alone or by combination of your Contribution(s) with the Work to which such Contribution(s) was Submitted. If any entity institutes patent litigation against you or any other entity (including a cross-claim or counterclaim in a lawsuit) alleging that your Contribution, or the Work to which you have contributed, constitutes direct or contributory patent infringement, then any patent licenses granted to that entity under these Terms for that Contribution or Work shall terminate as of the date such litigation is filed.

    4. CONNECT360 USE AND RESTRICTIONS.

      1. Sharing Submissions on Social Platforms. Connect360 supports sharing Submissions on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Google+ and YouTube ("Social Platforms"). You understand and agree that other users (or AACTE) may share your Submissions on Social Platforms. You may share other users' Submissions on Social Platforms, as long as you include a link to Connect360 in your post and comply with all applicable third-party terms and conditions of Social Platforms, as well as all applicable laws. However, you may not share any Submissions or mention or reference AACTE or Connect360 in any way which suggests AACTE’s endorsement or approval of any Submission or other content. AACTE will not in any event be liable or responsible for your compliance with or violation of any third-party Social Platform terms, conditions, policies, or requirements, and makes no representation, warranty, or guarantee regarding the legality or appropriateness of Submissions for any Social Platform. Your sharing of any Submissions on Social Platforms is entirely at your own risk.
      2. We Can Moderate Connect360. We may, but have no obligation to, periodically monitor or review any Submissions on Connect360. In the event a Connect360 moderator believes you are using Connect360 in violation of the Terms, we retain the right to request information from Connect360's service providers regarding such violation. You understand and agree that if there is an investigation of such use in violation of the Terms, you waive any confidentiality rights.
      3. We Are Not Responsible for Submissions. We do not endorse any Submissions or make any promises about the reliability of any source or the accuracy, timeliness, quality, usefulness, safety, or intellectual property rights of any Submissions or any information therein contained or results obtained therefrom. You may find Submissions on Connect360 to be inaccurate, offensive, indecent, or objectionable. However, you agree not to hold us responsible in any way for your exposure to Submissions, and you acknowledge that your use of and access to Connect360 is entirely at your own risk.
      4. We May Remove Submissions at Any Time. We reserve the right to remove or alter any Submissions at any time, for any or no reason, with or without notice to you. We do not promise to store or make available on Connect360 any Submissions that you post, or any other content, for any length of time. You are solely responsible for keeping back-ups of everything you post on Connect360.

    5. USER REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES.

      1. Representations. You represent that (a) you are legally entitled to grant the above licenses as set forth herein, and you possess all necessary rights and licenses required to Submit all of your Submissions; (b) if you are Submitting as an individual, and if your employer(s) has rights to intellectual property that you create that includes your Submissions, you represent that you have received permission to make Submissions on behalf of that employer, that your employer has waived such rights for your Submissions to AACTE, or that your employer has executed a separate agreement with AACTE granting such rights and/or waivers; (c) each of your Contributions is your original creation (see Section 5.3 (Third-Party Works) for Submissions of works made on behalf of others); (d) your Contribution includes complete details of any third-party license or other restriction (including, but not limited to, related patents and trademarks) of which you are aware and which are associated with any part of your Contributions; (e) your Submissions do not contain any virus, malware, worm, disabling device, Trojan horse, or other harmful or malicious script, code, or tool; (f) your Submissions (including without limitation all Content) do not infringe, misappropriate, or otherwise violate the personal or proprietary rights of any third party; (g) you will comply with all applicable state, federal, local, and international laws, regulations, statutes, and government requirements in your use of Connect360; and (h) any data or information that you Submit to Connect360 (including without limitation in any Submission or Contribution) is complete, accurate, truthful, and timely in all respects, and that you possess all necessary legal rights and authority to provide such data or information.
      2. Use by Minors. You represent that you are at least eighteen (18) years of age or the legal age of majority in your jurisdiction (whichever is greater). Connet360 is not intended for use or access by any individual under the age of thirteen (13) years, and AACTE does not knowingly, willingly, or intentionally collect personal information from such individuals in any medium for any purpose.
      3. Third-Party Works. Should you wish to Submit an improvement or material for contribution to AACTE’s Work that is not your original creation, you may Submit it to AACTE separately from any Contribution by identifying the complete details of its source and of any license or other restriction (including, but not limited to, related patents, trademarks, and license agreements) of which you are personally aware, and conspicuously marking the work as "Submitted on behalf of a third-party: ".

    6. CONNECT360 GUIDELINES. As a user of Connect360, you agree that you will not do any of the following:

      1. post "rants," "slams" or legal threats against another user or another organization or competitor;
      2. post political or religious statements or commentary;
      3. post off-topic comments not related to educational communities or AACTE Programs;
      4. post duplicate posts, spam messages, or posts repeated excessively on Connect360;
      5. post Submissions designed to evade profanity or other filters;
      6. post hyperlinks that lead to sites that violate any of these Terms;
      7. interfere in any way with the operations in Connect360 or with a fellow Connect360 user's message box, including but not limited to mail or post bombing, news bombing, other flooding techniques, deliberate attempts to overload a system and broadcast attacks, or attempts to avoid messaging blocking;
      8. evade bans or suspensions or otherwise disregard directions from Connect360 moderators or administrators;
      9. post any illegal, unlawful, fraudulent, obscene, pornographic, or otherwise harmful or objectionable materials;
      10. harm, harass, threaten, or violate the rights of any third party;
      11. access, search, or create accounts for Connect360 by any means other than its publicly supported interfaces (for example, “scraping” or creating accounts in bulk);
      12. remove or destroy any copyright notices or other proprietary or legal markings contained on or in Connect360;
      13. probe, scan, benchmark, or test the vulnerability of Connect360 or AACTE’s network or systems infrastructure;
      14. breach or otherwise circumvent any security or authentication measure contained in Connect360; or
      15. impersonate any person or entity or falsely state or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with a person or entity.

    7. PROPRIETARY RIGHTS. Connect360 contains proprietary and confidential information that is protected by applicable intellectual property and other laws and AACTE and its suppliers retain all ownership right, title and interest in and to Connect360 and content that is included in Connect360 (other than Submissions). AACTE reserves all rights in Connect360 and its other property not expressly granted herein.  You may not copy, frameset, enclose or otherwise sell, distribute, transmit or broadcast any part of Connect360 (including Submissions posted by other users of Connect360, except as expressly permitted in Section 4.1 (Sharing Submissions on Social Platforms)).

      All brand, product and service images, logos and names used in Connect360 that identify AACTE or our suppliers and our or their proprietary programs and services are the trademarks or service marks of AACTE or our suppliers. Nothing in these Terms shall be deemed to confer on any person any license or right on the part of AACTE or such supplier with respect to any such image, logo or name.

    8. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY INFRINGEMENT.  If you believe that anything on Connect360 infringes your copyright or trademark rights, you should notify us in accordance with this page.

    9. CONTACT. If you have any inquiries or wish to provide feedback on Connect360, please do so directly in the "Contact Us" section within Connect360.

    10. TERMINATION. These Terms take effect (or re-take effect) at the moment you first access or use Connect360 and apply throughout the duration of your use. You may terminate the Terms at any time by ceasing all use and access of Connect360, but each re-access or renewed use of Connect360 will reapply the Terms to you. You may not use or access Connect360 under any purported terms or contracts other than these Terms. We may terminate or suspend these Terms or your access to Connect360 (or any feature or component thereof) at any time, with or without cause, and with or without notice to you. Upon any suspension or termination of these Terms, we may delete your account, passwords and Submissions, and we may bar you from further use of Connect360. You understand that we may also continue to make your Submissions available on Connect360 and use Contributions that you provide, or elsewhere as permitted under this Terms, even if your use of Connect360 is terminated or suspended. You agree that we will have no liability to you or any third party for termination of your account, Submissions or access to the Connect360. Except where an exclusive remedy is specified, the exercise of either party of any remedy under these Terms, including termination, will be without prejudice to any other remedies it may have under these Terms, by law or otherwise. The following Sections will survive any termination of these Terms: 2 (Submissions), 3 (Submission License Grants), 5 (User Representations and Warranties), 7 (Proprietary Rights), 10 (Termination), 11 (Connect360 Warranty Disclaimer), 12 (Limitation of Remedies and Damages), 13 (Indemnity), 14 (Dispute Resolution) and 15 (General Terms).

    11. CONNECT360 WARRANTY DISCLAIMER. CONNECT360 IS PROVIDED "AS IS." WE AND OUR SUPPLIERS DO NOT MAKE ANY WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, WHETHER ARISING FROM STATUTE, CUSTOM, COURSE OF DEALING, OR ANY OTHER SOURCE, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, TITLE, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR NONINFRINGEMENT. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT YOUR USE OF CONNECT360 WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE. WE MAKE NO WARRANTIES AS TO THE ACCURACY OR RELIABILITY OF ANY CONTENT ON CONNECT360 (INCLUDING SUBMISSIONS PROVIDED BY OTHER USERS). CONNECT360 IS ACCESSED AND USED AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION AND RISK, AND WE SHALL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE CAUSED TO YOUR COMPUTER OR DATA OR FOR ANY BUGS, VIRUSES, TROJAN HORSES OR OTHER DESTRUCTIVE CODE RESULTING FROM ACCESS TO OR USE OF CONNECT360. IF YOUR USE OF CONNECT360 IS GOVERNED BY A JURISDICTION WHICH DOES NOT PERMIT THE FULL DISCLAIMER OF SOME OR ALL OF SUCH WARRANTIES, THE FOREGOING DISCLAIMERS SHALL APPLY TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED UNDER APPLICABLE LAW. YOU MAY HAVE OTHER STATUTORY RIGHTS, BUT THE DURATION OF STATUTORILY REQUIRED WARRANTIES, IF ANY, SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE SHORTEST PERIOD PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW.

      Connect360 may contain links to other websites, content, portals, platforms, and/or applications not owned or operated by AACTE (collectively, the “Third-Party Applications”). You acknowledge that the Third-Party Applications are not under the control of AACTE. You further acknowledge that AACTE is not responsible for the availability of such Third-Party Applications, and does not endorse, recommend, or maintain any responsibility whatsoever for any content, products, services, or other materials referenced, offered, or made available on any Third-Party Application. Links or references to Third-Party Applications are provided only as a convenience, and the inclusion of any such link does not imply any endorsement or approval by AACTE or any association with the Third-Party Application’s operators. AACTE is not a party to and shall have no responsibility or liability for any terms, conditions, licenses, or other agreements or dealings between you and the owners and/or operators of any Third-Party Application.

    12. LIMITATION OF REMEDIES AND DAMAGES.
      1. Consequential Damages Waiver. AACTE AND ITS SUPPLIERS SHALL HAVE NO LIABILITY ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THESE TERMS FOR ANY LOSS OF USE, LOST OR INACCURATE DATA, LOST PROFITS, FAILURE OF SECURITY MECHANISMS, INTERRUPTION OF BUSINESS, COSTS OF DELAY OR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, RELIANCE OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OF ANY KIND, EVEN IF INFORMED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES IN ADVANCE.
      2. Liability Cap. AACTE, ITS AFFILIATES, AND ITS THIRD-PARTY SUPPLIERS' ENTIRE AGGREGATE LIABILITY TO YOU IN ANY CLAIM OR OTHER PROCEEDING ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THESE TERMS OR YOUR ACCESS TO OR USE OF CONNECT360 OR ANY CONTENT, SUBMISSION, OR CONTRIBUTION SHALL NOT EXCEED TEN U.S. DOLLARS (U.S. $10.00).
      3. Nature of Claims and Failure of Essential Purpose. The parties agree that the waivers and limitations specified in this Section 12 apply regardless of the form of action, whether in contract, tort (including negligence), strict liability or otherwise and will survive and apply even if any limited remedy specified in these Terms is found to have failed its essential purpose.

    13. INDEMNITY. You will defend, indemnify, and hold harmless AACTE from and against any claim by a third party arising from or related to: (a) your use or attempted use of Connect360 in violation of these Terms, (b) your violation of any law or rights of any third party, or (c) any Submissions you post to Connect360, including without limitation any claim of infringement, misappropriation, or violation of any intellectual property, privacy, or other rights. AACTE reserves the right, at its own cost, to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter otherwise subject to indemnification by you, in which event you will fully cooperate with AACTE in asserting any available defenses.

    14. DISPUTE RESOLUTION.

      1. Dispute Resolution; Arbitration. In the event of any controversy or claim arising out of or relating to these Terms, the parties hereto shall consult and negotiate with each other and, recognizing their mutual interests, attempt to reach a solution satisfactory to both parties. If the parties do not reach settlement within a period of sixty (60) days, any unresolved controversy or claim arising out of or relating to these Terms shall proceed to binding arbitration under the Rules of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce. The site of any such arbitration shall be in Washington, District of Columbia, USA. All negotiations and arbitration proceedings pursuant to this Section will be confidential and treated as compromise and settlement negotiations for purposes of all similar rules and codes of evidence of applicable legislation and jurisdictions. The language of the arbitration shall be English.
      2. Governing Law; Jurisdiction. These Terms will be governed by and construed in accordance with the applicable laws of the District of Columbia, USA, without giving effect to its principles relating to conflicts of laws. Each party irrevocably agrees that any legal action, suit or proceeding that is not otherwise subject to the arbitration provisions of Section 14.1 (Dispute Resolution; Arbitration) must be brought solely and exclusively in, and will be subject to the service of process and other applicable procedural rules of the State or Federal court in Washington, District of Columbia, USA, and each party irrevocably submits to the sole and exclusive personal jurisdiction of the courts in Washington, District of Columbia, USA, generally and unconditionally, with respect to any action, suit or proceeding brought by it or against it by the other party. Notwithstanding the foregoing, AACTE may bring a claim for equitable relief in any court with proper jurisdiction.
      3. Injunctive Relief; Enforcement. Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 14.1 (Dispute Resolution; Arbitration), nothing in these Terms shall prevent AACTE from seeking injunctive relief with respect to a violation of intellectual property rights, confidentiality obligations or enforcement or recognition of any award or order in any appropriate jurisdiction. You acknowledge that any breach, threatened or actual, of the Terms would cause irreparable injury to AACTE not readily quantifiable as money damages, such that AACTE would not have an adequate remedy at law.  You therefore agree that AACTE shall be entitled, in addition to other available remedies, to seek and be awarded an injunction or other appropriate equitable relief from a court of competent jurisdiction restraining any such breach of your obligations, without the necessity of posting bond or other security.

    15. GENERAL TERMS. We may provide you with notices via email or through Connect360, as determined by us in our discretion, and you expressly consent to receive such communications and acknowledge that such communications shall satisfy any applicable legal requirements regarding your receipt of legal notice hereunder. Any notices you give to us under these Terms will be deemed given only when personally delivered, delivered by reputable international courier requiring signature for receipt, or three (3) business days after being deposited in the mail, first class, postage prepaid, in each case to: AACTE, 1602 L Street NW, Suite 601, Washington, DC 20036, Attn: General Counsel. The parties are independent contractors, and there is no relationship of partnership, joint venture, employment, franchise or agency created hereby between the parties. If a court having proper authority decides (or any other operation of applicable law dictates) that any portion of these Terms is invalid, only the part that is invalid will not apply, and the rest of these Terms will still be in effect to the maximum extent permitted under applicable law. If we waive any of our rights under these Terms in any particular instance, it does not mean that we are waiving our rights generally or in the future. Furthermore, just because we may not enforce all our rights all of the time, it does not mean that we are waiving our rights, as we may decide to enforce them at a later date. These Terms are the entire agreement between the parties with respect to their subject matter and supersede any prior agreements relating to such subject matter. These Terms, and any rights and licenses granted under these Terms, may not be transferred or assigned by you without our prior written consent, but may be assigned by us without restriction. AACTE may use the services of subcontractors and permit them to exercise the rights granted to us in order to provide and maintain access to Connect360 under these Terms.
    16. AACTE’s policies and procedures with respect to the collection, storage, transmission, handling, and/or processing of personal information on Connect360 are as set forth on AACTE’s Privacy Policy. Please refer to this Privacy Policy for more details regarding AACTE’s practices regarding data privacy and security