Website Terms of Use 

Acceptance of the Terms of Use 

These terms of use are entered into by and between You and American Association of State Colleges and Universities (“AASCU,” “we,” or “us”). The following terms and conditions, together with any documents they expressly incorporate by reference (collectively, “Terms of Use”), govern your access to and use of www.aascu.org, services.aascu.org, www.aascutellingourstory.org, aascuconsulting.org, www.aascu.org/grc, and ssi.aascu.org (our “Websites”), including any content, functionality and services offered on or through the Websites whether as a guest or a registered user. 

Please read the Terms of Use carefully before you start to use the Websites. By using the Websites, you accept and agree to be bound and abide by these Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy, incorporated herein by reference. If you do not want to agree to these Terms of Use or the Privacy Policy, you must not access or use the Websites.  

These Websites are offered and available to users who reside in the United States or any of its territories or possessions. By using these Websites, you represent and warrant that you are of legal age to form a binding contract with AASCU and meet all of the foregoing eligibility requirements. If you do not meet all of these requirements, you must not access or use the Websites. 

Changes to the Terms of Use 

We may revise and update these Terms of Use from time to time in our sole discretion. All changes are effective immediately when we post them, and apply to all access to and use of the Websites thereafter. 

Your continued use of the Websites following the posting of revised Terms of Use means that you accept and agree to the changes. You are expected to check this page frequently so you are aware of any changes, as they are binding on you. 

Accessing the Websites and Account Security 

We reserve the right to withdraw or amend the Websites, and any service or material we provide on the Websites, in our sole discretion without notice. We will not be liable if for any reason all or any part of the Websites is unavailable at any time or for any period. From time to time, we may restrict access to some parts of the Websites, or the entire Websites, to users, including registered users. 

You are responsible for both: 

• Making all arrangements necessary for you to have access to the Websites. 
• Ensuring that all persons who access the Websites through your internet connection are aware of these Terms of Use and comply with them. 

To access the Websites or some of the resources it offers, you may be asked to provide certain registration details or other information. It is a condition of your use of the Websites that all the information you provide on the Websites is correct, current and complete. You agree that all information you provide to register with the Websites or otherwise, including, but not limited to, through the use of any interactive features on the Websites, is governed by our Privacy Policy and you consent to all actions we take with respect to your information consistent with our Privacy Policy. 

If you choose, or are provided with, a user name, password or any other piece of information as part of our security procedures, you must treat such information as confidential, and you must not disclose it to any other person or entity. You also acknowledge that your account is personal to you and agree not to provide any other person with access to the Websites or portions of it using your user name, password or other security information. You agree to notify us immediately of any unauthorized access to or use of your user name or password or any other breach of security. You also agree to ensure that you exit from your account at the end of each session. You should use particular caution when accessing your account from a public or shared computer so that others are not able to view or record your password or other personal information. 

We have the right to disable any user name, password or other identifier, whether chosen by you or provided by us, at any time in our sole discretion for any or no reason, including if, in our opinion, you have violated any provision of these Terms of Use. 

Intellectual Property Rights 

The Websites and their entire contents, features and functionality (including but not limited to all information, templates, forms, software, text, displays, images, infographics, video and audio, and the design, selection and arrangement thereof), are owned by AASCU, its licensors or other providers of such material and are protected by United States and international copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret and other intellectual property or proprietary rights laws. 

These Terms of Use permit you to use the Websites for your personal, non-commercial use only. You must not reproduce, distribute, modify, create derivative works of, publicly display, publicly perform, republish, download, store or transmit any of the material on our Websites, except as follows: 

• Your computer may temporarily store copies of such materials in RAM incidental to your accessing and viewing those materials. 
• You may store files that are automatically cached by your Web browser for display enhancement purposes. 
• You may print a reasonable number of pages of the Websites for your own personal, non-commercial use and not for further reproduction, publication or distribution; at our discretion, we may require you to request formal permission for such use.   
• If we provide desktop, mobile or other applications for download, you may download a single copy to your computer or mobile device solely for your own personal, non-commercial use, provided you agree to be bound by our end user license agreement for such applications. 

Other than customizing specific materials as per instructions on the Websites, you must not: 

• Modify copies of any materials from the sites. 
• Use any illustrations, photographs, video or audio sequences or any graphics separately from the accompanying text. 
• Delete or alter any copyright, trademark or other proprietary rights notices from copies of materials from the sites. 

You must not access or use for any commercial purposes any part of the Websites or any services or materials available through the Websites.  

If you wish to make any use of material on the Websites other than that set out in this section, please address your request to: communications@aascu.org. 

If you print, copy, modify, download or otherwise use or provide any other person with access to any part of the Websites in breach of the Terms of Use, your right to use the Websites will cease immediately and you must, at our option, return or destroy any copies of the materials you have made. No right, title or interest in or to the Websites or any content on the Websites is transferred to you, and all rights not expressly granted are reserved by AASCU. Any use of the Websites not expressly permitted by these Terms of Use is a breach of these Terms of Use and may violate copyright, trademark and other laws. 

Site Content and Third Party Trademarks  

You must not use any Site Content, including any names, word marks (including, but not limited to “Delivering America’s Promise”), logos, product and service names without the prior written permission of AASCU.  All other names, logos, product and service names, designs and slogans on the Websites are the trademarks of their respective owners. 

Prohibited Uses 

You may use the Websites only for lawful purposes and in accordance with these Terms of Use.  

You agree not to use the Websites: 

• In any way that violates any applicable federal, state, local or international law or regulation (including, without limitation, any laws regarding the export of data or software to and from the US or other countries).  
• For the purpose of exploiting, harming or attempting to exploit or harm minors in any way by exposing them to inappropriate content, asking for personally identifiable information or otherwise. 
• To transmit, or procure the sending of, any advertising or promotional material, including any “junk mail,” “chain letter,” “spam,” or any other similar solicitation. 
• To impersonate or attempt to impersonate AASCU, an AASCU employee, another user or any other person or entity (including, without limitation, by using e-mail addresses associated with any of the foregoing). 
• To engage in any other conduct that restricts or inhibits anyone’s use or enjoyment of the Websites, or which, as determined by us, may harm AASCU or users of the Websites, or expose them to liability. 

Additionally, you agree not to: 

• Use the Websites in any manner that could disable, overburden, damage, or impair the site or interfere with any other party’s use of the Websites, including their ability to engage in real time activities through the Websites. 
• Use any robot, spider or other automatic device, process or means to access the Websites for any purpose, including monitoring or copying any of the material on the Websites. 
• Use any manual process to monitor or copy any of the material on the Websites, or for any other purpose not expressly authorized in these Terms of Use, without our prior written consent. 
• Use any device, software or routine that interferes with the proper working of the Websites. 
• Introduce any viruses, trojan horses, worms, logic bombs or other material which is malicious or technologically harmful. 
• Attempt to gain unauthorized access to, interfere with, damage or disrupt any parts of the Websites, the server on which the Websites are stored, or any server, computer or database connected to the Websites.  
• Attack the Websites via a denial-of-service attack or a distributed denial-of-service attack. 
• Otherwise attempt to interfere with the proper working of the Websites. 

Reliance on Information Posted 

The information presented on or through the Websites is made available solely for general information purposes. We do not warrant the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of this information. Any reliance you place on such information is strictly at your own risk. We disclaim all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on such materials by you or any other visitor to the Websites, or by anyone who may be informed of any of its contents. 

The Websites may include content provided by third parties, including materials provided by other users, bloggers and third-party licensors, syndicators, aggregators and/or reporting services. All statements and/or opinions expressed in these materials, and all articles and responses to questions and other content, other than the content provided by AASCU, are solely the opinions and the responsibility of the person or entity providing those materials. These materials do not necessarily reflect the opinion of AASCU. We are not responsible, or liable to you or any third party, for the content or accuracy of any materials provided by any third parties. 

Changes to the Websites 

We may update the content on the Websites from time to time, but its content is not necessarily complete or up-to-date. Any of the material on the Websites may be out of date at any given time, and we are under no obligation to update such material. 

Information About You and Your Visits to the Websites 

All information we collect on the Websites is subject to our Privacy Policy.  By using the Websites, you consent to all actions taken by us with respect to your information in compliance with the Privacy Policy. 

Linking to the Websites and Social Media Features 

You may link to our homepage, provided you do so in a way that is fair and legal and does not damage our reputation or take advantage of it, but you must not establish a link in such a way as to suggest any form of association, approval or endorsement on our part. 

The Websites may provide certain social media features that enable you to: 

• Link from your own or certain third-party websites to certain content on the Websites. 
• Send e-mails or other communications with certain content, or links to certain content, on the Websites. 
• Cause limited portions of content on the Websites to be displayed or appear to be displayed on your own or certain third-party websites. 

You may use these features solely as they are provided by us, solely with respect to the content they are displayed with, and otherwise in accordance with any additional terms and conditions we provide with respect to such features. Subject to the foregoing, you must not: 

• Establish a link from any website that is not owned by you. 
• Cause the Websites or portions of it to be displayed, or appear to be displayed by, for example, framing, deep linking or in-line linking, on any other site. 
• Otherwise take any action with respect to the materials on the Websites that is inconsistent with any other provision of these Terms of Use. 

You agree to cooperate with us in causing any unauthorized framing or linking immediately to cease. We reserve the right to withdraw linking permission without notice. 

We may disable all or any social media features and any links at any time without notice in our discretion. 

Links from the Websites 

If the Websites contain links to other sites and resources provided by third parties, these links are provided for your convenience only. This includes links contained in advertisements, including banner advertisements and sponsored links. We have no control over the contents of those sites or resources, and accept no responsibility for them or for any loss or damage that may arise from your use of them. If you decide to access any of the third party websites linked to the Websites, you do so entirely at your own risk and subject to the terms and conditions of use for such websites. 

Geographic Restrictions 

The owner of the Websites is based in the District of Columbia in the United States. We provide the Websites for use only by persons located in the United States. We make no claims that the Websites or any content contained therein is accessible or appropriate outside of the United States. Access to the Websites may not be legal by certain persons or in certain countries. If you access the Websites from outside the United States, you do so on your own initiative and are responsible for compliance with local laws. 

Disclaimer of Warranties 

You understand that we cannot and do not guarantee or warrant that files available for downloading from the internet or the Websites will be free of viruses or other destructive code. You are responsible for implementing sufficient procedures and checkpoints to satisfy your particular requirements for anti-virus protection and accuracy of data input and output, and for maintaining a means external to our site for any reconstruction of any lost data. WE WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE CAUSED BY A DISTRIBUTED DENIAL-OF-SERVICE ATTACK, VIRUSES OR OTHER TECHNOLOGICALLY HARMFUL MATERIAL THAT MAY INFECT YOUR COMPUTER EQUIPMENT, COMPUTER PROGRAMS, DATA OR OTHER PROPRIETARY MATERIAL DUE TO YOUR USE OF THE WEBSITES OR ANY SERVICES OR ITEMS OBTAINED THROUGH THE WEBSITES OR TO YOUR DOWNLOADING OF ANY MATERIAL POSTED ON IT, OR ON ANY WEBSITE LINKED TO OUR WEBSITES. 

YOUR USE OF THE WEBSITES, THEIR CONTENT AND ANY SERVICES OR ITEMS OBTAINED THROUGH THE WEBSITES IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. THE WEBSITES, THEIR CONTENT AND ANY SERVICES OR ITEMS OBTAINED THROUGH THE WEBSITES ARE PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS, WITHOUT ANY WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. NEITHER AASCU NOR ANY PERSON ASSOCIATED WITH AASCU MAKES ANY WARRANTY OR REPRESENTATION WITH RESPECT TO THE COMPLETENESS, SECURITY, RELIABILITY, QUALITY, ACCURACY OR AVAILABILITY OF THE WEBSITES. WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, NEITHER AASCU NOR ANYONE ASSOCIATED WITH AASCU REPRESENTS OR WARRANTS THAT THE WEBSITES, THEIR CONTENT OR ANY SERVICES OR ITEMS OBTAINED THROUGH THE WEBSITES WILL BE ACCURATE, RELIABLE, ERROR-FREE OR UNINTERRUPTED, THAT DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED, THAT OUR SITE OR THE SERVER THAT MAKES IT AVAILABLE ARE FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS OR THAT THE WEBSITES OR ANY SERVICES OR ITEMS OBTAINED THROUGH THE WEBSITES WILL OTHERWISE MEET YOUR NEEDS OR EXPECTATIONS.  

AASCU HEREBY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, STATUTORY OR OTHERWISE, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, NON-INFRINGEMENT AND FITNESS FOR PARTICULAR PURPOSE. 

THE FOREGOING DOES NOT AFFECT ANY WARRANTIES WHICH CANNOT BE EXCLUDED OR LIMITED UNDER APPLICABLE LAW. 

Limitation on Liability 

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PROVIDED BY LAW, IN NO EVENT WILL AASCU, ITS AFFILIATES OR THEIR LICENSORS, SERVICE PROVIDERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, OFFICERS OR DIRECTORS BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES OF ANY KIND, UNDER ANY LEGAL THEORY, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR USE, OR INABILITY TO USE, THE WEBSITES, ANY WEBSITES LINKED TO IT, ANY CONTENT ON THE WEBSITES OR SUCH OTHER WEBSITES OR ANY SERVICES OR ITEMS OBTAINED THROUGH THE WEBSITE OR SUCH OTHER WEBSITES, INCLUDING ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PERSONAL INJURY, PAIN AND SUFFERING, EMOTIONAL DISTRESS, LOSS OF REVENUE, LOSS OF PROFITS, LOSS OF BUSINESS OR ANTICIPATED SAVINGS, LOSS OF USE, LOSS OF GOODWILL, LOSS OF DATA, AND WHETHER CAUSED BY TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), BREACH OF CONTRACT OR OTHERWISE, EVEN IF FORESEEABLE. 

THE FOREGOING DOES NOT AFFECT ANY LIABILITY WHICH CANNOT BE EXCLUDED OR LIMITED UNDER APPLICABLE LAW. 

Indemnification 

You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless AASCU, its affiliates, licensors and service providers, and its and their respective officers, directors, employees, contractors, agents, licensors, suppliers, successors and assigns from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, judgments, awards, losses, costs, expenses or fees (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising out of or relating to your violation of these Terms of Use or your use of the Websites, any use of the Websites’ content, services and products other than as expressly authorized in these Terms of Use, or your use of any information obtained from the Websites. 

Governing Law and Jurisdiction 

All matters relating to the Websites and these Terms of Use, and any dispute or claim arising therefrom or related thereto (in each case, including non-contractual disputes or claims), shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the internal laws of the District of Columbia without giving effect to any choice or conflict of law provision or rule (whether of the District of Columbia or any other jurisdiction). 

Any legal suit, action or proceeding arising out of, or related to, these Terms of Use or the Websites shall be instituted exclusively in the federal courts of the United States or the courts of the District of Columbia, in each case located in Washington, D.C., although we retain the right to bring any suit, action or proceeding against you for breach of these Terms of Use in your country of residence or any other relevant country. You waive any and all objections to the exercise of jurisdiction over you by such courts and to venue in such courts. 

Limitation on Time to File Claims 

ANY CAUSE OF ACTION OR CLAIM YOU MAY HAVE ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THESE TERMS OF USE OR THE WEBSITES MUST BE COMMENCED WITHIN ONE (1) YEAR AFTER THE CAUSE OF ACTION ACCRUES; OTHERWISE, SUCH CAUSE OF ACTION OR CLAIM IS PERMANENTLY BARRED. 

Waiver and Severability 

No waiver of by AASCU of any term or condition set forth in these Terms of Use shall be deemed a further or continuing waiver of such term or condition or a waiver of any other term or condition, and any failure of AASCU to assert a right or provision under these Terms of Use shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. 

If any provision of these Terms of Use is held by a court or other tribunal of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable for any reason, such provision shall be eliminated or limited to the minimum extent such that the remaining provisions of the Terms of Use will continue in full force and effect. 

Entire Agreement 

The Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy constitute the sole and entire agreement between you and American Association of State Colleges and Universities with respect to the Websites and supersede all prior and contemporaneous understandings, agreements, representations and warranties, both written and oral, with respect to the Websites. 

Your Comments and Concerns 

Our Websites are operated by American Association of State Colleges and Universities, 1717 Rhode Island Avenue NW, Suite 700, Washington, District of Columbia 20036. 

All other feedback, comments, requests for technical support and other communications relating to the Website should be directed to: communications@aascu.org.