Introduction

Welcome to Engage, the University of Rhode Island’s public-facing Learning Management System. The University of Rhode Island (“URI” or “the University”) provides Engage as a platform to offer non-accredited, non-degree granting, for-profit or non-profit, continuing education classes, lectures, or seminars to external participants and learners outside the URI student body. By using Engage, you are agreeing to comply with and be bound by these terms and conditions, which, together with other applicable University policies referenced herein or otherwise publicly available (collectively, the “Terms and Conditions”), govern URI’s relationship with you related to your use of Engage. Further, as Engage operates and is hosted on D2L’s Brightspace platform (a learning management system used by URI and other educational institutions worldwide, “D2L”), by using Engage you also are agreeing to the operational and privacy practices of D2L. For details on how D2L handles your personal data, please review the D2L Privacy Policy.

URI reserves the right to modify these Terms and Conditions at any time without giving you prior notice. Your use of Engage following any such modification constitutes your agreement to follow and be bound by the Terms and Conditions as modified. The last date these Terms and Conditions were revised is set forth below.

Non-Student Status; Antidiscrimination and Accessibility

URI provides Engage as a public-facing Learning Management System for non-credit continuing education or extension learning courses and opportunities only. Purchasing and/or otherwise participating in a course through Engage grants you access to specific course materials and related resources, but does not establish formal student status at URI, nor are courses offered through Engage considered part of URI's accredited degree programs. For the avoidance of doubt, you shall not be considered a URI student.

Antidiscrimination Notice: Pursuant to the philosophy of the University of Rhode Island Board of Trustees, the University prohibits discrimination, including harassment and retaliation, due to protected status, in employment and service delivery. It is the policy of the University to promote fair and equitable treatment in all activities and to comply with Titles VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended; Title IX of the 1972 Educational Amendments to the Higher Education Act; the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967; Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended; and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended; Section 402 of the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974, as amended; the Equal Pay Act of 1963, as amended; the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990; the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008; the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008; Executive Order 11246, as amended; Executive Order 91-39; Executive Order 92-2; and Rhode Island General Laws §§ 28-5-1, and other applicable local, state, or federal laws, rules, or regulations.

Any person who believes their rights under these laws have been violated may file a complaint with the URI Office of Equal Opportunity. Disability rights are civil rights. To report a violation of unlawful discrimination or harassment, including a disability rights violation, visit the URI Office of Equal Opportunity Discrimination page or file a complaint using the Civil Rights Complaint Form. URI’s Office of Equal Opportunity is responsible for administering the University’s civil rights compliance programs, including promoting compliance with the University’s Policy on Nondiscrimination, Policy on Language Access, the University’s Language Access Plan, and applicable civil rights laws and regulations with the ultimate goal of creating and maintaining a learning and working environment free from discrimination and harassment.

Web Accessibility: URI is committed to ensuring all content on our websites is accessible no matter what technology someone might use. Please refer to the following for additional information and resources: https://web.uri.edu/accessibility/. Regarding D2L’s web accessibility policies, please visit: https://www.d2l.com/accessibility/standards/.

Payment

Payment Processing: All fees for courses must be paid for in full at the time of registration using URI’s authorized secure payment system powered by Flywire. Flywire facilitates secure payment processing and may collect and process payment-related and other personal information as necessary to complete your transaction. By completing your payment, you agree to Flywire’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Refunds: By completing the purchase, you acknowledge and agree that unless otherwise stated on the individual course description page, all payments are non-refundable. Refunds or exceptions will not be granted unless explicitly approved in writing by an authorized representative of URI. Any approved refunds will be processed through Flywire and subject to their refund policies and timelines.

Privacy and Data Use

URI values your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal data in accordance with University IT Policies, its GDPR Privacy Notice and applicable data protection laws.

Data Handling: Engage operates and is hosted on the D2L Brightspace platform. Data collected through Engage is managed in accordance with D2L's Privacy Policy. By using Engage, you consent to URI’s and D2L’s handling of your personal data as needed to communicate with you for and to deliver course content and services.

Cookies and Tracking: Engage uses cookies and similar technologies to enhance your experience. For details on these practices, refer to D2L's Privacy Policy and. Users are advised that if they wish to adjust the use and saving of cookies from this website, they should take necessary steps as set forth in the policies or via their own web browsers security settings.

Your Rights: If you are located in a certain region, you may have additional rights under certain international data protection laws (e.g., the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)). These rights may include the ability to access, correct, delete, or restrict the processing of your personal data in accordance with all applicable laws. To exercise these rights, or if you feel the University has not complied with applicable laws regulating such information, please contact URI’s Chief Information Security Officer. You may also have the right to file a complaint with the appropriate supervisory authority.

Intellectual Property and Use Restrictions

All materials on or made available via Engage, including course content, graphics, and designs (collectively, the “Content”), are the property of URI and/or its faculty or staff or are used with permission.

Content Restrictions: All Content is protected by copyright laws and may not be copied, distributed, modified, or reproduced in any form without prior written consent from URI and/or other respective copyright owner(s). Any unauthorized use of the Content may result in legal action.

User Conduct: You agree to use Engage only for lawful purposes. You agree not to take any action that might compromise the security of the site, render the site inaccessible to others or otherwise cause damage to the site or its Content. You agree not to add to, subtract from, or otherwise modify the Content, or to attempt to access any Content that is not intended for you. You agree not to use Engage in any manner that might

interfere with the rights of third parties. If you through Engage in any way, you are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your member identification and password information, and for restricting access to that information. You agree to accept responsibility for all activities that occur under your member identification and password.

Feedback and Contributions: Any feedback, suggestions, or other submissions you provide to URI through Engage or your purchase and participation in course offerings shall become the exclusive intellectual property of URI. By submitting feedback, you grant URI an irrevocable, royalty-free, perpetual licence to use, reproduce, adapt, publish, or create derivative works based on your submission without any obligation to you.

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Disclaimers and Limitations of Liability

Disclaimer of Course Outcomes: URI provides the courses offered via Engage “as is” and does not guarantee specific outcomes, results, or professional advancements from course participation. Neither we nor any third parties provide any warranty or guarantee as to the accuracy, timeliness, performance, completeness or suitability of the information and materials found or offered on this website for any particular purpose.

Platform Usage Risk: Access to and use of Engage is at your own risk. Unauthorized use of Engage may give rise to a claim for damages and/or be a criminal offense. URI disclaims any liability for service interruptions, errors, delays, or disruptions in website or course access arising from technical issues, including those outside URI’s control. From time to time, this website may also include links to other websites. These links are provided for your convenience to provide further information. They do not signify that we endorse the website(s). We have no responsibility for the content of the linked website(s). URI cannot and does not guarantee or warrant that files available for downloading through Engage will be free of infection by software viruses or other harmful computer code, files or programs.

Disclaimer of Warranties: URI MAKES NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, REPRESENTATIONS OR ENDORSEMENTS WHATSOEVER WITH RESPECT TO ENGAGE, THE SERVICE OR THE CONTENT. URI EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS, IMPLIED, STATUTORY OR OTHERWISE, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT, WITH REGARD TO ENGAGE, THE SERVICE, THE CONTENT, AND ANY PRODUCT OR SERVICE FURNISHED OR TO BE FURNISHED VIA ENGAGE. URI DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE FUNCTIONS PERFORMED BY THE SITE OR THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY, SECURE OR ERROR-FREE, OR THAT DEFECTS IN, ENGAGE THE SITE OR THE SERVICE WILL BE CORRECTED. URI DOES NOT WARRANT THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE CONTENT, OR THAT ANY ERRORS IN THE CONTENT WILL BE CORRECTED. ENGAGE, THE SERVICE AND THE CONTENT ARE PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS.

Limitation of Liability: TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, IN NO EVENT WILL URI BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY DIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY OR OTHER INDIRECT DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF (I) THE USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE ENGAGE, THE SERVICE, OR THE CONTENT, (II) ANY TRANSACTION CONDUCTED THROUGH OR FACILITATED BY ENGAGE; (III) ANY CLAIM RELATED TO YOUR PARTICIPATING IN ANY COURSES OFFERED THROUGH ENGAGE; (IV) ANY CLAIM ATTRIBUTABLE TO ERRORS, OMISSIONS, OR OTHER INACCURACIES IN ENGAGE, THE SERVICE AND/OR THE CONTENT, (V) UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO OR ALTERATION OF YOUR TRANSMISSIONS OR DATA, OR (VI) ANY OTHER MATTER RELATING TO ENGAGE, THE SERVICE, OR THE CONTENT, EVEN IF URI HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. IF YOU ARE DISSATISFIED WITH ENGAGE, THE SERVICE, THE CONTENT, OR WITH THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS, YOUR SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE REMEDY IS TO DISCONTINUE USING THE SITE.

IN THE EVENT THAT LAW DOES NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, SOME OF THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY. IN SUCH EVENTS, URI’S TOTAL LIABILITY FOR ANY CLAIM SHALL BE LIMITED AND WARRANTIES ARE EXCLUDED TO THE MINIMUM ALLOWABLE AMOUNT AS PERMITTED BY LAW, AND IN NO CASE SHALL URI’S LIABILITY EXCCES THE TOTAL AMOUNT PAID BY YOU FOR THE COURSE GIVING RISING TO THE CLAIM.

Indemnification: You agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless URI, its officers, trustees, employees, affiliates, and agents, and any third-party information providers to Engage from and against any and all claims, liabilities, damages, losses, costs and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) resulting from or arising out of your use, misuse or inability to use Engage or the Content, your breach of these Terms and Conditions, or your violation of applicable law.

User Support

Inquiry Responsibility: URI is responsible for responding to all user inquiries related to Engage. For questions, technical assistance, or help with purchases, please contact:

Cancellation: URI reserves the right to cancel or reschedule courses and offerings as necessary or desired, with or without reasonable cause or notice. URI will use reasonable efforts to notify registered users via the email address provided during course registration if any changes occur. In the event of cancellation, registered users may request a refund or be offered an alternative session or course, as applicable in the sole discretion of URI. For questions about cancellations or refunds, contact the particular course host department or IT Service Desk.

Entire Agreement; Waiver and Severability

These Terms and Conditions represent the entire agreement between you and the University of Rhode Island with respect to the subject matter hereof and regarding your use of Engage. This agreement supersedes any prior or contemporaneous communications and agreements, whether oral or written, relating to your use of this platform. Any additional or conflicting terms that URI has not expressly agreed to in writing are excluded from these Terms and Conditions. URI reserves the right to modify these Terms and Conditions at any time without giving you prior notice and your continued use of Engage following any such modification constitutes your agreement to follow and be bound by the Terms and Conditions as modified.

No waiver by URI of any breach or default hereunder shall be deemed to be a waiver of any preceding or subsequent breach or default. If any part of this Agreement is determined by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid or unenforceable, it will not impact any other provision of this Agreement, all of which will remain in full force and effect.

Governing Law and Venue; Waiver of Jury Trial

These Terms and Conditions shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of Rhode Island, without regard to any conflict of laws principles. Any and all disputes arising under or relating to these Terms and Conditions and your experience with Engage shall be adjudicated exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Rhode Island. By using Engage, you irrevocably submit to the personal jurisdiction of these courts and waive any objections based on venue or inconvenient forum. YOU HEREBY KNOWINGLY AND VOLUNTARILY WAIVE YOUR RIGHT TO TRIAL BY JURY WITH RESPECT TO ANY CLAIM OR

DISPUTE ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR USE OF ENGAGE AND THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS.

Last revised on: December 20, 2024.