Steams provides the technology. Your Institution provides your program. These Terms address use of the Portal. Your Institution’s enrollment, tuition, refund, and academic policies remain separate.
01About these Terms
These Student Portal Terms of Use (“Terms”) describe the conditions for accessing and using the student portal and related services provided by STEAMS ONLINE, Inc. (“Steams Online,” “Steams,” “we,” “us,” or “our”).
The “Portal” includes registration, learning, communication, payment-interface, assessment, document, and account-management features made available through Steams Online. Your school, training provider, employer, or other organization administering your program is referred to as your “Institution.” Features may vary by Institution.
These Terms apply to your individual use of the Portal. They do not replace your Institution’s enrollment agreement, tuition agreement, refund policy, academic rules, or other separately applicable agreements. They do not amend a separate commercial agreement between Steams and your Institution or make you responsible for your Institution’s software subscription.
Please review these Terms before using the Portal. If you do not agree, do not use the Portal and contact your Institution to discuss available arrangements for your program or records. Any acceptance process and the enforceability of these Terms are subject to applicable law.
03Eligibility and account security
Use only an account and role you are authorized to access. Provide accurate information, maintain current contact details, and do not misrepresent your identity, age, or authority to act for another person.
Protect your password and verification information. Do not share credentials, use someone else’s account, or allow another person to complete coursework or assessments under your identity. Authorized parents, guardians, employers, and sponsors must use the access specifically assigned to them.
Report suspected unauthorized access promptly to your Institution or Steams. We may require reasonable verification, a password change, or other security measures to protect an account. You are responsible for activity you authorize and your own misuse, but not automatically for unauthorized activity caused by a failure of Steams’ security.
If you are not legally able to enter a binding agreement, any required parent or guardian authorization must be obtained through an appropriate process. Children under 13 may use the Portal only under an arrangement that addresses applicable children’s privacy requirements before collecting their personal information. These Terms alone do not establish that arrangement or transfer Steams’ legal responsibilities to an Institution.
04Permitted use and prohibited conduct
Subject to these Terms and your authorized access, Steams grants you a limited, nonexclusive, nontransferable permission to use the Portal for your educational and administrative activities.
You must not use the Portal for unlawful activity, fraud, impersonation, harassment, threats, or unauthorized disclosure of another person’s information. Do not falsify records or submissions, introduce malicious software, bypass security or identity checks, access restricted accounts, or interfere with the service.
You must not sell or redistribute restricted course materials, assessments, or software without permission. Unauthorized automated extraction, copying, and reverse engineering are prohibited except to the extent applicable law permits them. These restrictions do not prohibit lawful accessibility tools, approved integrations, or legally protected activity.
05Learning activities, identity checks, and records
Your Institution establishes the rules for attendance, assessments, deadlines, academic honesty, and permitted assistance, including the use of artificial intelligence.
Where enabled, the Portal may record sign-ins, progress, attendance events, submissions, assessment attempts, timestamps, and identity-check responses or results. Authorized personnel may access this information for program administration, security, support, and integrity reviews, as described in applicable privacy notices.
Verification tools support identity checks but do not guarantee detection of impersonation or unauthorized assistance. Your Institution makes academic and disciplinary decisions. Report incorrect records, grades, or verification results to your Institution promptly.
A certificate or other document generated through the Portal reflects the issuing Institution’s records. Generation through Steams does not independently establish accreditation, professional licensure, government approval, employment eligibility, or acceptance by another organization.
06Tuition, payments, cancellations, and refunds
Unless a separate transaction expressly identifies Steams as the seller, a purchase of educational services is an arrangement with your Institution or the identified seller, not with Steams. Your Institution determines tuition, deposits, installment schedules, cancellation requirements, and refund eligibility, subject to applicable law and your agreements.
Third-party payment providers process transactions initiated through the Portal. Steams’ payment-interface features do not make Steams your bank or lender. Review the payment amount, recipient, and terms before submitting a payment, and use only a payment method you are authorized to use.
These Terms do not, by themselves, authorize recurring charges or automatic withdrawals. Any required payment authorization must be obtained separately through the applicable payment process.
Contact your Institution about tuition, cancellations, and refund requests. Steams may provide technical assistance or carry out authorized instructions but does not independently decide the Institution’s refund obligations.
Payment displays may be affected by processing delays, reversals, or reconciliation errors. Report duplicate charges, incorrect balances, or other discrepancies promptly. Nothing in these Terms waives rights to dispute a transaction, report an unauthorized payment, stop an eligible payment, or obtain a legally required refund.
07Ownership and use of submitted content
Steams and its licensors retain their rights in the Portal’s software, design, trademarks, and technology. Your Institution and other rights holders retain their rights in their course materials and other content.
You retain the rights you hold in your original submissions, subject to any separate agreement with your Institution. Using the Portal does not automatically transfer ownership of your work to Steams.
You grant Steams limited permission to host, store, transmit, display, and process your submissions as reasonably necessary to operate, secure, maintain, and support the Portal and provide authorized features. This permission extends to service providers only as necessary for those purposes and is subject to applicable law, privacy notices, and institutional agreements.
This limited permission does not itself authorize the sale of identifiable student submissions, publication of private coursework for advertising, or use of your submissions to train general-purpose AI models. Any additional use requires a separate lawful basis and applicable disclosures or permissions.
Submit only content you have the right to provide. Do not upload unnecessary sensitive information, third-party medical records, or confidential documents unless the activity is authorized and the designated workflow is appropriate for that information.
08Privacy and access to information
Our Portal Privacy page explains Steams’ handling of personal information. Your Institution may provide a separate notice describing its own practices. Where Steams processes information on an Institution’s behalf, applicable law and the relevant institutional agreement also govern that processing.
Access to student information must be consistent with authorized roles and applicable requirements. Private assignments and educational records are not public content merely because they are uploaded. Posts in a shared class discussion may be visible to participants authorized to access that area.
Contact your Institution about academic-record requests and corrections. You may also contact Steams about information within our responsibility; we will address the request or direct it to the appropriate party as applicable.
Reviewing or accepting these Terms is not blanket consent to unrelated marketing, unrestricted sharing, or uses of information requiring separate authorization. Nothing in these Terms removes privacy or educational-record rights provided by applicable law.
09AI-assisted features
Your Institution may enable AI-assisted tutoring, explanations, practice questions, or other learning tools. AI-generated output may be inaccurate, incomplete, or unsuitable for a particular situation. Verify important information with your instructor, official course materials, or an appropriate professional.
AI features do not replace qualified instruction, professional judgment, emergency services, or medical, legal, financial, or other professional advice. Follow your Institution’s rules about permitted AI assistance; the availability of a feature does not mean its use is allowed for every assignment or assessment.
Do not enter unnecessary sensitive information. Applicable privacy disclosures govern data handling by these features and their providers. Steams does not guarantee the accuracy of AI output or a particular academic, certification, or licensing result.
10Communications and electronic records
Steams and your Institution may provide account, security, instructional, billing, and service notices through the Portal and the contact methods associated with your account, subject to applicable law and your communication choices. Keep your contact information current and review relevant notices.
Marketing messages and text-message programs are subject to their applicable disclosures and consent requirements. These Terms alone do not provide consent for marketing text messages or automated marketing calls.
Where a transaction requires a separate electronic-record or electronic-signature disclosure or authorization, that must be provided through the relevant process. These Terms do not replace transaction-specific consent required by law.
11Third-party services
The Portal may connect to payment processors, video-conferencing tools, electronic-signature services, external learning materials, and other third-party products. Those services may have separate terms and privacy notices, and their availability may change.
A link or integration is not an endorsement of every statement or service offered by a third party. Steams does not control independent third-party operations. This section does not remove Steams’ responsibilities for its own selection, configuration, or use of service providers where law or an agreement imposes those responsibilities.
12Availability and maintenance
We may update, maintain, modify, or temporarily restrict Portal features to address security, performance, legal, operational, or technical needs. We will use reasonable efforts to provide advance notice of planned maintenance expected to cause material disruption when practicable. Urgent work may occur without advance notice.
We do not guarantee uninterrupted or error-free access. Internet connections, devices, and third-party services may affect availability. Maintain copies of important documents you are permitted to download and report technical problems promptly. Your Institution determines arrangements for affected coursework, attendance, and deadlines.
The Portal is not an emergency communication service.
13Suspension, termination, and retention
Steams may restrict or suspend access when reasonably necessary to address material misuse, suspected fraud, a security threat, unlawful activity, a legal requirement, or a valid instruction from your Institution. Access may also change when your authorization ends or your Institution’s service arrangement changes.
Where practicable, we will provide notice and an opportunity to resolve an issue. Immediate action may be necessary when delay creates a security, legal, or operational risk.
Account suspension or closure does not by itself cancel enrollment, resolve tuition obligations, or determine refund eligibility. Information may be retained, returned, or deleted according to applicable law, institutional agreements, and the Portal Privacy page. Account closure does not necessarily result in immediate deletion.
Contact your Institution regarding continued access to academic records. This section does not eliminate access or other rights required by applicable law.
14Warranty disclaimer
To the extent permitted by applicable law, the Portal is provided “as is” and “as available,” except for commitments expressly made in these Terms or another applicable agreement.
To that extent, Steams disclaims implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and noninfringement. Steams does not guarantee a particular educational result, employment outcome, licensing result, or acceptance of a credential.
These disclaimers do not exclude mandatory consumer guarantees, expressly agreed service obligations, or legal duties that cannot be disclaimed.
15Limits on liability
To the extent permitted by applicable law, Steams will not be liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages arising from use of the Portal, including lost profits or business opportunities.
These exclusions do not apply to fraud, intentional misconduct, gross negligence, death or personal injury caused by negligence, or any liability that applicable law does not permit to be excluded. They do not reduce a greater obligation Steams has expressly accepted in a separate agreement applicable to the claim.
Your Institution remains responsible for its own educational services and decisions. That distinction does not exempt Steams from responsibility for its own conduct or obligations.
16Responsibility for intentional unlawful misuse
To the extent permitted by applicable law, an adult user legally able to enter this agreement agrees to reimburse Steams for reasonable losses and costs finally awarded in a third-party claim, to the extent directly caused by that user’s intentional unlawful misuse of the Portal or knowing infringement of another person’s rights.
This obligation does not apply to minors or to the extent a claim results from Steams’ negligence, misconduct, security failures, or breach of its obligations. Steams will provide reasonable notice of a covered claim. No settlement imposing an admission or nonmonetary obligation on you will be entered without your consent.
17Complaints and intellectual-property concerns
Contact your Institution about educational services, academic decisions, tuition, and refunds. Contact Steams about technical access, suspected platform misuse, or concerns about Steams’ handling of information.
To report suspected infringement, identify the content, where it appears in the Portal, your contact details, and the rights you believe are affected. Steams may request additional information and may remove or restrict content when legally required or otherwise appropriate. Any formal legal notice must also meet applicable requirements.
Nothing in these Terms prohibits truthful reviews, good-faith complaints, reports to regulators, or other legally protected activity.
18Changes and general provisions
We may revise these Terms to reflect changes in the Portal, our operations, or legal requirements. The published version will identify its effective date. For material changes affecting your rights or obligations, we will provide appropriate notice and obtain renewed agreement where required by law. Revisions will not retroactively change the terms governing a dispute that arose before they became effective.
Applicable law governs the interpretation and enforceability of these Terms. Nothing in them limits mandatory consumer protections, imposes arbitration, waives participation in a class action, or deprives you of a court or remedy that applicable law makes available.
If a provision is unenforceable, the remaining provisions continue to apply to the extent legally permitted. A failure to enforce a provision on one occasion does not waive the right to enforce it later.
