Instructor Terms

360 Degree Academy Instructor Terms

These Instructor Terms were last updated Sept 21, 2024.

When you sign up to become an instructor on the 360 Degree Academy platform, you agree to abide by these Instructor Terms ("Terms"). These Terms cover details about the aspects of the 360 Degree Academy platform relevant to instructors and are incorporated by reference into our Terms of Use, the general terms that govern your use of our Services. Any capitalized terms that aren't defined in these Terms are defined as specified in the Terms of Use.

As an instructor, you are contracting as an independent contractor directly with 360 Degree Academy, Inc. ("360 Degree Academy"), a Washington DC corporation in the United States.

1. Instructor Obligations
As an instructor, you are responsible for all content that you post, including lectures, quizzes, coding exercises, practice tests, assignments, resources, answers, course landing page content, labs, assessments, and announcements ("Submitted Content").

You represent and warrant that:
- you will provide and maintain accurate account information;
- you own or have the necessary licenses, rights, consents, permissions, and authority to authorize 360 Degree Academy to use your Submitted Content as specified in these Terms and the Terms of Use;
- your Submitted Content will not infringe or misappropriate any third party's intellectual property rights;
- you have the required qualifications, credentials, and expertise (including education, training, knowledge, and skill sets) to teach and offer the services that you offer through your Submitted Content and use of the Services; and
- you will ensure a quality of service that corresponds with the standards of your industry and instruction services in general.
- Keep your Submitted Content current and up-to-date with the latest industry standards and best practices. You shall certify in writing via email annually that the content remains current.
- Ensure your Submitted Content is accessible to people with disabilities. 360 Degree Academy may periodically publish and update Content Accessibility guidelines, which may include, but are not limited to, providing accurate captions for video content and alternative text for images. You agree to comply with these guidelines as they are updated.

You warrant that you will not:
- post or provide any inappropriate, offensive, racist, hateful, sexist, pornographic, false, misleading, incorrect, infringing, defamatory or libelous content or information;
- post or transmit any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional materials, junk mail, spam, or any other form of solicitation (commercial or otherwise) through the Services or to any user;
- use the Services for business other than providing tutoring, teaching, and other activities related to the content;
- engage in any activity that would require us to obtain licenses from or pay royalties to any third party, including the need to pay royalties for the public performance of a musical work or sound recording;
- frame or embed the Services (such as to embed a free version of a course) or otherwise circumvent the Services;
- impersonate another person or gain unauthorized access to another person's account;
- interfere with or otherwise prevent other instructors from providing their services or content; or
- abuse 360 Degree Academy resources, including support services.

2. License to 360 Degree Academy
You grant 360 Degree Academy the rights detailed in the Terms of Use to offer, market, and otherwise use your Submitted Content. This includes the right to add captions or otherwise modify Submitted Content to ensure accessibility. You also authorize 360 Degree Academy to sublicense these rights to your Submitted Content to third parties, including to students directly and through third parties such as resellers, distributors, affiliate sites, deal sites, and paid advertising on third-party platforms.

The rights granted in the Terms of Use also include 360 Degree Academy's right to:
- Apply generative and non-generative AI models to your Submitted Content.
- Develop and improve non-generative AI models using your Submitted Content to support the core capabilities of the Services (such as search and recommendations).
- Use AI-generated derivatives of your Submitted Content for improving the Services, but not for creating new courses or content that would compete with your Submitted Content.

Unless otherwise agreed, you have the right to remove all or any portion of your Submitted Content from the Services only at the end of the Initial Term or any Renewal Term, as defined in Section 7, provided you have given proper notice of termination in accordance with Section 7.3. If you choose to remove your Submitted Content, 360 Degree Academy's right to sublicense the rights in this section will terminate with respect to new users 60 days after the Submitted Content's removal. However, rights given to students before the Submitted Content's removal will continue in accordance with the terms of those licenses (including any grants of lifetime access). For clarity, during the Initial Term or any Renewal Term, you may not remove a substantive portion of your Submitted Content unless expressly permitted by 360 Degree Academy in writing.

Instructors must specify in this agreement the length of the students' license to access the Submitted Content. By default, this access will be set to 12 months from the date of purchase unless otherwise specified. Any revisions to this shall be a written amendment to this agreement.

We may record and use any part of your Submitted Content for quality control and for delivering, marketing, promoting, demonstrating, or operating the Services. You grant 360 Degree Academy permission to use your name, likeness, voice, and image in connection with offering, delivering, marketing, promoting, demonstrating, and selling the Services, your Submitted Content, or 360 Degree Academy's content, and you waive any rights of privacy, publicity, or other rights of a similar nature, to the extent permissible under applicable law.

The only limitation to 360 Degree Academy in regard to using any part of your Submitted Content to deliver, market, promote, demonstrate, or operate the Services, each instance available to the general public shall be limited to:
- No more than 60 seconds of video material
- No more than 1,000 words of the Submitted Content
- No more than 3 images from the Submitted Content, with each image not exceeding 1024x1024 pixels in resolution

360 Degree Academy agrees to make commercially reasonable efforts to protect your Submitted Content from unauthorized use or distribution. This includes implementing security measures to prevent unauthorized access and responding promptly to any reported violations.

3. Trust & Safety
3.1 Trust & Safety Policies
You agree to abide by 360 Degree Academy's content quality standards or policies prescribed by 360 Degree Academy which may be revised from time to time. You should check these policies periodically to ensure that you comply with any updates to them. Any substantial revisions shall be communicated to the email address associated with your account. You understand that your use of the Services is subject to 360 Degree Academy's approval, which we may grant or deny at our sole discretion.

We reserve the right to remove content, suspend payouts, and/or ban instructors for any reason at any time, without prior notice, including in cases where:
- an instructor or content does not comply with our policies or legal terms (including the Terms of Use);
- content becomes outdated, falls below our quality standards, and/or has a negative impact on the student experience;
- an instructor engages in behavior that might reflect unfavorably on 360 Degree Academy or bring 360 Degree Academy into public disrepute, contempt, scandal, or ridicule;
- an instructor engages the services of a marketer or other business partner who violates 360 Degree Academy's policies;
- an instructor uses the Services in a way that constitutes unfair competition, such as promotion of their off-site business in a way that violates 360 Degree Academy's policies; or
- as determined by 360 Degree Academy in its sole discretion.
360 Degree Academy will provide written notice of any such action, including the reason for the action, and give the instructor a reasonable opportunity to respond and/or remedy the issue, except in cases where immediate action is necessary to protect 360 Degree Academy, its users, or third parties.

3.2 Co-Instructors
The 360 Degree Academy platform allows you to use our Services to offer Submitted Content jointly with co-instructors. By having a co-instructor, you understand that you are authorizing them to take certain actions that affect your 360 Degree Academy account and Submitted Content. Violations of 360 Degree Academy's terms and policies by your co-instructor may also negatively impact your 360 Degree Academy account and Submitted Content.

360 Degree Academy is not able to advise on any questions or mediate any disputes between co-instructors. All earned Net Revenue share earned by the date of the purchase shall be paid out based on the percentage you have notified us in writing and shall be an amendment to this agreement.

Co-instructors are required to have a written agreement between themselves detailing the division of responsibilities and revenue share. This agreement shall be provided to 360 Degree Academy upon request.

In the event there is an irreconcilable difference between the co-instructors, 360 Degree Academy reserves the right to suspend or terminate the Submitted Content from the Services. All other provisions in this contract shall survive this suspension or termination.

3.3 Relationship to Other Users
Instructors don't have a direct contractual relationship with students, so the only information you'll receive about students is what is provided to you through the Services. You agree that you will not use the data you receive for any purpose other than providing your services to those students on the 360 Degree Academy platform. Unless the students opted in to the instructor's personal distribution list hosted outside the platform or initiated contact with the instructors outside the platform, you shall not solicit additional personal data or store students' personal data outside the 360 Degree Academy platform. You agree to indemnify 360 Degree Academy against any claims arising from your use of students' personal data.

3.4 Communications Outside the Platform
Any communication with students outside the 360 Degree Academy platform should be conducted responsibly and with respect for student privacy. Instructors should adhere to the following guidelines:
a) Consent: Obtain clear agreement from students before initiating any communication outside the platform.
b) Purpose: Limit communications to course-related matters or academic support unless otherwise agreed upon with the student.
c) Data Use: Collect and use only the information necessary for the agreed-upon purpose of the communication.
d) Security: Take reasonable measures to protect any student information you handle.
e) Student Preferences: Respect students' wishes regarding communication methods and frequency. Allow students to easily opt out of off-platform communications.
f) Transparency: Be clear about how you intend to use any information shared by students in off-platform communications.
g) Professional Boundaries: Maintain appropriate instructor-student relationships in all communications.
h) Platform Rules: Do not use off-platform communications to circumvent 360 Degree Academy's terms of service or payment systems.
i) Legal Compliance: Adhere to applicable laws and regulations in your jurisdiction regarding electronic communications and data privacy.
j) Minors: Exercise extra caution when communicating with students who are minors (typically under 18 years old, but this may vary by jurisdiction). Additional guidelines for interacting with minors include:
Parental Consent: Obtain parental or guardian consent before initiating any off-platform communication with a minor.

Limited Data Collection: Collect only the minimum amount of information necessary for course-related communications. Avoid collecting sensitive personal information from minors.

Appropriate Content: Ensure all communications and shared content are age-appropriate and directly relevant to the course material.

Restricted Communication Channels: Use only official, trackable communication methods (e.g., course-related email) rather than personal social media or messaging apps.

Group Settings: When possible, conduct off-platform communications in group settings (e.g., group emails, monitored forums) rather than one-on-one interactions.
Record Keeping: Maintain records of all communications with minors, ensuring transparency and accountability.

Reporting Mechanisms: Be aware of and comply with any legal obligations to report concerns about a minor's safety or well-being.

k) Platform Notification: Inform 360 Degree Academy if your course is specifically targeted at or likely to attract a significant number of minor students.
Instructors are responsible for ensuring their communication practices are ethical, appropriate, and compliant with laws protecting minors in their jurisdiction. 360 Degree Academy reserves the right to review instructors' off-platform communication practices if concerns are raised, and may take action if these practices are found to be harmful to students (especially minors) or the platform's reputation.

4. Pricing
4.1 Instructor Programs
360 Degree Academy offers marketing initiatives ("Promotional Programs") to promote the Submitted Content. These programs can help increase your revenue potential on 360 Degree Academy and do not require any up-front cost to participate. You may opt out of participating in Promotional Programs.
360 Degree Academy will provide at least 14 days' notice before including your Submitted Content in any new Promotional Program, giving you the opportunity to opt out. However, opting out after at least 14 days may not apply to currently active campaigns.

4.2 Price Setting
When creating Submitted Content available for purchase on 360 Degree Academy, you will be prompted to select a base price ("Base Price") for your Submitted Content. 360 Degree Academy cannot provide guidance or advice on what price point to set for any Submitted Content. Since there are minimum fees associated with each purchase, unless otherwise agreed, the instructor shall not offer courses for free to any users. The minimum Base Price for any Submitted Content shall be $9.99 USD, unless otherwise agreed in writing with 360 Degree Academy.

As an instructor, unless opted out, your Submitted Content may at 360 Degree Academy's discretion, participate in ("Promotional Programs"). If you do not opt to participate in any Promotional Programs, we will list your Submitted Content for the Base Price or the closest local or mobile app equivalent (as detailed below). If you opt to participate in a Promotional Program, we may set a different discounted price or list price for your Submitted Content as described in the Promotions Policy.

When a student purchases using a foreign currency, we will convert the relevant Base Price or Promotional Program price into the student's applicable currency. The conversion rate shall be determined by the third party payment gateway in use at that time by 360 Degree Academy and cannot be responsible for variation or deviations from the published conversion rate.

When a student purchases through a mobile application, the mobile platform provider's may impose their own currency conversion rates which may not be the same rate otherwise used in other transactions by 360 Degree Academy.
You give us permission to share your Submitted Content for free with our employees, contractors, and selected partners. You understand that you will not receive compensation in these cases.

4.3 Transaction Taxes
If a student purchases a product or service in a country that requires 360 Degree Academy to remit national, state, or local sales or use taxes, value added taxes (VAT), or other similar transaction taxes ("Transaction Taxes"), under applicable law, we will collect and remit those Transaction Taxes to the competent tax authorities for those sales. We may increase the sale price at our discretion where we determine that such taxes may be due. For purchases through mobile applications, applicable Transaction Taxes are collected by the mobile platform (such as Apple's App Store or Google Play).

360 Degree Academy will provide instructors with documentation of Transaction Taxes collected and remitted on their behalf upon request.

5. Payments
5.1 Revenue Share
When a student purchases your Submitted Content, we calculate the gross amount of the sale as the amount actually received by 360 Degree Academy from the student ("Gross Amount"). From this, we subtract any Transaction Taxes, any mobile platform fees applied to mobile provider checkout sales, a 3% service and processing fee for any non-mobile provider checkout sales, any amounts paid to third parties in connection with the Instructor Programs, and/or a 3% service and processing fee for orders placed by entities to calculate the net amount of the sale ("Net Amount").
If you have not chosen to participate in any of 360 Degree Academy's optional Instructor Programs, your revenue share will be 80% of the Net Amount less any applicable deductions, such as student refunds. In transactions where the revenue share percentage due to 360 Degree Academy is less than three dollars per student, 360 Degree Academy may, at its discretion, recover up to three dollars from the Net Amount to defray operating cost associated with each purchase. If we change this payment rate or the minimum amount due to 360 Degree Academy due to unforeseeable operating expenses, we will provide you 30 days notice via email.
360 Degree Academy makes all instructor payments in U.S. dollars (USD) regardless of the currency with which the sale was made. 360 Degree Academy is not responsible for your foreign currency conversion fees, wiring fees, or any other processing fees that you may incur. In the event there are such transactions involving foreign currencies, your revenue report will show your converted revenue amount (in USD).
360 Degree Academy will provide a breakdown of all fees and deductions in each payment statement.

5.2 Instructor Coupons and Course Referral Links
The 360 Degree Academy platform may permit you to use coupon codes and referral links to offer certain items of your Submitted Content to students at a discount from the listed 360 Degree Academy price. These coupon codes and referral links are subject to limits, and you may not sell them on third-party websites or otherwise offer them in exchange for compensation. Additional information and restrictions on these coupon codes and referral links are outlined in our Trust & Safety policies.
Instructors may create up to 10 unique coupon codes per course per month, unless otherwise agreed in writing with 360 Degree Academy.

5.3 Receiving Payments
For us to pay you in a timely manner, unless otherwise agreed, you must own an U.S. bank account in good standing and must keep us informed of the correct email associated with your account. You must also provide any identifying information or tax documentation (such as a W-9) necessary for payment of amounts due, and you agree that we have the right to withhold appropriate taxes from your payments. We reserve the right to withhold payments or impose other penalties if we do not receive proper identifying information or tax documentation from you. Although we will issue you the appropriate tax documentation (such as a 1099), you understand and agree that you are ultimately responsible for any taxes on your income.

Payments will be made within 30 days of the end of each calendar month for all revenue earned in the previous month, provided the total amount due exceeds $5 USD. If the amount due is less than $5 USD, it will be rolled over to the next payment period. Instructors may request a different payment arrangement which may be granted and revoked at 360 Degree Academy’s sole discretion.

As an instructor, you are responsible for determining whether you are eligible to be paid by a U.S. company. We reserve the right not to pay out funds in the event of identified fraud, violations of intellectual property rights, or other violations of the law.
If we cannot settle funds due into your payment account after the period of time set forth by your state, country, or other government authority in its unclaimed property laws, we may process the funds due to you in accordance with our legal obligations, including by submitting those funds to the appropriate government authority as required by law.

5.4 Refunds
You acknowledge and agree that students have the right to receive a refund, as detailed in the Terms of Use. Instructors will not receive any revenue from transactions for which a refund has been granted under the Terms of Use.

If a student asks for a refund after we have paid the relevant instructor payment, we reserve the right to either (1) deduct the amount of the refund from the next payment sent to the instructor or (2) where no further payments are due to the instructor or the payments are insufficient to cover the refunded amounts, require the instructor to refund any amounts refunded to students for the instructor's Submitted Content.

Refunds may be granted for the following reasons:
1. Technical issues that prevent the student from accessing or completing the course
2. Course content significantly different from the description
3. Low quality of instruction or materials
Refunds must be requested within 30 days of purchase. 360 Degree Academy reserves the right to make the final decision on all refund requests.

6. Trademarks
While you are a published instructor and subject to the requirements below, you may use our trademarks where we authorize you to do so.
You must:
- only use the images of our trademarks that we make available to you, as detailed in any guidelines we may publish;
- only use our trademarks in connection with the promotion and sale of your Submitted Content available on 360 Degree Academy or your participation on 360 Degree Academy; and
- immediately comply if we request that you discontinue use.
You must not:
- use our trademarks in a misleading or disparaging way;
- use our trademarks in a way that implies that we endorse, sponsor, or approve of your Submitted Content or services; or
- use our trademarks in a way that violates applicable law or in connection with an obscene, indecent, or unlawful topic or material.
360 Degree Academy will provide a trademark usage guide to instructors. Any use of 360 Degree Academy trademarks must strictly adhere to this guide. Failure to comply may result in the immediate revocation of trademark usage rights.

 7. Term and Termination
7.1 Initial Term
The initial term of this Agreement shall be for a period of three (3) years from the date of execution ("Initial Term").

7.2 Renewal
After the Initial Term, this Agreement will automatically renew for successive one-year periods (each a "Renewal Term"), unless either party provides written notice of non-renewal as specified in Section 7.3.

7.3 Termination by Instructor
The Instructor may terminate this Agreement only at the end of the Initial Term or any Renewal Term by providing at least sixty (60) days' written notice prior to the end of the then-current term. For clarity, the Instructor may not terminate this Agreement during the Initial Term or any Renewal Term except as provided in this section.

7.4 Termination by 360 Degree Academy
360 Degree Academy may terminate this Agreement as specified in Section 3.1 (Trust & Safety Policies) or immediately upon written notice if the Instructor breaches any material term of this Agreement.

7.5 Effect of Termination
Upon termination of this Agreement, the Instructor's right to use the 360 Degree Academy platform will cease. However, all rights and licenses granted to 360 Degree Academy under Section 2 (License to 360 Degree Academy) shall survive termination, subject to the terms of that section.

8. Miscellaneous Legal Terms
8.1 Updating These Terms
From time to time, we may update these Terms to clarify our practices or to reflect new or different practices (such as when we add new features), and 360 Degree Academy reserves the right in its sole discretion to modify and/or make changes to these Terms at any time. If we make any material change, we will notify you using prominent means such as by email notice sent to the email address specified in your account. Modifications will become effective on the day they are posted unless stated otherwise.

Your continued use of our Services after changes become effective shall mean that you accept those changes. Any revised Terms shall supersede all previous Terms.
For any material changes to these Terms, we will provide at least 30 days' notice before the changes take effect. If you do not agree with the changes, you may terminate this agreement within this 30-day notice period. After the 30-day notice period has elapsed, the option to terminate based on these changes is no longer available, and your continued use of our Services will constitute acceptance of the updated Terms.

8.2 Language and Communications
Any version of these Terms in a language other than English is provided for convenience only. You understand and agree that the English language version will control if there is any conflict.

Any communication, advice, or guidance provided by 360 Degree Academy representatives, whether written or verbal, does not supersede, modify, or amend these Terms unless explicitly stated in writing and signed by an authorized representative of 360 Degree Academy.

8.3 Relationship Between Us
You and we agree that your relationship with 360 Degree Academy is that of an independent contractor. Nothing in these Terms shall be construed as creating a joint venture, partnership, employment, or agency relationship between you and 360 Degree Academy. You do not have the power to bind 360 Degree Academy or incur obligations on 360 Degree Academy's behalf.

8.4 Dispute Resolution
Any dispute arising from or relating to the subject matter of this Agreement shall be finally settled by arbitration in Washington, D.C., using the English language in accordance with the Arbitration Rules and Procedures of JAMS then in effect, by one commercial arbitrator with substantial experience in resolving intellectual property and commercial contract disputes, who shall be selected from the appropriate list of JAMS arbitrators in accordance with such Rules. Judgment upon the award rendered by such arbitrator may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction.

8.5 Governing Law
This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the District of Columbia, without regard to its conflict of law provisions.

8.6 Severability
If any provision of this Agreement is found to be unenforceable or invalid, that provision will be limited or eliminated to the minimum extent necessary so that this Agreement will otherwise remain in full force and effect and enforceable.

8.7 Survival
The following sections shall survive the expiration or termination of these Terms: Sections 2 (License to 360 Degree Academy), 3.3 (Relationship to Other Users), 5.3 (Receiving Payments), 5.4 (Refunds), 6 (Trademarks), and 7 (Miscellaneous Legal Terms).

9. How to Contact Us
The best way to get in touch with us on all matters is via email at contact@360degreeacademy.com. We'd love to hear your questions, concerns, and feedback about our Services.