Online Learning Agreement

This learning agreement was last updated on 21 April 2020. 

The terms of this agreement cover the conditions on which we provide a course (or courses) to you as digital content. We ask that you read the terms carefully before enrolling with us. 

We or the Institute refers to the Umbra Institute, ISI Florence, and ISI Abroad; you refers to the individual agreeing to the terms below. 

Communication 

For the duration of the course, our team of staff and professors will contact you through Moodle, Skype, Zoom, email and/or similar outlets to provide you with academic material, advising, and technical support.  You can contact us at any time either by reaching out to our staff and professors directly or through [email protected]. If we are unable to reach you in a timely manner and/or if we notice that you’ve not been following your courses for an extended period of time, we may contact your home institution and/or emergency contacts in order to reach you. Should we take all available steps and still be unable to contact you, your professor will reserve the right to provide you with a W or Incomplete for your course (or courses). 

Financial Aid & Invoicing

The Institute is not responsible for processing financial aid, particularly federal financial aid provided for your studies. We can sign a consortium agreement with your school’s financial aid office or provide them with any program details needed to facilitate their award process. 

Invoices will be sent to either you or your home institution, as discussed and confirmed in writing with your admissions advisor. Failure to pay all course fees in full will result in a hold placed on your transcript or withdrawal from the academic program.

Refunds & Withdrawal

Once you submit an application for our online offerings, you are subject to all deadlines and refunds defined for your program. Summer 2020 details can be found at www.isiabroad.org/. Missing payment deadlines can result in you being withdrawn from the program. To request a refund or withdrawal, you can either email your admissions advisor or [email protected].

Enrollment

You must provide truthful, accurate, and complete information when applying to an ISI Abroad program and be at least eighteen (18) years of age. Failure to do so may result in removal from the program with no refund (after the withdrawal deadline). It is your responsibility to update the Institute with any changes in information (including your contact details). 

You are responsible for the security and use of any usernames or passwords used to access our websites or any content relative to your enrollment with the Institute and completion of academic offerings. You must not allow any other person, without our express permission, to access the content through your login credentials. 

You acknowledge that by enrolling in our courses, you give us permission to contact your home institution and/or emergency contact when we deem appropriate according to our GDPR policies; particularly as they relate to securing your academic success, health & wellbeing, or violation of conduct requirements. 

Course Materials

All course content provided is considered the property of the Institute and/or your professor; or, in the case of third-party links or videos, the property of the site or organization responsible for creating that content. You are responsible for respecting all international intellectual property rights by not duplicating or distributing the information, links, videos, or other content provided for your academic use in any print or electronic format. We are not responsible and therefore not liable for the content found on any third-party links, videos, document, or other file.

All of your assignment/assessment submissions must be your original work and a proper reflection of your knowledge and abilities. Plagiarism or content manipulation of any kind is grounds for failure of the assignment/assessment in question and/or removal from your course(s) without refund. 

Our courses are delivered in English or Italian. If the course language is not your first language, it is entirely your responsibility to ensure that your English or Italian is good enough to complete all requirements of the course and review study materials satisfactorily. While support can be provided for Italian language, we do not provide English language tutoring. 

We are not responsible for any of the hardware or software you need in order to complete our courses online. We are also not responsible if any of our materials do not operate efficiently, or at all, because of incompatibility and your local technical issues with software, hardware, browsers, broadband, firewalls, antivirus or anti-spyware, or device settings on your end. Should you encounter any issues of incompatibility, you must contact our team immediately to see if alternative materials can be found for you or if the error or issue is on your end.

By enrolling, you agree that you’ve reviewed all relevant requirements and that the course(s) selected are appropriate for your level of academic standing, knowledge of English (and/or Italian), level of IT knowledge, and access to IT equipment used for the course.

We will provide you with learning outcomes for your course(s) and access to appropriate expertise to support your studies throughout your period of enrollment. We will also provide you with clear evaluations of all forms of assessment in a timely manner, in some cases including individual feedback on your overall progress or assignment. We can provide minimal technical support for the learning platforms used and will deal with any difficulties promptly and fairly. 

We will provide a brief add/drop period at the start of your online session to allow you to change courses upon your written request. Switching courses will not result in any financial changes, unless the number of credits in which you are enrolled is changed. Dropping a course may entitle you to a full or partial refund if done by the end of the add/drop period; adding a course will incur the full cost of an additional course. 

Transcripts

Some universities will accept a grade report from the Institute as a transcript and record of course transfer. Some will require a transcript from our underwriter in the United States, Arcadia University. The US transcript will incur an additional cost of $250 USD. It is your responsibility to communicate your transcript needs to one of our admissions advisors prior to the start of the online program. You must inform us of your need for an Institute transcript or a transcript from our underwriter; as well as the address and individual or office to whom the transcript should be sent upon your completion of our online program.

Our admissions advisors are available to discuss your transcript needs and how they may impact course transfer with both you and any relative advisors or administrators at your home institution. 

Conduct

You must treat all of our staff and faculty, as well as other students in our programs with courtesy and respect. While studying with us, you will be responsible for your conduct according to your home institution’s Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities or particular Code of Honor. 

Your conduct when interacting with online course material, Institute staff and faculty, and peers enrolled in our online offerings must mutually benefit yourself, your peers, and the Institute. Displays of drunkenness or any form of intoxication, abusive language, sexual harassment, loud & irreverent behavior toward others, and/or unwillingness to cooperate with members of the faculty, staff, or student body are all unacceptable behaviors. Any such behavior or other action that is potentially damaging to the Institute or your peers can be grounds for dismissal from the program, with no refund. The Institute may inform your home institution of program dismissal and the reasons for it. You will be solely responsible for any financial or other consequences associated with dismissal.

You must represent yourself and only yourself; you may not impersonate or otherwise misrepresent any person or entity. 

You must take all reasonable steps to keep your technology free of viruses while enrolled in our courses. You must not post, upload, email or otherwise transmit any material that contains viruses, computer code, programs or files that are designed to interrupt, limit the functionality of, or destroy any computer software, hardware, or other IT equipment. 

By enrolling, you agree to indemnify and hold harmless the releases from any loss, liability, damage or cost, including court costs and attorney fees, that may incur due to your participation in Institute programs, whether caused by negligence of releases or otherwise. 

The abovementioned policies may be updated at any time.