TERMS & CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY
Competency-Based Education Network, Inc. Terms & Conditions
Last Updated: September 27, 2024
Acceptance of Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy
In consideration for accessing and using https://competentu.c-ben.org and competentu.brightspace.com (collectively, the “Site”) and the Site’s services (including the sale of goods), you accept and agree to be bound by the terms and provisions of these Terms & Conditions (these “T&C”) and the Privacy Policy (the “Privacy Policy”). The terms of these T&C and the Privacy Policy apply to, and govern, your use of all webpages and content contained within the Site and your relationship with Competency-Based Education Network, Inc. (“C-BEN,” “us,” “we,” or “our”).
Modifications to Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy
You understand that the terms of these T&C and the Privacy Policy may change without notice and that you accept any such modifications with your continued use of the Site or Site services. Any such revision or change will be binding upon you after ten (10) days of posting of the updated T&C and/or Privacy Policy on the Site, or e-mail or other written notification to you, whichever comes first.
If you disagree with any modification to the T&C or Privacy Policy, you must notify C-BEN in writing within the ten-day (10) time period described above and immediately discontinue use of any Site services.
Adult Usage Only
This Site is intended for those who are of the age of majority and able to legally enter binding contracts without any right of rescission. Accordingly, in using the Site, you represent, warrant, and agree that you are at least eighteen (18) years or older.
Payment of Fees
C-BEN may charge you for services in conjunction with using the Site, including but not limited to competency-based education and workforce programs, events, and consulting services. We may assess and collect from you fees, surcharges, or other supplemental payment required of or imposed on C-BEN by any governmental, regulatory, or financial institution or entity. You may make payments for purchases through our third party payment processing vendors including but not limited to D2L and Stripe by various methods, which may include valid credit card. C-BEN reserves the right to expand or limit its payment options.
By making any payment through the Site, you acknowledge and agree that the third party payment processors’ terms and conditions, as well as their privacy policies, will apply to your transaction. C-BEN is not responsible for any issues arising from the processing of your payment, including but not limited to errors, delays, or breaches caused by the third party payment processors. We encourage you to review the third party payment processors’ terms and conditions and privacy policies before completing any transactions.
In conjunction with each payment you make to through the use of the Site, or which a third party makes on your behalf, you warrant that the payment information is true and correct (e.g., valid credit card information). Further, you understand and agree that any declined payment may be lead to additional fees (e.g., dishonored credit card) and to the suspension or termination of your Site services. You also understand and agree that you are solely responsible to ensure prompt payment of all fees owed as a result of your use of the Site and that C-BEN is under no obligation to retain, preserve or otherwise maintain your information, account, or services associated with your account if your account is in default.
Billing
Your debit or credit card on file may be charged in full or on a recurring basis depending on the terms of your purchase. If you would like to see your payment history, please log into your account. You may access it from within your member profile by going to “Account,” then “Billing,” and finally “Billing History.”
Refund Policy
All fees paid to C-BEN or otherwise associated with your use of the Site are non-refundable.
One Account Policy
To further the integrity of the services provided through the Site or otherwise, all users are limited to one account per person. Similarly, all companies are limited to one account per company. Users who violate this policy may have all of their accounts suspended or terminated.
Secured Areas
Some portions of the Site are restricted and require authorization for access. Unauthorized use of or access to these areas is prohibited. Actual or attempted unauthorized use of or access to such areas may result in criminal and/or civil prosecution. Attempts to access such areas without authorization may be viewed, monitored and recorded and any information obtained may be given to law enforcement organizations in connection with any investigation or prosecution of possible criminal activity on or through the Site. If you are not an authorized user of such areas or do not consent to continued monitoring, you should not attempt to access such areas.
Your Account Security
You are responsible for maintaining the security of your C-BEN Site account, which is accessed through a third-party platform, D2L. By using D2L to login to your Site account, you agree and understand that you are solely responsible for your account security settings, the protection of confidential information (e.g., your password), and all consequences that result from activities occurring with your Site account. C-BEN is not responsible for any unauthorized use of your account or unauthorized payment methods. You may not share your login information with anyone. Except for the purpose of logging into your Site account, C-BEN will never request your password. If you suspect that your account or login information has been compromised, you should immediately change your password and contact C-BEN.
You further agree to promptly notify C-BEN of any security breach relating to your Site account. Such notices should be sent to: competentu@c-ben.org.
C-BEN encourages all Site users to proactively take steps to enhance their personal security measures. These measures may include using “strong” passwords that consist of lower case and capitalized letters as well as numbers; regularly changing passwords, and preventing the disclosure of passwords to any third parties.
Accuracy of Information Provided by You
You agree that all information you provide through the Site or otherwise to C-BEN is true, current, complete and accurate. You also agree that you will update your information as needed to keep it true, current, complete and accurate. You hereby agree to notify us within five (5) business days of a change in any information you provided us. Such notices should be sent to competentu@c-ben.org. Failure to provide such updated information will constitute a material breach of the terms of these T&C and may lead to the suspension or termination of your account.
You warrant that you provided notice to, and obtained consent from, any third party whose personal data you supply through the Site or otherwise to C-BEN. You further warrant that to the extent you provided personal data about a third party through the Site or otherwise to C-BEN, you provided that third party with notice about the Site’s T&C and Privacy Policy. You agree to accept all liability and consequences resulting from your failure to provide notice or receive consent from such third parties or for your providing outdated, incomplete or inaccurate information.
Code of Conduct
You agree that your use of Site services is only for lawful purposes and is consistent with the terms, conditions, and policies set forth in these T&C and the Privacy Policy. You agree to not use the Site services or anything related to the Site services or any other services offered by C-BEN for any unlawful or otherwise prohibited means, including but not limited to employment discrimination, harassment, unlawful images or adult content. Additional prohibited actions with respect to use of the Site and any Site services include:
1. Use the Site in any manner that could damage, disable, overburden, or impair any Site servers, or the network(s) connected to any Site server, or interfere with any other party’s use and enjoyment of the Site;
2. Attempt to gain unauthorized access to the Site, other accounts, computer systems or networks connected to any Site server or to any of the websites linked to the Site through hacking, password mining or any other means;
3. Obtain or attempt to obtain any materials or information through any means not intentionally made available through the Site;
4. Use data mining, robots, screen scraping or similar data gathering and extraction tools on the Site;
5. Use any metatags or any other “hidden text” utilizing any part of the Site or C-BEN’s name, service or trademarks or trade dress without the express written consent of C-BEN;
6. Defame, abuse, harass, stalk, threaten or otherwise violate the legal rights (such as rights of privacy and publicity) of others;
7. Publish, post, upload, distribute or disseminate any inappropriate, profane, defamatory, obscene, indecent or unlawful topic, name, material or information;
8. Upload, or otherwise make available files that contain images, photographs, software or other material protected by intellectual property laws, including, by way of example, and not as limitation, copyright or trademark laws (or by rights of privacy or publicity) unless you own or control the rights thereto or have received all necessary consent to do the same;
9. Use any material or information, including images or photographs, which are made available through the Site in any manner that infringes any copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret or other proprietary right of any party;
10. Upload files that contain viruses, Trojan horses, worms, time bombs, cancel bots, corrupted files, or any other similar software or programs that may damage the operation of another’s computer or property;
11. Harvest or otherwise collect information about others, including but not limited to e-mail addresses;
12. Use the Site in connection with surveys, contests, pyramid schemes, chain letters, junk email, spamming or any duplicative or unsolicited messages (commercial or otherwise);
13. Direct traffic, post links, advertise, or engage in any similar conduct related to other websites, companies, competitors, or services;
14. Use the Site, or any Site services or tools if you are not able to form legally binding contracts;
15. Any attempt to copy or mirror the information, data, content, or coding from the site without first obtaining express written permission from the Site administrator;
16. Any attempt to reverse engineer or reconstruct any portion of the Site;
17. Failure to abide by, or breach of, any of our third party vendors’ terms and conditions or any other policies applicable to the Site;
18. Share your login information or allow third parties to utilize your login information to access any part of the Site; or
19. Engage in any acts or omissions that C-BEN believes is hateful, offensive, illegal, unprofessional, or otherwise inappropriate.
You agree to fully comply with any applicable laws and regulations. You further agree to cooperate in any governmental investigation regarding your use of the Site and Site services. You further agree to that to the extent you are using the Site for the purposes related to C-BEN you will adhere to all applicable State and Federal laws and regulations.
Knowledge of T&C and Privacy Policy
If you are using Site services in conjunction with any third parties, you agree to ensure such third parties are aware of, and agree to, these T&C and the Privacy Policy.
Breach of the Terms & Conditions and/or Privacy Policy
We reserve the right to cancel or terminate your use of Site services if, in our sole discretion, you breach, or we reasonably believe you have breached these T&C or any other obligation to C-BEN. Without limiting the forgoing, you agree that all of the following may be considered a material breach of your obligations under these T&C and the Privacy Policy: (i) your failure to abide by any provision of these T&C and the Privacy Policy; (ii) your failure to pay any amounts due to C-BEN; (iii) your communication of inaccurate information to us, including your failure to promptly update your information; or (iv) your violation of any code of conduct adopted by C-BEN.
If any of the foregoing events occurs and we deem it a material breach by you of these T&C and/or the Privacy Policy, we may provide you with a written notice describing the breach; however, you recognize, understand, and agree that C-BEN is not obligated to send any such notice of default and may immediately suspend or terminate your Site account or services without notice. In the event a written notice of breach is provided to you, you shall have no longer than ten (10) calendar days to cure such breach.
Use of Name
If you are a customer using the Site or any Site services, you consent to C-BEN using your name and business name in advertising and promotional materials related to Site services.
Your Authority
You agree that you are of legal age and authority to enter into and be bound by the terms of these T&C and the Privacy Policy. Similarly, to the extent you are providing any information regarding a third party, you represent and warrant that you have the authority to provide such information from or about the third party through the Site or otherwise to C-BEN.
Maintenance/Site Down Time
C-BEN reserves the right to perform maintenance on the Site and Site services whenever it deems reasonably necessary. Maintenance is generally scheduled for off-peak hours, such as weekends and evenings. C-BEN will attempt to communicate any expected prolonged system outage to Site users in advance of such outage. C-BEN is not liable for any unforeseen or unexpected system outage due to unavailability of utilities or supplies, acts of god, natural disaster, labor strike or shortage, or any other condition that is reasonably outside of C-BEN’s control.
Intellectual Property Rights
You agree that we hold all right, title and interest to all services, content, its websites and information and technology used to provide the Website and its services. You acknowledge that no title or interest in such intellectual property rights is being, or has been, transferred to you. You further agree to make no claim of interest in any such intellectual property or use any of our intellectual property rights without the express written permission from us.
All content including but not limited to text, graphics, downloads and software included on this site is the property of C-BEN or its licensors and is protected by United States and international copyright laws.
You also grant C-BEN a non-exclusive, royalty free, perpetual license to use, reference, post, identify, or otherwise utilize your intellectual property rights that you submit through the Website or otherwise provide to us. Such information will be used solely by us in conjunction with marketing the Website and its services.
Authorized Use
By accessing and/or using the Site, products, and services of C-BEN and/or any of our offerings through third party vendors or derivations thereof (collectively, the “Services”), you acknowledge and agree that all content, materials, products, and services available are the sole and exclusive intellectual property of C-BEN and our third party vendors as described above.
You further agree that your use of Services is strictly limited to your personal and educational purposes. You may use the Services to enhance your own knowledge or implement educational processes (e.g. if you are teacher who works at a high school, you may utilize your knowledge of the Services to teach your students at your high school). However, you expressly agree and shall not to use any Services for commercial purposes. Prohibited commercial purposes includes but is not limited to, using or sharing the Services with third-parties, becoming an independent contractor or third party instructor or consultant, or otherwise teaching or distributing the Services to others for financial gain or any form of compensation. Additional prohibited uses include sharing the Services’ copyrighted content with any third-party without express written consent from C-Ben.
Any unauthorized use of C-BEN’s or our vendors’ Services, constitutes a material violation of these T&C and may result in suspension of access to the Site, legal action, or other remedies available to C-BEN.
Disclaimer of Warranties
C-BEN EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE SITE AND ALL SITE SERVICES AND ANY RELATED SOFTWARE OR SERVICES ARE PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS. UNLESS OTHERWISE PROVIDED IN WRITING AND SIGNED BY AN AUTHORIZED AGENT OF C-BEN, C-BEN DOES NOT WARRANT THAT SITE SERVICES WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS, OR THAT THE SITE OR ANY SITE SERVICES WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY, SECURE, OR ERROR FREE. C-BEN DOES NOT WARRANT THE RESULTS THAT MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE USE OF THE SITE OR ANY SITE SERVICES, THE ACCURACY OR RELIABILITY OF ANY INFORMATION OBTAINED THROUGH THE SITE, OR THE QUALITY OR COMPLETENESS OF ANY SERVICES PROVIDED THROUGH THE SITE OR ITS USERS. EXCEPT AS OTHERWISE EXPLICITLY WRITTEN IN A DOCUMENT SIGNED BY AN AUTHORIZED AGENT OF C-BEN, C-BEN PROVIDES NO WARRANTY REGARDING THE GOODS OR SERVICES PURCHASED OR OBTAINED FROM THE SITE OR ANY THIRD PARTYASSOCIATED OR AFFILIATED WITH C-BEN.
C-BEN DOES NOT WARRANTY OR GUARANTEE ANY OF THE SITE’S USERS’ COMPLIANCE WITH LAW. C-BEN IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THIRD PARTIES’ UNLAWFUL ACTIVITIES REGARDLESS OF WHETHER THE SITE’S SERVICES ARE INVOLVED.
Assumption of Risk
The Site is intended for information purposes only. When you access the Site, use Site services, download or upload content on the Site, proceed to other websites linked to the Site, or interact with the Site in any manner, you do so at your own discretion and risk. In other words, you are solely responsible for any damage done to your computer, electronic device, or other property, including but not limited to the loss of money through investments or corruption of data.
Third Party Intellectual Property Rights
Various goods and services that may be available for purchase on the Site may be branded materials or otherwise contain intellectual property rights owned by third parties. The ownership of all such third-party intellectual property rights, including but not necessarily limited to copyrights and trademarks, are owned by their respective owners, and neither you nor C-BEN shall acquire any ownership or other interest in such third parties’ intellectual property rights except as may be dictated by applicable law.
Customer Support
Without limiting the forgoing disclaimer of warranties or assumption of risk sections, C-BEN provides email support for Site customers. Support can be reached by sending an email to competentu@c-ben.org. C-BEN attempts to respond to customer inquiries within two (2) business days.
Indemnification
As a user of the Site, you agree to release, indemnify, defend and hold harmless C-BEN and all of its agents, affiliates, subsidiaries, licensors, and assigns from any and all claims, actions, proceedings or demands and all liabilities, claims, damages, losses, costs and expenses, including reasonable attorneys’ fees and expenses, made by any third party or relating to or arising under or from your violations of these T&C or the Privacy Policy, your submissions to the Site, the services provided through the Site or otherwise by C-BEN to you, your use of any services of the Site or provided by C-BEN or your alleged violation of any rights of another. This indemnification provision shall not affect nor impair any person’s right to lawfully pursue claims against other users of this Site for their alleged violations of the law. Further, if C-BEN receives a subpoena based on your use of our Service, you hereby agree to and promise to indemnify C-BEN for all costs and expenses, including responsible attorneys’ fees incurred related to responding to the subpoena. This indemnification obligation is in addition to any other rights or remedies C-BEN may have in law or equity.
You agree that C-BEN shall have the right to participate in the defense of any claim asserted against C-BEN or involving the Site. You also agree that C-BEN shall be entitled to retain a counsel of C-BEN’s own choosing at your cost. You further agree to notify C-BEN of your knowledge of any claim against C-BEN or involving the Site. You agree to cooperate fully with C-BEN during such proceedings.
Automatic Payments in the Event of Default
If you provided payment information to C-BEN and sums are due and owing from you to C-BEN and you are in default of your obligations under these T&C, you authorize C-BEN to deduct any sums due and owing from your payment source(s) so long as C-BEN provided you with notice of your default and you failed to cure the default under the terms and conditions of these T&C.
Right to Refuse Service
C-BEN, in our sole discretion and without any liability to us, reserves the right to refuse service to any person or entity through the Site or otherwise.
Consent and Survival of Agreement
By using the Site and Site services provided through the Site by C-BEN under these T&C and the Privacy Policy, you acknowledge that you have read and agree to be bound by all terms and conditions of these T&C and the Privacy Policy. You also agree to be bound by all amended terms and conditions of these T&C and the Privacy Policy. These terms of these T&C and the Privacy Policy, and your obligations under such terms, continue to apply to you even if you are no longer using the Site or its services.
Reports of Abuse
If you have any reason to believe that content on the Site violates any law, that any user of the Site is using Site services to violate the law, or that any User is violating these T&C or the Privacy Policy, you may inform C-BEN in writing about the facts and circumstances of the alleged abuse/violations by writing to the address provided below. C-BEN may, but is not obligated, to conduct an investigation into the allegations. C-BEN reserves the right to remove accounts, content, or postings that from the Site C-BEN, in its sole discretion, believes is offensive, illegal, or otherwise inappropriate.
Retention of Records
You agree to comply with all applicable governmental laws, ordinances, rules, and regulations related to the retention of records. Under no circumstances will C-BEN be liable to you for your failure to retain necessary records, nor will C-BEN’s retention or non-retention of records act to alleviate your duty under the law.
Termination of Services
You acknowledge and agree that we may terminate or block your use of the Site or any Site services without prior notice for any reason, including, without limitation, if we believe you have engaged in conduct prohibited by these T&C or the Privacy Policy. You agree that upon such termination or discontinuance for any reason, C-BEN may delete all information related to you on or within the Site and may bar your access to and use of Site services.
Notices and Communication
You authorize C-BEN and its sponsors and affiliates to communicate with you to the full extent allowed by the C-BEN’s Privacy Policy. Such communication may include commercial e-mails and other notices describing changes, upgrades, new products and services or other information pertaining to the Site or C-BEN. If you do not wish to receive bulk e-mail notices or announcements from C-BEN, please send us an e-mail at the e-mail address listed below. To the extent you do not wish to receive communication from our sponsors and affiliates, you should contact them directly.
Notices that you send to us must be delivered via first class mail to the following address:
Competency-Based Education Network, Inc.
625 E. Twiggs St Ste 1000 PMB 92489
Tampa, FL 33602
You may also send us notices via e-mail to: competentu@c-ben.org so long as you place “LEGAL NOTICE” in the subject line of the email.
You authorize us to send any notices to you based on the contact information you provide us. We are not responsible if you fail to keep your contact information up to date.
Choice of Law, Jurisdiction and Venue
All purchases made through the Site are deemed made within the State of Tennessee. The terms and conditions of these T&C and the Privacy Policy shall be interpreted and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Tennessee, without giving any effect to any choice of law provisions thereof that would cause the application of the laws of any other jurisdiction, as if each of these T&C and the Privacy Policy was a contract wholly entered into and wholly performed within Tennessee.
Except for injunctive relief, you agree that any claim, dispute, action or litigation based hereon, relating to or arising out of these T&C, the Privacy Policy, or related to the Site or Site services provided by us to you shall be brought and maintained exclusively via arbitration (except for injunctive relief). Any Party seeking to pursue an action to arbitrate shall give written notice to the other Party of such election that summarizes in sufficient detail the basis of the dispute at least ten (10) days before bringing an arbitration action. The dispute shall be submitted for arbitration with JAMS in accordance with its Comprehensive Arbitration Rules and Procedures. Such arbitration shall be conducted, unless otherwise agreed by the Parties, by a single arbitrator, who shall be a former judge, in a location that is mutually agreeable to the Parties (or, if no agreement can be reached, then a location in Williamson County, Tennessee). The award of the arbitrator may be confirmed or enforced in any court of competent jurisdiction. The prevailing Party in any arbitration shall be entitled to recover all costs incurred by such Party in connection with the proceeding, including reasonable attorneys’ fees. If injunctive relief is needed, the Parties agree to exclusively utilize the courts with jurisdiction in Williamson County, Tennessee. You expressly waive any objection of venue and jurisdiction, including but not limited to arguments that such litigation any action has been brought in an inconvenient forum.
Exclusive Remedy and Damages Cap
You agree that our entire aggregate liability, and your exclusive remedy, in law, in equity, or otherwise, with respect to any and all claims that you assert against C-BEN related to the Site, these T&C, the Privacy Policy, or procurement of other services, is limited solely to, and collectively shall not exceed, the amount you paid for the particular product, good, or service that is the basis of your claim and that was provided to you by C-BEN within the six (6) months prior to when your claim first arose. In no event shall C-BEN be liable for amounts exceeding the total of what you have paid C-BEN within the prior six (6) months of when your claim arose, or $1,000, whichever is less. IN NO EVENT SHALL C-BEN BE LIABLE FOR ANY CONSEQUENTIAL, INCIDENTAL, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE, OR OTHER DAMAGES (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, LOSS OF BUSINESS INFORMATION, ANY PECUNIARY LOSS RELATED TO THE COST OF PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE SERVICES, LOST EARNINGS OR WAGES, OR STATUTORY PENALTIES) ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE USE OF THE SITE, INABILITY TO USE THE SITE, OR ANY OTHER HARM YOU CLAIM IN WHICH C-BEN MAY BE RESPONSIBLE.
Time Limitations For Action
Unless prohibited by law, you agree that any cause of action arising out of or related to the Site and/or any services provided to you by C-BEN must commence within one (1) year after the cause of action arose; otherwise, such cause of action is permanently barred and shall be deemed released and waived by you.
Waiver of Jury Trial
EACH OF THE PARTIES HERETO HEREBY WAIVES ANY RIGHT TO A TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY ACTION OR PROCEEDING TO ENFORCE OR DEFEND ANY RIGHTS UNDER THESE T&C OR THE PRIVACY POLICY, OR RELATED TO SITE SERVICES.
Waiver of Class Action
EACH OF THE PARTIES HERETO WAIVES ANY RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE IN A CLASS ACTION, AND INSTEAD, AGREES THAT ANY AND ALL DISPUTES SHALL BE RESOLVED ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS USING THE DISPUTE RESOLUTION PROVISIONS IN THESE T&C.
Prior Action Before Formal Claim
You agree that as a material provision of these T&C, that you will provide us detailed written notice of any claimed deficiencies and at least thirty (30) days to cure such alleged deficiency in our service prior to bringing any formal legal claim against us. You further agree that this provision is reasonable and helps aid us in providing high quality services and complying with applicable law. Should you violate this provision and fail to give us such notice, it shall constitute a material breach of these T&C and entitle us to all of our attorneys’ fees, court costs, and any related expenses associated with enforcing our right to the thirty (30) day cure period. This provision specifically applies to any and all claims under local, state or federal law, and specifically includes claims related to the American with Disabilities Act.
No Third Party Beneficiaries
Except as otherwise expressly provided herein, nothing in these T&C is intended to confer upon any third party any rights, remedies, obligations, or liabilities.
Restriction of Assignment
You may not assign any of your rights or delegate any of your duties under these T&C without the prior written consent from C-BEN. Any attempt by your creditors or another third party to obtain an interest in your rights under these T&C or the Privacy Policy is voidable at C-BEN’s option.
Successors and Assigns
Except as otherwise expressly provided herein, these T&C shall bind and inure to the benefit of the successors, assigns, heirs, executors and administrators of the parties hereto.
Non-Waiver
No waiver of a breach, failure of any condition, or any right or remedy contained in or granted by the provisions of these T&C shall be effective unless it is in writing and signed by the party waiving the breach, failure, right, or remedy. No failure or delay by C-BEN in exercising any right, power or privilege hereunder shall operate as a waiver. Similarly, C-BEN’s election to not assert its rights under these T&C shall not preclude C-BEN from asserting its rights in the future.
Severability of Terms
If any provision of these T&C or the Privacy Policy is held illegal, unenforceable, or invalid by any court or an arbitrator of competent jurisdiction, the remaining provisions shall be unaffected. If any provision in these T&C, which is held illegal, unenforceable, or invalid, would be legal, enforceable, or valid if the provision was more narrowly drawn, the offending provision shall be interpreted so as to give maximum effect to the originally drafted provision.
Attorneys’ Fees
If C-BEN prevails in any action, suit, or proceeding arising from or based upon these T&C, C-BEN shall be entitled to recover its attorneys’ fees in connection therewith in addition to court costs and other fees and disbursement incurred in such action, suit, or proceeding.
Headings
The headings in these T&C are for convenience only. The heading of any section shall not affect the interpretation of any provision of the rights or obligations of the parties.
California Residents Only
In accordance with Cal. Civ. Code §1789.3, you may report complaints to the Complaint Assistance Unit of the Division of Consumer Services of the California Department of Consumer Affairs by contacting them in writing at 400 R Street, Sacramento, CA 95814, or by telephone at (800) 952-5210. The additional Privacy Policy Supplement applicable to California Residents can be accessed by clicking here: Supplemental Privacy Policy.
Competency-Based Education Network, Inc. f/k/a C-BEN
625 E. Twiggs St Ste 1000 PMB 92489, Tampa, FL 33602
Competency-Based Education Network, Inc. Privacy Policy
Last Updated: October 1, 2024
This Privacy Policy covers those individuals and businesses that utilize Competency-Based Education Network, Inc. (“C-BEN”), “we”, “us” or “our” websites at https://competentu.c-ben.org and competentu.brightspace.com and their subpages and content, (collectively, the “Site”). We are committed to protecting the privacy of your information. We believe it is a good business practice to disclose to you how your personal information may be used. As a user of this Site, or purchaser of the services or products available through the Site (collectively, “Service(s)”) provided by C-BEN, this Privacy Policy set forth herein (this “Privacy Policy”) is intended to describe in a straight-forward and easily understandable manner:
● the information we collect about you;
● how that information may be used;
● with whom the information may be shared;
● how you may update the information you provide us;
● how you may contact us; and
● your choices about our uses and disclosures of your information.
As noted in the Terms & Conditions applicable to the Site (the “T&C”), by using the Site and/or Services you accept and acknowledge that you are bound by this Privacy Policy. Accordingly, we encourage you to read this Privacy Policy carefully. If you have questions or concerns regarding this Privacy Policy, please feel welcome to contact us through the Site. Alternatively, you can also e-mail us at competentu@c-ben.org, or send mail to Competency-Based Education Network, Inc., Attn: Privacy Dept., 625 E. Twiggs St Ste 1000 PMB 92489, Tampa, FL 33602.
Information We Collect
We collect information about you so we can continue to provide and improve our Services to you and other users of the Site. The information collected through the Site or use of our Services may include items such as your or your customer’s name, e-mail address, mailing address, phone number, facsimile number, social security number, credit card information, financial institution and bank account information, business size, industry type, as well as other information that may or may not specifically identify you or your customer. The information collected on the Site may be stored at servers, computers, or other media located in or outside the United States. Automatically Collected Information; Interest-Based Advertising When you interact with the Sites, advertisements or other content provided by C-BEN or third parties, on behalf of C-BEN, or are receiving our Services through your computer, phone, or mobile device (Devices), we, and third parties including but not limited to Microsoft, Google, Facebook, D2L, Stripe, etc. automatically collect certain information (“Automatically-Collected Data”) about or from your Device, such as, without limitation, your browser information on our server logs including your IP address, browser type, browser versions, browser language, browser plug-in type and version, country and time zone, URLs that refer visitors to our Sites, dates and times of visits to our Sites, page views and site navigation, geographic location, cookie information (see below), web beacons, pixel tags, device fingerprinting or other means, the page you requested, duration of activity on our Sites, searches, shopping behavior and preferences, hardware model, operating system version, unique device identifiers, mobile network information, and purchases.
Third-Party Sources
We may obtain personal and non-personal information about you from third-party sources. This information may be utilized, analyzed, and/or compared with information that we have collected from you or that you have submitted to the Site or in the use of the Service. Such third parties may include but are not limited to Microsoft, Google, Facebook, D2L, Stripe, etc. If C-BEN obtains information from third-party sources, C-BEN takes commercially reasonable measures to ensure the third parties lawfully obtained and provided the information to us. If the third parties unlawfully obtained and/or provided the information to us despite our reasonable measures to ensure the third parties complied with all legal requirements in obtaining and providing the information to us, you understand, agree, and acknowledge that your sole legal remedy is against the third party that engaged in the unlawful activity and that you will not assert any cause of action, claim or demand against us.
Information Collection Technology (Web Beacons and Cookies)
We may use various technologies to collect information from your electronic device about your activities on the Site or your use of the Service. We may collect and store non-personally identifying information through cookies, log files, clear gifs (commonly known as “web beacons”), and third parties to profile user activity and preferences. Technical and specification information about your browser and computer is automatically collected when you use or visit the Site or use the Service. This information may include but not be limited to your Internet Protocol (“IP”) address, your browser type, operating system, geographic location, access time(s), the content of previously accepted “cookies” from us, and the website address that referred you to the Site.
A cookie is data stored on your computer that tracks non-personal information about you. When you use the Site, we may assign your computer one or more cookies that enable us to improve the quality of the Services and to personalize your experience. Cookies allow us to automatically collect information about your activity on the Site, such as the content you access while on the Site, the links you click, and other activity you conduct while using the Site. You may choose to modify your web browser’s setting to disable cookies or limit their use. If you choose to disable or limit cookies, you are still able to access the Site, but you may be unable to use all of the features on the Site. Additional information about cookies may be found at: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/260971/description-of-cookies.
The Site may contain web beacons (also known as “clear gifs”) or similar technologies that gather non-personally identifiable information about your use of the Site. Such technology may also be contained in e-mail messages or newsletters from us that allow us to determine whether messages have been accessed. The purpose of our use of this technology is so that we may analyze the effectiveness of our marketing efforts, the quality of the Site, and the Services we provide. Personal Information About Users Under 18 Years of Age Not Collected The Site is meant for adults and those who have reached the age of majority as defined by the laws of their domicile. The Site is not meant for individuals under the age of eighteen (18) or those defined by the laws of their domicile as minors. Nonetheless, this Privacy Policy is still designed to comply with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”) to the extent COPPA and/or the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”) apply. Accordingly, we do not knowingly collect or retain any personal information about users under the age of sixteen (16). If we obtain actual knowledge that we collected or retained personal information about a child under the age of sixteen (16), that information will be promptly deleted from our database, servers, and all other media. Since we do not collect information from users under sixteen (16) years old, no such information is disclosed to third parties.
If parents or guardians wish to create an account for, and provide information related to, their child who is under the age of eighteen (18), the parent or guardian may do so, but assumes full responsibility for ensuring that the information is kept secure and that the information submitted is accurate. In creating such an account, the parent or guardian accepts that this Privacy Policy will apply to the minor child’s information.
Information Others May Collect
To enhance security and promote operational efficiency, the Site utilizes the resources of reputable hosting facilities and other platforms that are controlled by third parties including but not limited to Microsoft, Google, D2L, Stripe, WordPress, Course Merchant, Calendly, etc. C-BEN is unable to provide any guarantees or warranties about these third parties’ retention or usage of your information. When Site users are participating in the online courses, that activity related to the online courses is provided through the D2L portal, and D2L’s privacy policy will apply to all of that interaction with the Site.
Information Use and Sharing
We may use and share your information for any legally permissible purpose. We may match, use, and share any of the information we collect from you to any personally identifiable information we obtain through third parties. Examples of some ways we may use or share information that we collect about you include:
● present the Site and its contents to you;
● improve your user experience with C-BEN and expedite access to your account;
● share your information with our third party vendors including but not limited to Microsoft, Google, D2L, Stripe, Course Merchant, Calendly, etc to fulfill a business purpose;
● notify you of any C-BEN promotions, deals and other information that may be of use to you or any deals or promotions from our partners;
● create or administer your account and communicate with you about account creation, activity or modification, placed orders and shipping updates; ● notify you about any changes to this Privacy Policy or the T&C;
● respond to your requests and questions;
● fulfill any other purpose for which you provide it or in any other way we describe when you provide it;
● fulfill any purpose with your consent;
● operate, assess, analyze, enhance, and improve our businesses, research, data, marketing and advertising strategies, and our product offerings;
● enforce our rights and carry out our obligations which includes performing accounting, auditing, and billing activities;
● protect against fraud;
● comply with applicable laws, regulations and industry standards and enforce our rights and our T&C and other policies.
● providing you with products or services;
● providing you with customized content and services;
● providing customer support;
● communicating with you by e-mail, United States mail, telephone, text message, and/or mobile devices about products or services that may be of interest to you either from us, or from any of our affiliates, sponsors or other third parties;
● working with our advertising partners; and
● performing functions as otherwise described to you at the time of payment collection.
In order to perform certain services on your behalf, we may publish certain information that you provide. You agree that any testimonial feedback or other comments provided by you to C-BEN becomes the sole and exclusive property of C-BEN and that such information may be used by C-BEN for any legally permissible purpose, including but not limited to marketing and advertising its services and products.
We may also aggregate and anonymize this information with similar information from our other customers in order to understand how our customers use our Sites or our Services, and/or third-party service providers may collect non-personally identifiable information from our Sites. You acknowledge and agree that C-BEN may use and disclose your personal and non-personal information to public or private third parties: (i) to comply with requests for inspection by law enforcement officials (including potential criminal activity); (ii) to respond to cease and desist letters, arbitration proceedings, legal actions and suits, criminal and civil subpoenas, or any court orders; (iii) to enforce or apply the terms of this Privacy Policy or any other agreement between us, including, the T&C; and (iv) to protect our rights, property, or safety, as well as the rights, property, or safety of our users, or others, whether during or after the term of your use of the Site or any Services.
Your Information Will Not Be Sold
We will not sell any information you submit to us to any third party without prior written notice to you and an opportunity for you to opt-out of such sale, provided, however, that we are permitted to sell your information in the event of a merger, acquisition, change of control, or sale of substantially all of our assets or our business (or any substantially similar transaction). However, you agree that we are able to sell aggregated and/or deidentified information that we may collect related to you and your use of the Site or Services.
Communications from Us
Unless you opt out of certain communication features, we may use your information to communicate with you, such as through e-mail, newsletters, and telephone. You may opt out and/or unsubscribe to communications from C-BEN at any time. See the Opt-Out Provisions and Updating Your Information section below for applicable contact information and directions.
Legal Process and Investigation Issues
From time to time, C-BEN may be required to respond to a subpoena, a court order or similar investigative demand from law enforcement, a government agency, or a private litigant. C-BEN reserves all rights to defend, within its sole discretion, against such legal requests, demands, and claims. For instance, C-BEN may raise or waive legal objections or rights. C-BEN also reserves the right to disclose your information, as allowed by applicable law, when we believe it is reasonably appropriate based on the situation. Such disclosure may occur, but is not limited to, disclosing your information in connection with efforts to: (i) investigate, prevent, or commence other actions regarding suspected illegal activity or other wrongdoing; (ii) protect or defend the rights, property or safety of our company, our users, our employees, or others; (iii) comply with applicable law or cooperate with law enforcement; or (iv) enforce the T&C or other agreements or policies between you and us related to the Site or the Services.
Notice about Social Security Numbers
We do not collect social security numbers of customers or other users, and you should not provide such information to C-BEN. Nonetheless, if C-BEN comes into possession of users’ social security numbers or collects such information in the future, the information will be treated confidentially and not shared with third parties unless allowed by law. Additionally, C-BEN will take reasonable steps to limit the access to such social security numbers and take legally required steps to secure the transmission of the data containing such social security numbers.
Third Party Privacy Policies May Be Applicable
This Privacy Policy does not cover any third party’s use or handling of your information once it is shared. Instead, the privacy policies of the third party(ies) will govern. We encourage you to visit the websites of those third parties and fully read and understand their privacy policies. Some of these entities or their servers may be located outside the United States. Links The Site may contain links to other websites. C-BEN disclaims any responsibility for the privacy practices of third parties that may have links to or from our website, or any framed content on our website. We encourage you to review the privacy policies/statements of every website that you visit that collects personally identifiable information.
DO NOT TRACK REQUESTS
In some states, users may be entitled to know how we respond to “Do Not Track” browser settings. There is little consensus in the industry about what “Do Not Track” means; however, at this time our Site does not recognize “Do Not Track” signals, and you will need to contact us to specifically opt-out and/or have any personally identifiable information related to your web browser deleted, which we will process your request manually. You may still need to contact any third-party companies (including those who may have cookies or beacons on the Site) to direct them to not share your data with third parties as well. To learn more or opt-out from data collection by third-party companies you can visit: http://www.networkadvertising.org/choices or www.aboutads.info/choices/ .
Opt-Out Provisions and Updating Your Information
We value our users’ privacy and provide them with the option to “opt-out” of having their information used for purposes not directly related to the Site or the Services. If you wish to opt-out, you can opt-out by any of the following means:
(1) Send a written request to: Competency-Based Education Network, Inc., 625 E. Twiggs St Ste 1000 PMB 92489, Tampa, FL 33602; or
(2) E-mail competentu@c-ben.org
Your request will generally be responded to within three (3) business days if your request is via e-mail, or thirty (30) days if your request is via United States mail.
Please note that changing your opt-out preference will only affect future activities or communications from us. In other words, if we already provided your information to a third party before you changed your opt-out preferences, you will need to contact the third party directly. To opt-out of communications from our third-party business partners, if any, please contact them directly.
Information Retention and Security
We may store your information for more than one (1) year from the time of initial submission, as well as automated personal information we collect about you. However, if we obtain or collect your social security number or credit card number, that information will only be stored for a limited time pursuant to your authorization unless the law requires otherwise. For all payment processing on our Site, we utilize a reputable third-party (e.g. Stripe) for those transactions and do not directly obtain your paycard information.
We take reasonable security measures to protect users’ information against unauthorized access, loss, alteration, or destruction. These measures include encryption and physical security measures to guard against unauthorized access to systems where we store personal information, and the usage of reputable third-party vendors. Despite these reasonable measures, we cannot guarantee our security measures are impenetrable. Therefore, although we take reasonable steps to secure your information, we cannot and do not promise or warrant that your information will always remain secure.
Visitors Outside the United States
This Privacy Policy is intended to cover collection of information on the Site and users of the Service from residents of the United States. The laws in other countries may or may not be as comprehensive as those in the United States. If you are a resident of another country and/or are visiting the Site or using the Service from outside the United States, you acknowledge and agree that your information may be transferred to, stored, and processed in the United States where our servers are located and our central database is operated. You also acknowledge that your use of the Site or the Services shall be governed exclusively by the laws of Tennessee and as if all transactions with us or otherwise through the Site or use of the Services take place within Tennessee. By using the Site and/or the Services, you acknowledge and agree that your information may be transferred to our facilities and those third parties with whom we share it as described in this Privacy Policy. If you are unwilling to accept these terms, then you agree that you will not use or access the Site or our Services.
Privacy Policy Updates and Revisions
This Privacy Policy may be updated from time to time. We reserve the right to modify this Privacy Policy at any time without notice, so please review this Privacy Policy frequently. When changes are made to this Privacy Policy, we will revise the “last updated” date at the top of this Privacy Policy. If we make any material changes in the way we collect, use, and/or share your personal information, we will also post notice of the changes on the Site and/or may notify you by sending an e-mail to the e-mail address you most recently provided us under your account. Your continued use of the Site or any Services after we have posted any Privacy Policy changes indicates your agreement to such changes unless you notify us otherwise.
If you wish to retain a copy of this Privacy Policy, you should print a copy for your records.
Terms of Privacy Policy Survive
If any terms of this Privacy Policy are held invalid and/or unenforceable by a court of law or a competent jurisdiction, the remaining provisions of this Privacy Policy shall remain in full force and effect.
Privacy Policy Supplement for California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia Residents Only
The disclosures in this section (and linked Supplemental Privacy Policy) apply only to individual residents of the States of Privacy Policy Supplement for California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia as applicable. The Supplemental Policy provides additional information about how we collect, use, disclose, and otherwise process personal information within the scope of the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 , as amended (“ CCPA ”) Colorado Privacy Act (“ CPA ”), Connecticut Data Privacy Act (“ CTDPA ”), Delaware Personal Data Privacy Act (“ DPDPA ”), Indiana Consumer Data Protection Act (“ INCDPA ”), Iowa Consumer Data Protection Act (“ ICDPA ”), Kentucky Consumer Data Protection Act (“ KCDPA ”), Maryland Online Data Privacy Act (“ MODPA ”), Minnesota Consumer Data Privacy Act (“ MCDPA ”), Montana Consumer Data Privacy Act (“ MTCDPA ”), Nebraska Data Privacy Act (“ NDPA ”), New Hampshire Privacy Act (“ NHPA ”), New Jersey Data Privacy Act (“ NJDPA ”), Oregon Consumer Data Privacy Act (“ OCPA ”), Rhode Island Data Transparency and Privacy Protection Act (“ RIDTPPA ”), Tennessee Information Protection Act (“ TIPA ”), Texas Data Privacy and Security Act (“ TDPSA ”), Utah Consumer Privacy Act (“ UCPA ”), and Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act (“ VCDPA ”). Residents of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia can click here to review the Supplemental Privacy Policy.
POLICY APPLICABLE TO NEVADA RESIDENTS ONLY.
If you are a Nevada resident, you may opt-out of the sale of your personal information. To do so, please contact us at competentu@c-ben.org and title the subject of your email “Nevada Privacy Rights Opt-Out Request”. In response, we will request information from you to verify your identity. We will attempt to respond to your request, once verified, within sixty (60) calendar days.
Limitations
The adoption or publication of this Privacy Policy does not subject C-BEN to any stricter duty in its collection, handling, storage and disclosure of nonpublic information than otherwise applies to C-BEN under applicable law. No person or entity shall have any right or recourse against C-BEN nor any of its affiliates, agents, sponsors, or other related parties based on any alleged violation of or noncompliance with this Privacy Policy. This Privacy Policy is subject to applicable law as well as any separate contract that may be signed between C-BEN and you .
General Contact:
Competency-Based Education Network, Inc.
625 E. Twiggs St Ste 1000 PMB 92489
Tampa, FL 33602
615-200-6578
competentu@c-ben.org
Competency-Based Education Network, Inc. Privacy Policy Supplement for California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Virginia Residents.
Last Updated on: October 1, 2024
This Privacy Policy Supplement for residents of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Virginia (the “ Supplement ”) supplements the information contained in Competency-Based Education Network, Inc.’s (“ C-BEN ” “ we ”, “ us ”, or “ our ”) Privacy Policy (the “ General Privacy Policy ”) and applies solely to those consumers who reside in the aforementioned states (“ consumers ” or “ you ”). The terms of this Supplement shall govern over any conflict with the General Privacy Policy . We adopt this Supplement to comply with the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 , as amended (“ CCPA ”) Colorado Privacy Act (“ CPA ”), Connecticut Data Privacy Act (“ CTDPA ”), Delaware Personal Data Privacy Act (“ DPDPA ”), Indiana Consumer Data Protection Act (“ INCDPA ”), Iowa Consumer Data Protection Act (“ ICDPA ”), Kentucky Consumer Data Protection Act (“ KCDPA ”), Maryland Online Data Privacy Act (“ MODPA ”), Minnesota Consumer Data Privacy Act (“ MCDPA ”), Montana Consumer Data Privacy Act (“ MTCDPA ”), Nebraska Data Privacy Act (“ NDPA ”), New Hampshire Privacy Act (“ NHPA ”), New Jersey Data Privacy Act (“ NJDPA ”), Oregon Consumer Data Privacy Act (“ OCPA ”), Rhode Island Data Transparency and Privacy Protection Act (“ RIDTPPA ”), Tennessee Information Protection Act (“ TIPA ”), Texas Data Privacy and Security Act (“ TDPSA ”), Utah Consumer Privacy Act (“ UCPA ”), and Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act (“ VCDPA ”) and any terms defined in the CCPA, CPA, CTDPA, DPDPA, INCDPA, ICDPA, KCDPA, MCDPA, MODPA, MTCDPA, NDPA, NHPA, NJDPA, OCPA, RIDTPPA, TIPA, TDPSA, UCPA, and VCDPA have the same meaning when using this supplement.
Information We Collect
Our website https://competentu.c-ben.org and competentu.brightspace.com and their subpages and content, collectively the (“ Site ”) collects information that identifies, relates to, describes, references, is reasonably capable of being associated with, or could reasonably be linked, directly or indirectly, with a particular consumer, household, or device (“ Personal Information ”). Personal information does not include:
● Publicly available information from government records.
● Deidentified or aggregated consumer information.
● Other information deemed under applicable state law not to be personal information.
In particular, our Site has collected within the last twelve (12) months, and intends to continue collecting, the following categories of personal information from consumers:
We obtain the categories of personal information listed above from the following categories of sources:
● Directly from you. For example, from forms you complete or products and services you purchase.
● Indirectly from you. For example, from observing your actions on our Site.
● From other third parties, including those listed on our General Privacy Policy.
The information we obtain about you from third parties may be combined and utilized with the information you provide to us.
Use of Personal Information
We may use, share, sell, or disclose the personal information we collect for one or more of the following purposes:
1. To fulfill or meet the reason you provided the information. For example, if you share your name and contact information to request a price quote or ask a question about our products or services, we will use that personal information to respond to your inquiry. If you provide your personal information to purchase a product or service, we will use that information to process your payment and facilitate delivery. We may also save your information to facilitate new product orders or process returns.
2. To provide, support, personalize, and develop our Site, products, and services.
3. To create, maintain, customize, and secure your account with us.
4. To process your requests, purchases, transactions, and payments and prevent transactional fraud.
5. To provide you with support and to respond to your inquiries, including to investigate and address your concerns and monitor and improve our responses.
6. To personalize your Site experience and to deliver content and product and service offerings relevant to your interests, including targeted offers and ads through our Site, third-party sites, and via email or text message (with your consent, where required by law).
7. To help maintain the safety, security, and integrity of our Site, products and services, databases and other technology assets, and business.
8. For testing, research, analysis, and product development, including to develop and improve our Site, products, and services.
9. To respond to law enforcement requests and as required by applicable law, court order, or governmental regulations.
10. As described to you when collecting your personal information or as otherwise set forth in the applicable state law.
11. For other purposes provided in our General Privacy Policy.
12. To evaluate or conduct a merger, divestiture, restructuring, reorganization, dissolution, or other sale or transfer of some or all of our assets, whether as a going concern or as part of bankruptcy, liquidation, or similar proceeding, in which personal information held by us about our Site users and customers is among the assets transferred. We will not collect additional categories of personal information or use the personal information we collected for materially different, unrelated, or incompatible purposes without providing you notice.
Sharing Personal Information
We may share your personal information by disclosing it to a third party for a business purpose. In the preceding twelve (12) months, we have disclosed personal information for a business purpose to the categories of third parties indicated in the chart below. We may also share your personal information, including by selling it to third parties, subject to your right to opt-out of those sales. Our personal information sales do not knowingly include information about individuals we know are under the age of thirteen (13), regardless if we have parental consent. In the preceding twelve (12) months, we have sold the following categories of personal information to the categories of third parties indicated in the chart below. For more on your personal information sale rights, see “ Personal Information Sales and Targeted Advertising Opt-Out and Opt-In Rights ” section below.
*Except as provided on our Privacy Policy.
Reselling Personal Information
Applicable state law may prohibit a third party from reselling personal information unless you have received explicit notice and an opportunity to opt-out of further sales. If you would like a list of the businesses with whom we may share or resell your information, you may contact us to request that information. Generally speaking, however, we only share your information with our business partnerships who aid in providing you the services associated with C-BEN’s CompetentU website and application, and for third-party website analytics (e.g. Google). To opt-out of those sales, please follow the opt-out procedure provided below.
Your Rights and Choices Under the CCPA
The CCPA provides consumers, employees, potential employees and businesses that are California residents with specific rights regarding their personal information. This section describes CCPA rights available to those persons and explains how to exercise those rights.
NOTE : In some instances, we may NOT be able to comply with your request given that we are not the data controller, but instead, are a data processor and/or may be required under applicable law to maintain your data.
Right to Know and Data Portability
You have the right to know what information we have collected about you over the past twelve (12) months and how we use it. Once we receive your request to exercise your right to know and confirm your identity (see Exercising Your Rights ), we will disclose to you:
● The categories of personal information we collected about you.
● The categories of sources for the personal information we collected about you.
● Our business or commercial purpose for collecting or selling that personal information.
● The categories of third parties with whom we share that personal information.
● If we sold or disclosed your personal information for a business purpose, two (2) separate lists disclosing: o sales, identifying the personal information categories that each category of recipient purchased; and o disclosures for a business purpose, identifying the personal information categories that each category of recipient obtained.
● The specific pieces of personal information we collected about you in a readable format (also called a data portability request).
Right to Correct
You have the right to correct inaccuracies in your personal information that we collected from you and retained. Once we receive your request to exercise your right to correct and confirm your identity (see Exercising Your Rights ), we will use commercially reasonable efforts to correct the inaccurate personal information as directed by you. We may deny your request if a response is impossible or would involve disproportionate effort to correct inaccurate information.
Right to Delete
You have the right to request that we delete any of your personal information that we collected from you and retained, subject to certain exceptions. Once we receive your request to exercise your right to delete and confirm your identity (see Exercising Your Rights ), we will review your request to see if an exception allowing us to retain the information applies. We may deny your request if retaining the information is necessary for us or our service provider(s) to:
● Complete the transaction for which we collected the personal information, provide a good or service that you requested, take actions reasonably anticipated within the context of our ongoing business relationship with you, fulfill the terms of a written warranty or product recall conducted in accordance with federal law, or otherwise perform our contract with you.
● Detect security incidents, protect against malicious, deceptive, fraudulent, or illegal activity, or prosecute those responsible for such activities.
● Debug products to identify and repair errors that impair existing intended functionality.
● Exercise free speech, ensure the right of another consumer to exercise their free speech rights, or exercise another right provided for by law.
● Comply with the California Electronic Communications Privacy Act (Cal. Penal Code § 1546 et. seq. ).
● Engage in public or peer-reviewed scientific, historical, or statistical research in the public interest that adheres to all other applicable ethics and privacy laws, when the information’s deletion may likely render impossible or seriously impair the research’s achievement, if you previously provided informed consent.
● Enable solely internal uses that are reasonably aligned with consumer expectations based on your relationship with us.
● Comply with a legal obligation.
● Make other internal and lawful uses of that information that are compatible with the context in which you provided it.
If your request to delete is not subject to one of the above exceptions, we will grant your request to delete or deidentify personal information from our records and will direct our service providers to take similar action. California users under the age of 18 may request the removal of their content or information publicly posted on websites by sending us an email at competentu@c-ben.org. Please note that most of the user content that appears on our website is stored and controlled by third party providers; thus, complete and comprehensive removal of the content may not be possible.
Right to Opt Out of Sale or Sharing
You have the right to opt out of the sale or sharing of your personal information to third parties. For instructions on exercising your right to opt out of the sale or sharing of your personal information, see Personal Information Sales and Targeted Advertising Opt-Out and Opt-In Rights. Right to Limit Use and Disclosure of Sensitive Personal Information You have the right to limit the use of your sensitive personal information to that use which is necessary to perform the services and goods we provide as mentioned above in the “ Sharing Personal Information ” section.
Exercising Your Rights
To exercise your right to know, right to correct, right to delete, or right to limit as further described above, please submit a request by either:
● Calling us at 615-200-6578
● Emailing us at competentu@c-ben.org
Only you, or someone legally authorized to act on your behalf, may make a request related to your personal information. You may also make a request on behalf of your child by contacting us at the information above and provide information that will allow us to properly identify your child and your relationship as the parent or guardian of your child. You may only submit a request twice within a twelve (12) -month period. Your request must:
● Provide sufficient information that allows us to reasonably verify you are the person about whom we collected personal information or an authorized representative, which may include: Contact information. Information about prior purchase history. Other information as we may reasonably request.
● Describe your request with sufficient detail that allows us to properly understand, evaluate, and respond to it.
● If you are an authorized agent of a third party, you must provide us with: (i) sufficient information demonstrating your role as an authorized agent for the individual you are making the request about (e.g. Court order, power of attorney, etc.); (ii) information that will allow us to verify your identity; and (iii) any other information that we may reasonably request consistent with applicable law in order to authenticate your request. We cannot respond to your request or provide you with personal information if we cannot verify your identity or authority to make the request and confirm the personal information relates to you.
You do not need to create an account with us to submit a request to know or delete. However, we do consider requests made through your password protected account sufficiently verified when the request relates to personal information associated with that specific account. We will only use personal information provided in the request to verify the requestor’s identity or authority to make it.
Please note that additional time may be needed to process the deletion of personal information from backup and/or archival databases. For instructions on exercising your sale opt-out or opt-in rights, see Personal Information Sales and Targeted Advertising Opt-Out and Opt-In Rights.
Response Timing and Format
We will confirm receipt of your request to exercise your right to know, right to correct, right to delete, and/or right to limit within ten (10) business days. If you do not receive confirmation within the ten (10) -day timeframe, please call us at 615-200-6578.
We endeavor to substantively respond to a verifiable consumer request within forty-five (45) days of its receipt. If we require more time (up to another forty-five (45) days), we will inform you of the reason and extension period in writing.
If you have an account with us, we will deliver our written response to that account. If you do not have an account with us, we will deliver our written response by mail or electronically, at your option.
Any disclosures we provide will only cover the twelve (12) -month period preceding our receipt of your request. The response we provide will also explain the reasons we cannot comply with a request, if applicable. For data portability requests, we will select a format to provide your personal information that is readily useable and should allow you to transmit the information from one entity to another entity without hindrance.
We do not charge a fee to process or respond to your verifiable consumer request unless it is excessive, repetitive, or manifestly unfounded. If we determine that the request warrants a fee, we will tell you why we made that decision and provide you with a cost estimate before completing your request.
Personal Information Sales and Targeted Advertising Opt-Out and Opt-In Rights
If you are age sixteen (16) or older, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information at any time. We do not sell the personal information of any consumers, including but not limited to those we actually know are less than sixteen (16) years old regardless if we receive parental consent.
Non-Discrimination
We will not discriminate against you for exercising any of your CCPA rights set forth above. Unless permitted by the CCPA, we will not:
● Deny you goods or services.
● Charge you different prices or rates for goods or services, including through granting discounts or other benefits, or imposing penalties.
● Provide you a different level or quality of goods or services.
● Suggest that you may receive a different price or rate for goods or services or a different level or quality of goods or services.
However, we may offer you certain financial incentives permitted by the CCPA that can result in different prices, rates, or quality levels. Any CCPA-permitted financial incentive we offer will reasonably relate to your personal information’s value and contain written terms that describe the program’s material aspects. Participation in a financial incentive program requires your prior opt-in consent, which you may revoke at any time by calling us at 615-200-6578 or emailing us at competentu@c-ben.org. We may provide financial incentives from time to time including through promotions, contests, gift cards, giveaways, discounts/sales, and rewards. The terms of any such incentives will be communicated with that particular financial incentive.
Other California Privacy Rights
California’s “Shine the Light” law (Civil Code Section § 1798.83) permits users of our Site that are consumers, employees, potential employees and businesses that are California residents to request certain information regarding our disclosure of personal information to third parties for their direct marketing purposes. To make such a request, please send an email or write us at the addresses provided below.
Your Rights and Choices under the Applicable State Law
We may share your personal information by disclosing it to a third party for a business purpose. Privacy laws in these states give residents certain rights with respect to their personal data when they take effect through 2026. Those rights include:
● Right of Access: You have the right to access and obtain a copy of your personal data.
● Right to Correct: You have the right to correct inaccuracies in your personal data.
● Right to Deletion: You have the right to request that we delete personal data provided by or obtained by you.
● Right to Obtain Third Party Information: You have the right to request a list of third parties to which we have disclosed your information.
● Right to Opt-Out of Processing: You have the right to request that we no longer process your information for profiling but this may result in your inability to use the Website.
● Right to Opt-Out of Targeted Advertising: You may ask us not to use or disclose your information for the purposes of targeting advertising to you based on your personal data obtained from your activity across different businesses, services, websites, etc.
● Right to Opt-Out of Personal Information Sales to third parties.
● Right to Non-Discrimination: We may not process personal data in violation of state and federal consumer anti-discrimination laws or discriminate against you for exercising rights under these state laws.
To submit a request to exercise any of the above rights, please refer to the above section “Exercising Your Rights”. You may email us at competentu@c-ben.org with the subject line “Privacy Rights Request” and let us know in which state you live. Please see the above section “ Personal Information Sales and Targeted Advertising Opt-Out and Opt-In Rights ” for a description of how to exercise your right to opt-out of targeted advertising or sales and uses for purposes not directly related to the Website. If you submit a request regarding one of the rights listed above and such request is denied you may appeal our decision by emailing us at [EMAIL] with the subject line “Appealed Privacy Right Decision”. We will respond to an appeal within forty-five (45) days with the ability to extend this by an additional sixty (60) days after notifying you of the extended time period. We will maintain records of all appeals and responses for a period of at least twenty-four (24) months.
Changes to this Supplement
We reserve the right to amend this Supplement at our discretion and at any time. When we make changes to this Supplement, we will post the updated notice on the Site and update the notice’s effective date. Your continued use of our Site following the posting of changes constitutes your acceptance of such changes to this Supplement .
Contact Information
If you have any questions or comments about this Supplement, the ways in which C-BEN collects and uses your information described herein this Supplement, your choices and rights regarding such use, or wish to exercise your rights under applicable state law, please contact us at:
Phone : 615-200-6578
Email : competentu@c-ben.org
Postal Address : 625 E. Twiggs St Ste 1000 PMB 92489, Tampa, FL 33602
If you need to access this Supplement in an alternative format due to having a disability, please contact competentu@c-ben.org or 615-200-6578.