Terms of Use

Last Updated: Jun 28, 2023

Welcome to the Brian Bacon Education Consulting platform (the “Platform”). The Platform is operated by CollegeContours, LLC [(“Brian Bacon Education Consulting”)] [1] and is accessible through Brian Bacon Education Consulting’s websites, smartphone applications, tablet applications, and other network-connected products and services. The following terms and conditions (“Terms”) govern your use of the Platform.

By accessing, viewing, or using the content, material, products, or services available on or through the Platform (collectively, the " Services"),

If you have any questions concerning these Terms or wish to exercise your rights as described below, please email brianbaconconsulting@gmail.com.

1. License to use the Platform

Subject to these Terms, Brian Bacon Education Consulting hereby grants you a single, limited, terminable, revocable, royalty-free, non-exclusive, nontransferable, nonsublicenseable license to access and use the Platform solely for informational purposes. You shall be responsible, at your sole expense, for procuring, operating, and maintaining the computer system, mobile device, hardware, software, telecommunications applications and providers, and other items necessary or appropriate to enable you to exercise your rights and licenses hereunder. Without limiting any other provisions of these Terms, all software, applications, and other materials, including the Platform, made available to you are the copyrighted work of Brian Bacon Education Consulting or its licensors. Copying or distributing the Platform or the Platform Content (as defined below) is expressly prohibited.

2. Registration

In order to access certain Services via the Platform, you may be asked to register and create an account. As part of the registration process, you may be asked to click to agree to these Terms, and may then be asked to select or submit a user name and password. You may also be required to provide Brian Bacon Education Consulting with certain information about yourself, including some types of personally identifiable information, such as your legal name, educational institution, phone number, physical address, email address, gender, and age. You represent that the personal information you provide to Brian Bacon Education Consulting via the Platform is true, valid, complete, and up-to-date in all respects. Should any of the information you provide on the Platform change, please login to your account and update such information directly on the Platform. Any personal information that you provide to Brian Bacon Education Consulting via the Platform is subject to Brian Bacon Education Consulting’s Privacy Policy.

You are responsible for ensuring that your password and account login are kept secret, safe, and secure at all times. Brian Bacon Education Consulting will not be held responsible or liable for any misuse of your account in the event that a third party has access to and uses your password and account login in any way.

3. Purchases

Some products or services made available through the Platform, including any premium or featured services, may be available for purchase. By purchasing products or services made available through the Platform, you represent that you have reached the age of majority and have the legal capacity to enter into a contract and that you agree to these Terms and any additional terms presented to you at the time of purchase (including any terms related to premium sections of the Platform). If you are under the age of majority or cannot lawfully enter into a contract, you must have your parent or guardian review these Terms and the Privacy Policy, and register or place an order on your behalf.

If and when you elect to purchase certain Services through the Platform, you may be required to provide other personal information, such as a billing address and other payment details. You represent that you are the person referred to in the shipping and billing information provided. Should any of the information you provide on the Platform change, please login to your account and update such information directly on the Platform. Additional information may be collected by Brian Bacon Education Consulting or its third party service providers at this time for security and anti-fraud purposes.

Charges for any premium services will be calculated based upon the premium package selected, and are applicable to the current version of the package selected. Upgrades to those packages (including any upgrades based on changes in hardware used to access the applicable features of the Platform) may be subject to additional charges. Monthly subscription packages shall continue to renew monthly until proper termination notification is received from you. Fees may be prorated for portions of months and use of any service beyond the allotted time or without proper authorization may result in additional charges to your billing or credit card account. Fees and payment terms are subject to change upon notice by Brian Bacon Education Consulting to you.

Brian Bacon Education Consulting may use a third party payment processor to process credit card transactions made through the Platform. If you purchase products or services from Brian Bacon Education Consulting or make any payments via the Platform with your credit card, the credit card information that you submit will be protected by encryption, such as with the Secure Socket Layer (“SSL”) protocol. Encryption decreases the likelihood that your credit card information will be stolen or intercepted during transmission.

You are responsible for all charges incurred under your account, whether made by you or another person using your account. If for any reason Brian Bacon Education Consulting does not receive payment for a purchase, Brian Bacon Education Consulting may exercise its rights in law and equity, including: (a) immediately suspending or terminating your account; (b) seeking collection of the outstanding amount owed; and/or (c) seeking legal action against you for the breach of these Terms. Brian Bacon Education Consulting may also charge you a late payment charge of one and one half percent per month. You are also responsible for paying any governmental taxes imposed in connection with use of the Platform or the purchase or any products or services made available through the Platform, including sales, use, and excise taxes (excluding only taxes on Brian Bacon Education Consulting’s net income). To the extent that Brian Bacon Education Consulting is obligated to collect such taxes, the applicable tax will be added to your billing account.

All purchases through the Platform are nonrefundable, regardless of use or lack of use by you. Any refunds will be made in Brian Bacon Education Consulting’s sole discretion. Once a charge has been processed to your credit card or wireless account, you shall not request that your credit card or mobile carrier company reverse the charge or charge it back to Brian Bacon Education Consulting. If you have a legitimate basis to request a credit for a charge previously processed against your credit card account, you may request a credit from Brian Bacon Education Consulting by written notice and resolve the issue directly with Brian Bacon Education Consulting. Any reversed charges that cause the credit card company to impose a charge back, refund, or credit cost against Brian Bacon Education Consulting shall be reimposed by Brian Bacon Education Consulting upon you. Such costs may exceed the cost of the reversed item or charge back by many times.

4. General Restrictions on Use

You agree to use the Platform and the Services only for purposes that are permitted by these Terms and for no other purposes. All such use must be in compliance with all applicable laws, regulations, and generally accepted practices and guidelines in the relevant jurisdictions. Without limiting the foregoing, you will not (and will not attempt to):

a) Access the Platform or any of the Services by any means other than through the interface that is provided by Brian Bacon Education Consulting;

b) Gain unauthorized access to Brian Bacon Education Consulting’s computer system or engage in any activity that interferes with the performance of, or impairs the functionality or security of the Platform, the Services, or Brian Bacon Education Consulting’s networks and computer systems;

c) Access the Platform or any of the Services through any automated means or with any automated features or devices (including use of scripts or web crawlers, data mining, scraping, robots, spiders, or any other data gathering or extraction tools), except to the extent the Platform is indexed by general purpose consumer-accessible search engines, such as Google or Bing;

d) Access or collect any personally identifiable information, including any names, email addresses, academic histories, or other such information for any purpose, including commercial purposes;

e) Reproduce, duplicate, copy, sell, trade, or resell any aspect of the Platform or the Services for any purpose, including commercial purposes

f) Upload, post, or otherwise transmit, through the Platform, any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional materials, "junk mail," "spam," "chain letters," "pyramid schemes," "phishing," or any other form of solicitation, including the solicitation of users to become subscribers of other online information services competitive with Brian Bacon Education Consulting;

g) Stalk, harass, or otherwise disturb another person;

h) Impersonate another person or wrongfully identify as a student or representative of a particular university or other educational institution; or

i) Reproduce, duplicate, copy, sell, trade, or resell any products or services bearing any trademark, service mark, trade name, logo, or other signifier owned by Brian Bacon Education Consulting in a way that is likely or intended to cause confusion about the owner or authorized user of materials.

Certain features of the Platform may be subject to further restrictions, including any features provided in connection with third party vendors. These additional terms will be made available when you first access those features.

5. Content on the Platform

As between you and Brian Bacon Education Consulting, Brian Bacon Education Consulting owns or licenses all information and materials (including logos, designs, titles, phrases, images, photographs, and the copyrights, trademarks, service marks, trade dress, and other intellectual property rights associated therewith) in or made available through the Platform (“Platform Content”), as well as the selection, coordination, arrangement, and organization and enhancement of the Platform Content. All Platform Content is protected pursuant to copyright, trademark, patent, and other applicable laws. You shall not remove or alter any copyright notice or any other proprietary notice on the Platform or on any Platform Content. All names, trademarks, symbols, slogans, or logos appearing on the Platform are proprietary to Brian Bacon Education Consulting or its licensors or suppliers. Use or misuse of these trademarks is expressly prohibited and may violate federal and state trademark law. Under no circumstances will you have any rights of any kind in or to the Platform Content, other than the right to use the Platform Content in accordance with these Terms.

Certain features of the Platform may allow you to contribute video, comments, text, images, data, and other information and materials to the Platform for access, use, viewing, and commentary by other users of the Platform (collectively, “User Content”). By posting User Content to the Platform or otherwise submitting User Content to Brian Bacon Education Consulting, you represent that you have the full legal right to provide the User Content and that use of the User Content by Brian Bacon Education Consulting on the Platform, and all other persons and entities, will not: (a) infringe any intellectual property rights of any person or entity, including any trademark rights of an educational institution, or any rights of publicity, personality, or privacy of any person or entity, including as a result of your failure to obtain consent to post personally identifying or otherwise private information about a person; (b) violate any law, statute, ordinance, regulation, agreement, or code of conduct, including any rules or guidelines issued by an educational institution or other group with which you are affiliated; (c) promote or provide instructional information about illegal activities, promote physical harm, or injury against any group or individual, or promote any act of cruelty to animals, including instructions on how to assemble bombs, grenades, and other weapons or how to use or obtain illegal drugs; (d) be defamatory, libelous or trade libelous, unlawfully threatening, or unlawfully harassing, or promote discrimination based on race, sex, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation, or age; (e) impersonate any person or entity or falsely state or otherwise imply an affiliation with a person or entity, or include any falsified, composite, or otherwise non-authentic depictions of events, locations, landmarks, entities or persons; (f) contain or otherwise transmit any material that contains software viruses or any other computer code, files or programs designed to interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment; (g) be obscene, child pornographic, or indecent; (h) violate any community or Internet standard; (i) constitute misappropriation of any trade secret or know-how; or (j) constitute disclosure of any confidential information owned by any third party. Upon your submission of User Content or other material or information to Brian Bacon Education Consulting, you grant Brian Bacon Education Consulting a worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable, transferable, license to access, use, distribute, reproduce, display, modify, create derivative works based upon, and sublicense the User Content for any purpose, all without any compensation to you whatsoever. For avoidance of doubt, Brian Bacon Education Consulting shall be under no obligation to: (1) maintain any User Content in confidence; (2) compensate you in any way for your User Content; or (3) respond to any User Content.

If you would like to request the right to reprint or re-distribute any Platform Content or other information and materials made available through the Platform, please contact Brian Bacon Education Consulting via the methods described in the preamble to these Terms.

6. Infringement Complaint Procedures

If you believe that any content or postings on the Platform violates your intellectual property or other rights, please notify Brian Bacon Education Consulting (via the methods described in the preamble to these Terms) with a comprehensive detailed message setting forth the following information: (a) your name and the name of your company or educational institution, if any; (b) your contact information, including your email address; (c) the nature and substance of your complaint, the specific rights at issue, and your basis for making the complaint, including the content or posting that is objectionable; and (d) the following statement: “The statements, representations, and assertions made in this message are true, complete, and accurate and I have the full legal authority to make each and every such statement, representation, and assertion and to make and be granted any demand made in this message.”

7. Errors, Inaccuracies, and Omissions

Occasionally there may be information on the Platform that contains typographical errors, inaccuracies, or omissions. Brian Bacon Education Consulting reserves the right to correct any errors, inaccuracies, or omissions and to change or update information or cancel orders if any information on the Platform is inaccurate at any time without prior notice. Brian Bacon Education Consulting cannot and will not review all communications, products, or services made available on or through the Platform. Although not obligated to do so, Brian Bacon Education Consulting may, however, review, verify, make changes to the Platform or remove any User Content and Platform Content, with or without notice, in Brian Bacon Education Consulting’s sole discretion.

8. Disclaimers and Warranties

Brian Bacon Education Consulting expressly disclaims, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any express or implied warranties that the: (a) Platform, Services, Platform Content, goods, advice, information, or links provided on the Platform will meet your requirements; (b) Platform and Services will be uninterrupted, timely, secure, or free from error; and (c) defects or flaws in the operation or functionality of any software provided to you as part of the Services will be corrected. Brian Bacon Education Consulting further disclaims any warranties or other guarantees regarding the Platform, Platform Content, goods, services, advice, information, or links provided by any third parties or users, including the User Content. No advice or information, whether oral or written, obtained by you from Brian Bacon Education Consulting (whether through the Platform or otherwise) shall create any warranty not expressly stated in these Terms.

The technical processing and transmission of any Platform Content and User Content may involve transmissions over various networks, including in an unencrypted form, and may require changes to conform and adapt to technical requirements of connecting networks or devices. Brian Bacon Education Consulting cannot and does not guarantee that any information sent to or from the Platform will be secure during transmission, nor can Brian Bacon Education Consulting guarantee the confidentiality of any communication or material transmitted to Brian Bacon Education Consulting via the Platform or the Internet in general, including, for example, personal information such as your name or address. Brian Bacon Education Consulting assumes no responsibility for: (1) any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications line failure, theft, destruction, or alteration of, or unauthorized access to any communication; or (2) any problems or technical malfunction of any telephone network or lines, computer online systems, servers or providers, computer equipment, software, failure of any email or players due to technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet or on the Platform, including any injury or damage to you or to any person’s computer or other device related to or resulting from use of the Services or the Platform.

No conditions, warranties, or other terms (including any implied terms as to satisfactory quality, fitness for purpose, or conformance with description) apply to the Platform, Platform Content, and/or Services, except to the extent that they are expressly set out in these Terms. THE PLATFORM, PLATFORM CONTENT, USER CONTENT, SERVICES, PRODUCTS, INFORMATION, AND OTHER MATERIALS ON, IN AND MADE AVAILABLE THROUGH THE PLATFORM ARE MADE AVAILABLE “AS IS” AND “WITH ALL FAULTS.”

9. Limitation of Liability

IN NO EVENT WILL BRIAN BACON EDUCATION CONSULTING BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES OTHER THAN ACTUAL AND DIRECT DAMAGES PROVEN IN A COURT OF LAW. IN NO EVENT SHALL BRIAN BACON EDUCATION CONSULTING’S LIABILITY EXCEED THE PRICE YOU (EITHER DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY THROUGH YOUR EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION) PAID FOR THE SERVICE THAT IS THE SUBJECT OF THE CLAIM. IF ANY PART OF THIS LIMITATION OF LIABILITY IS FOUND TO BE INVALID OR UNENFORCEABLE FOR ANY REASON, THEN THE TOTAL LIABILITY OF BRIAN BACON EDUCATION CONSULTING AND ITS LICENSORS SHALL NOT EXCEED TEN DOLLARS.

Without limiting the foregoing, you understand and acknowledge that Brian Bacon Education Consulting shall not be liable to you for:

a) Any indirect, incidental, consequential, punitive or exemplary losses which may be incurred by you arising out of your use of, or inability to use, the Platform or the Services, including any loss of profit (whether incurred directly or indirectly), any loss of goodwill or business reputation, or any loss of data suffered by you; or

b) Any loss or damage which may be incurred by you as a result of: (1) any reliance placed by you on the completeness, accuracy, or existence of any information or materials made available through the Platform, including any advertising; (2) any relationship or transaction between you and any advertiser or sponsor whose advertising appears on the Platform or the Services; (3) any changes that Brian Bacon Education Consulting may make to the Platform or Services, or for any permanent or temporary cessation in the provision of the Services (or any features within the Services); (4) the deletion of, corruption of, unauthorized access to, or failure to store, any content and other communications data maintained or transmitted by or through your use of the Platform or the Services; (5) the use of any products or services obtained on or through the Platform; or (6) any other matter relating to the Platform, the Services, the Platform Content, or the User Content.

The limitations on Brian Bacon Education Consulting’s liability to you in this Section 9 shall apply whether or not Brian Bacon Education Consulting has been advised of or should have been aware of the possibility of any such losses arising.

IF YOU ARE DISSATISFIED WITH THE PLATFORM, THE SERVICES, OR THESE TERMS, YOUR SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE REMEDY IS TO DISCONTINUE USING THE PLATFORM AND SERVICES.

10. Indemnity

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Brian Bacon Education Consulting, its officers, directors, members, employees, agents, affiliates, licensors and suppliers, from and against all claims, damages, obligations, losses, liabilities, costs or debt, and expenses (including but not limited to attorneys’ fees) arising from: (a) your use of and access to the Platform and Services; (b) your violation of any of these Terms, including the Privacy Policy; (c) your violation of any third party rights, including intellectual property or privacy rights; and (d) the use by of the Platform by any person using your Internet account or account login. This defense and indemnification obligation will survive these Terms and your use of the Platform and Services. Brian Bacon Education Consulting reserves the right, at Brian Bacon Education Consulting’s own expense, to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter otherwise subject to indemnification by you hereunder, and you shall cooperate in all reasonable respects in such defense. You may not settle any claim contemplated in this Section 10 without the prior written consent of Brian Bacon Education Consulting.

11. Links To and Features Provided by Third Parties

The Platform may contain links to other websites or feature services of third parties for the convenience of users: (a) in locating information, products, or services that may be of interest; or (b) with performing or receiving the Services, and complying with any requirements associated with such transactions. These third party websites and services may be available on the Platform via a link, redirect, plug-in, integrated application, or other technology, and may be recognized automatically by your browser.

In order to utilize some aspects of the Platform and Services, you may have to use, accept, install, and review information, data, executables, programs, software, and other items from Brian Bacon Education Consulting’s third party service providers, suppliers, and licensors. To the extent applicable, these Terms shall apply, but please be aware that Brian Bacon Education Consulting has no control over these third parties, and that these Terms may not apply to such links and services. Brian Bacon Education Consulting does not recommend and expressly disclaims any responsibility for the content, the accuracy of the information, or quality of products or services provided by or advertised on third party websites or the transactions you conduct or enter into with third parties. Your use of any third party websites or services is at your own risk, and subject to the terms and conditions of such third parties. Brian Bacon Education Consulting encourages you to read the privacy policies and terms of use linked or referenced in the websites you enter.

12. Dispute Resolution

Any dispute arising out of these Terms shall be resolved exclusively through final and binding arbitration conducted by the American Arbitration Association (the “AAA”). Arbitration uses a neutral arbitrator instead of a judge or jury, and court review of an arbitration award is very limited. However, an arbitrator can award the same damages and relief on an individual basis that a court can award to an individual; and an arbitrator must also follow the terms of these Terms, as a court would. All issues are for the arbitrator to decide, except that issues relating to arbitrability and the scope or enforceability of this agreement to arbitrate shall be for a court of competent jurisdiction to decide. Arbitration shall take place in Chicago, Illinois unless Brian Bacon Education Consulting elects otherwise.

The arbitrator will decide the substance of all claims in accordance with the laws of the State of Illinois. The arbitrator shall not be bound by rulings in prior arbitrations involving different Brian Bacon Education Consulting users, but is bound by rulings in prior arbitrations involving the same Brian Bacon Education Consulting user to the extent required by applicable law. The arbitrator’s award shall be final and binding, and judgment on the award rendered by the arbitrator may be entered in any court having jurisdiction thereof. Payment of all filing, administration, and arbitrator fees will be governed by the AAA’s rules, unless otherwise stated in this Agreement to Arbitrate. If the value of the relief sought is $10,000 or less, at your request, Brian Bacon Education Consulting will pay all filing, administration, and arbitrator fees associated with the arbitration. Any request for payment of fees by Brian Bacon Education Consulting should be submitted by mail to the AAA along with your demand for arbitration and Brian Bacon Education Consulting will make arrangements to pay all necessary fees directly to the AAA. If the value of the relief sought is more than $10,000 and you are able to demonstrate that the costs of accessing arbitration will be prohibitive as compared to the costs of accessing a court for purposes of pursuing litigation on an individual basis, Brian Bacon Education Consulting will pay as much of the filing, administration, and arbitrator fees as the arbitrator deems necessary to prevent the costs of accessing arbitration from being prohibitive. In the event the arbitrator determines the claim(s) you assert in the arbitration to be frivolous, you agree to reimburse Brian Bacon Education Consulting for all fees associated with the arbitration paid by Brian Bacon Education Consulting on your behalf that you otherwise would be obligated to pay under the AAA’s rules. If an arbitrator or court decides that any part of this agreement to arbitrate is invalid or unenforceable, the other parts of this agreement to arbitrate shall still apply.

You can choose to reject this agreement to arbitrate by mailing Brian Bacon Education Consulting a written opt-out notice (“Opt-Out Notice”). The Opt-Out Notice must be postmarked no later than thirty days after the date you accept these Terms for the first time. You must complete the Opt-Out Notice form by providing the information called for in the form, including your name, address (including street number and address, city, state, and zip code), phone number, and the email address used to log in to the Brian Bacon Education Consulting account to which the opt-out applies. You must sign the Opt-Out Notice for it to be effective. This procedure is the only way you can opt out of the agreement to arbitrate. If you opt out of the agreement to arbitrate, all other parts of these Terms will continue to apply. Opting out of this agreement to arbitrate has no effect on any previous, other, or future arbitration agreements that you may have with Brian Bacon Education Consulting.

13. Operation of the Platform and United States Law

The Platform is controlled and operated from within the United States. Without limiting anything else, Brian Bacon Education Consulting makes no representation that the Platform, Platform Content, User Content, services, products, information, or other materials available on, in, or through the Platform is appropriate or available for use outside the United States, and access to them from territories where they are illegal is prohibited. Those who choose to access the Platform from outside the United States do so on their own will and are responsible for compliance with applicable laws.

The Platform may only be used in compliance with applicable statutes or regulations relating to the export control laws and regulations of the United States, and any amendment thereof. The Platform, the Platform Content, and all underlying information and technology licensed hereunder shall not be accessed, downloaded, used, possessed, or otherwise exported or re-exported to (or to a national or resident of) any country outside of the United States without first complying strictly and fully with all export controls and other applicable laws that may be imposed by the United States Government or any country or organization of nations within whose jurisdiction you use the Platform, the Platform Content, or any underlying information or technology.

14. Miscellaneous

These Terms, including the Privacy Policy, constitute the entire legal agreement between you and Brian Bacon Education Consulting regarding the Platform and govern your use of the Platform, Services, and any transactions you may have with Brian Bacon Education Consulting through the Platform. These Terms completely replace and supersede any prior agreement or understanding, arrangement, undertaking, or proposal, written or oral, between you and Brian Bacon Education Consulting regarding these matters. In the event any other rule, code of conduct, or other matter posted on the Platform conflicts with the terms of these Terms, these Terms shall govern. No oral explanation or oral information given by any party shall alter the interpretation of these Terms.

You understand that Brian Bacon Education Consulting may make changes to these Terms from time to time. Your continued use of the Platform following the posting of changes to these Terms will be considered your consent to those changes. When these changes are made, Brian Bacon Education Consulting will make a new copy of the Terms available on the Platform. You agree that Brian Bacon Education Consulting is under no obligation to provide you with notices regarding changes to these Terms. You understand that it is your responsibility to check the Terms regularly for changes.

You agree that any failure or delay of Brian Bacon Education Consulting to exercise or enforce any legal right or remedy contained in or made available by these Terms (or that Brian Bacon Education Consulting has the benefit of under any applicable law) will not be taken to be a formal waiver of Brian Bacon Education Consulting’s rights and that those rights or remedies will still be available to Brian Bacon Education Consulting. If any court of law, having the jurisdiction to decide a matter arising out of these Terms, rules that any provision of these Terms is invalid, then that provision will be removed from these Terms without affecting the rest of the Terms and the remaining provisions will continue to be valid and enforceable.