Terms of Use 

Online Programmes

These Terms of Use ("Terms") govern your use of Gaia Education's courses, programmes, and other products and services ("Services"). Please read these Terms carefully, and contact us if you have any questions. By using our Services, you agree to be bound by these Terms, including the policies referenced in these Terms.

1.0 Use of services

Courses, programmes and services created by Gaia Education may be used by participants who have registered to them or have been authorised by Gaia Education personnel. They may also be used by volunteers, contract facilitators and staff when given access. The use of Gaia Education courses, programmes and services and their content, as well as name and logo is not for the use of non-authorised users. If you have any questions, please contact us at info@gaiaeducation.org.

1.1 Course content

All the content in Gaia Education courses and programmes belongs to Gaia Education and has been created by /or organised by/for Gaia Education or in partnership with another organisation. When using external sources, Gaia Education makes sure to reference them as appropriate. The reproduction or alteration of this content for outside use is strictly prohibited unless specifically authorised by Gaia Education CEO. You may download content from our courses and programmes only for personal, non-commercial use.

These Terms of Use enable you to share your content, such as homework, quizzes, exams, projects, other assignments you submit, posts you make in the forums, and the like, with Gaia Education staff, facilitators, and/or other users. You retain all intellectual property rights in, and are responsible for, the user content you share.

You are obliged to follow Gaia Education policies on safeguarding and anti-harassment in all communication and any user content that you provide during the course (comments on the forum, live video calls, course assignments etc). The user content that you provide on the e-learning platform may be used in our marketing material, but Gaia Education will never do so without asking for the users consent to publish this material. If you consent, this content is royalty-free, publicly displayed and is subject to small modifications.

 

1.3 Security

We care about the security of our users. While we work to protect the security of your account and related information, Gaia Education cannot guarantee that unauthorised third parties will not be able to defeat our security measures. Please keep your login information private and notify us immediately of any compromise or unauthorised use of your account.

1.4 Guide to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

As a user of our services, your data will be protected under the current GDPR regulations. We work according to these regulations to protect the security of your account, however if you suspect any breach of your data security please contact us on peoplecare@gaiaeducation.org

 

1.5 Third party content

Through the courses, programmes and services, you will have the ability to access and/or use content provided by facilitators, other participants, and/or other third parties and links to websites and services maintained by third parties. Gaia Education cannot guarantee that such third party content, in the courses or elsewhere, will be free of material you may find objectionable or otherwise inappropriate or of malware or other contaminants that may harm your computer, mobile device, or any files therein. Gaia Education disclaims any responsibility or liability related to your access or use of, or inability to access and use, such third party content. Please read Safety and Security below for more details.

1.6 Modifying and terminating services

We are constantly changing and improving our courses, programmes and services. We may add or remove functions, features, or requirements, and we may suspend or stop part of our services altogether. Accordingly, Gaia Education may terminate, cancel or reschedule courses and services for different reasons. If your use of a paid course or service is terminated, a refund may be available under our Cancellation and Refund policy below in section 2.3. You can stop using our services at any time, although we will be sorry to see you go.

 

1.7 Possible questions about a programme

Unless otherwise arranged, participants will have access to all the courses for which they have registered and paid for up to one month after the course has ended, or up to a month after the certificate has ended in the case of certificates, unless stated otherwise by the eLearning coordinator and/or facilitators.

When creating an account for the e-learning platform, the participant must provide us with accurate and complete information. If any changes occur, the participant is responsible for updating your details on your profile. Prior to a course starting, Gaia Education will send every participant an email detailing how to log in.

However, please note that as a registered participant, you are responsible to seek out how to access the course in case the email goes to your spam folder or you do not receive it. If you do not know how to access your course, please contact us on peoplecare@gaiaeducation.org

 

1.8 Possible technical limitations

When a participant signs up for a Gaia Education online course they are responsible for having internet access to be able to attend the course and access course materials. Note that rarely, although occasionally there might be some connection issues from Gaia Education’s website which limits your access to the e-learning platform. If this happens, we will notify all enrolled students immediately and keep them updated about access. Most technical issues are solved in less than 24 hours. If you are experiencing any technical difficulties within the course, please contact our IT support at webmaster@gaiaeducation.org

 

1.9 Safety & Security

Gaia Education commits to create safe and secure environments both at the technological as well as academic levels. It is expected the same level of commitment and responsibility by facilitators and participants. For technical security, we recommend caution when uploading or sharing files and the use of an antivirus software. We expect respect for others opinions and work as well as an environment where we are all learning together and co-creating. Please refer to the “anti-harassment” and other policies here: www.gaiaeducation.org/about/policies/

2.0 Culturally appropriate materials

Gaia Educations believes in inclusion and social justice and makes every effort to produce non-oppressive and culturally appropriate materials, however due having a diversity of students with different origins and backgrounds it is very difficult to produce content that is neutral to all. If by any chance you were offended or are concerned by any of our materials, content, photographs, or other materials, please let us know. This will help us improve our programmes and make them more inclusive. You can contact us with your inquiry at peoplecare@gaiaeducation.org and we will work with you to make our programmes more inclusive and user friendly to everybody.

  

 2.1 Feedback

We at Gaia Education welcome feedback from users and encourage you to connect with us in case you experience any challenges while using our courses, programmes and services. We will make every reasonable effort to incorporate this feedback and improve the experience for all of our users. An evaluation survey will be provided at the end of each course, where you can send us your comments. By submitting any feedback in the official feedback form, you grant us the right to use the feedback without any restriction or any compensation to you. If you would not like to give us consent to your feedback comments, please state so in the additional comments at the bottom of the form.

 

2.2 Payments policy

All courses and programmes need to be paid in full as per agreement between the participant and Gaia Education. When a participant registers to a course or programme, they commit to paying the full course fee or in instalments, applying the appropriate discounts if applicable. Payments can be made by credit card, PayPal or bank transfer. We have a few number of seats (depending on registration) for full/partial scholarships and work-trade; if you require financial assistance, please contact us at info@gaiaeducation.org

 

2.3 Cancellation and refund policy of online programmes

Cancellation of any services made a minimum of 7 days in advance before the service, course or programme starts will receive 100% refund. Cancellations between 7 to 0 days prior to the start will receive a 75% refund. Cancellations made during the first week after the registered course or programme start will be refunded up to 50%. There are no refunds after the first week of the course, but you can pause your inscription and continue in the next edition of the same course, according to our course retaking policy (see point 2.5 below). In case you wish to postpone your participation, you need to communicate with us at elearning@gaiaeducation.org by maximum mid-point of the course. If you don’t communicate or you do so after mid-point, you may need to pay admin fees (see course retake below).

 

2.4 Course extensions

Course extensions will never be more than two extra weeks after the official ending of the final module, to avoid overlapping with other courses. If a participant is experiencing challenges to attend or complete a course and communicates about it with Gaia Education staff or facilitators before the end of the course, they may be able to complete the course the following academic year without charge after having explored all possible alternatives to complete the course on time. When they have not completed any modules, they may need to pay between 10% to 25% or full course (see course re-taking below).

2.5 Course re-taking

When a participant who has logged into a course they registered for and/or has submitted some work and communicates with Gaia Education staff and/or course facilitators about being unable to complete a course or programme, they will be given the chance to retake the course the following year or when the course is being offered again. They may have to pay an admin fee of 50 GBP for any GEDS dimension or 45 GBP for any ERD Module. For any other Gaia Education courses, the fee will be no less than a 10% of the cost of the module or dimension. If no communication has occurred during the time of the course, the participant has not logged in or has not submitted work, or the communication came after midpoint, they may still be able to retake the course by requesting to be re-registered and paying 25% of the cost of the course (when taking the course the following year). They may need to pay full amount if they come back to take the course more than a year after the first registration.

2.6 Course completion policy

The GEDS program can be taken as a full certificate or one dimension at a time. You can also decide to take just one dimension as each dimension is a course on its own. Individual dimensions (courses) should be finished within the allocated time, usually within eight weeks.

The GEDS certificate should be completed within three years from the first course registration. It is the participants’ responsibility to re-register and follow up with the Gaia Education staff. If a participant registered (and paid) for the full GEDS, they will have two years to complete it. To continue after the initial two years (and until a maximum of three years), they may need to re-register and pay for the dimensions they did not complete within the first two years.

For other courses, please refer to the specific programme or course policies. In the majority of the cases, courses can be completed within a timeframe of two years or within two opportunities to take the same course/module. For questions, please contact us at info@gaiaeducation.org.

 

2.7 Combining different languages/costs

Participants can take the GEDS in English, Spanish or Portuguese. It is possible to take the courses in different languages. In case the price of the course that the participant initially took is lower than the same course they wish to take in another language, they are liable to pay the price difference between the two. If a participant registered for the full GEDS with a higher fee and wants to take one of the dimensions in a language of lesser cost, there are no refunds. If a participant wishes to obtain the course materials in a different language from the course they are taking, they can do so by paying 10% of the course fee.

2.8 Design Studio

The Design Studio is the final project where participants apply the knowledge and skills they have learned from the previous four dimensions (Social, Ecological, Economic and Worldview). Participants who have registered and paid for the full GEDS program will be able to take the Design Studio without any extra charges as long as they take it within the two-year timeframe. In case a participant decides to delay taking the Design Studio beyond two years or those who have registered and paid one dimension at a time, will pay the cost of the Design Studio at the time they decide to take it.

The Design Studio needs to be completed within a window of three years after the last dimension was completed, or three years since the participant started the GEDS. If a participant wants to take the Design Studio after a period of three years, they will need to register for the full GEDS again, and will be given a 50% discounted rate.

2.9 Certification

A Certificate of Conclusion from Gaia Education will be provided only for those who have completed the Full GEDS Programme (5 dimensions) and have completed all of the course requirements. Those who take single dimensions, will receive a Letter of Acknowledgement for that dimension, granted by Gaia Education.

3.0 Credits

Note that Gaia Education courses are complementary education, and unless stated otherwise, participation or completion of a course does not grant any academic credit. After completing a full course, you will receive a certificate of completion (excluding introductory course Panorama) which you may add to your CV, use for advancing your career or for establishing credibility in developing your own projects.

3.1 Certification

We only accept individual registrations and if you wish to participate as a group, note that each group member needs to have their own registration and log in. It is not allowed for more than one person to use the same account. A single registration from an organisation needs to be associated with one person only. Gaia Education reserves the right to deny the access to individuals who share their login and distribute resources with unauthorised users. We do however offer discounts for groups of more than 6 people and if you are interested in this, please contact us on e-learning@gaiaeducation.org