Terms of Use - Effective 01/01/2010
Student Financial Aid Services, Inc.
1. General Information
Please read this Terms of Use Agreement ("Agreement"
or "Terms of Use") carefully.
Student Financial Aid Services, Inc. ("SFAS") is a fee-based
student aid preparation and advisory service that assists and educates clients on the financial
aid process and provides guidance and assistance to clients (students
and their families) in a variety if related areas including the total and net costs associated
with attending a post secondary institution, information on how to pay for college and factors
that may be relevant to college selection, as well as preparing and submitting required
financial aid forms including the federal student aid application
form (commonly referred to as the "FAFSA") through a simplified process that
includes individual access to, and guidance from, Student Aid Advisors, assistance
with student aid deadline management, online student financial aid resources, an intuitive,
easy-to-use online FAFSA information gathering service and personalized human review of FAFSA
applications for accuracy and the minimization of errors prior to filing. SFAS also helps
Clients by providing a complimentary submission service whereby completed FAFSAs are submitted
to the official processor of the Department of Education ("ED"). The
following outlines the terms and conditions associated with the use of SFAS's
fee-based student aid preparation and advisory services through the SFAS website,
www.FAFSA.com ("Site,") and our call
center ("Call Center," and collectively with the Site and SFAS's preparation
and filing services, the "Services,"). Your use of the Services indicates
your acknowledgement of and agreement to this Agreement, our
Privacy Policy
and other notices posted on this Site.
2. Terms of Use Agreement
This Agreement constitutes a legal agreement between you, the user of the Services,
and SFAS (or "we" or "us"), a private, for-profit company that is unaffiliated with
any government agency. In order to access and use the Services, you, the user, must
accept and agree to be bound by, without exception, all of the terms, conditions
and notices contained in this Agreement. If you do not accept all of the terms,
conditions and notices as stated in this Agreement, you may not use or access the
Services.
You represent to us that you have the ability and the authority to (a) agree to
be bound by these Terms of Use; and (b) provide the personal information requested
by SFAS in connection with the Services. The Services are not intended for use by
children. You represent to us that you are eighteen (18) years of age or older.
If you are under the age of 18, your parent or legal guardian must agree to the
terms of this Agreement on your behalf.
You acknowledge and agree that you must (a) provide for your own access to the World
Wide Web and pay any service fees associated with such access; and (b) provide all
equipment necessary for you to make such connection to the World Wide Web, including
a computer and modem or other access device.
SFAS is not affiliated in any way with the ED. You may complete the FAFSA yourself,
without the use of our Services, at no charge by (a) filing a paper FAFSA application
available from the ED; or (b) filing the FAFSA electronically through the ED website
at www.fafsa.ed.gov.
3. Description of Services; Disclaimers
The foundation of the US student financial aid system is the FAFSA form. Our ability
to advise, assist and/or inform clients on issues associated with either incurring or
paying for college is dependent upon information typically provided as part of a FAFSA
consultation or submission process. FAFSA is the application used by nearly all educational
institutions to determine eligibility for many types of federal, state, and educational
institution-sponsored student aid, including grants, educational loans, and work-study
programs. However, some states and/or educational institutions may also require additional
applications or forms in order for you to be considered for student aid.
- By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree that any Services provided to you by SFAS
are limited consultation regarding the student financial aid process, including
estimating the costs of attending a particular college, providing guidance on how to
pay for college, and/or assisting you in preparing your FAFSA application with
the ED. You further acknowledge and agree that you are solely responsible for checking
with your state's and/or educational institution's student aid administrators to
determine their exact student aid policies, procedures, requirements and deadlines,
including individual FAFSA filing deadlines, and for complying with those policies.
- By subscribing, you warrant and represent that all information provided to SFAS,
its agents and employees will be true and correct. You also authorize SFAS, its
agents and employees to discuss all aspects of your student aid application with
educational institution student aid administrators and other state, federal, and
private agency officials involved in the student aid process, as necessary and appropriate,
in compliance with the Federal Rights and Privacy Act ("FERPA").
- You understand and agree that use of the Services does not guarantee that you will
receive student aid either of an amount estimated or unestimated, nor does SFAS
directly or indirectly make any representation or offer any guarantee that use of our
Services will result in a student aid award or a student aid award that exceeds your
individual student aid eligibility. Actual student aid eligibility and award packages
are determined by federal and state agencies and the student aid offices of individual
educational institutions, and are beyond SFAS' control.
- SFAS periodically reviews the contents of, or information provided through, the
Services and makes reasonable, "good-faith" efforts to consistently provide users
with accurate, up-to-date information; however, SFAS does not assume liability for
loss or damage(s) as a result of user reliance on the Services. While SFAS believes
the information contained on or provided through the Services to be accurate and
factual, it has not been reviewed or approved by the ED, state agencies, lenders,
educational institutions or other entities involved in the student aid industry.
Information contained on or provided through the Services should not be considered
legal, financial, or other professional advice.
- Student aid filing deadlines are subject to change and are beyond SFAS' control;
therefore, while we consistently review our files to keep them up-to-date and endeavor
to help clients meet filing deadlines, we cannot guarantee the accuracy of FAFSA
filing deadlines in our database, nor do we guarantee FAFSA submissions by any particular
date.
- Estimates and planning ranges provided by SFAS either verbally or in reports are based on historical and current data available from a wide variety of sources and are based on information that has been provided by you on the FAFSA application. Estimates should be used as a guide to assist a Student or User in understanding likely ranges for student aid and in the final selection of an appropriate college. While all care has been taken to produce estimates that are accurate based on the information provided to us by you, federal and state agencies, non-profit entities, and post-secondary institutions are subject to change without notice, potentially rendering these estimates inaccurate. This information is subject to change based on a variety of factors, including federal and state legislation changes, federal and state regulatory changes from administrative agencies (e.g. U.S. Department of Education and state higher education authorities), changes in Title IV eligibility at institutions, and/or changes in the financial aid awarding techniques institutions.
- Estimates and planning ranges provided by SFAS either verbally or in reports are NOT either of the following:
- A guarantee of the type and amount of aid the student is going to receive for any particular academic year
- A bargaining tool to try and receive a more favorable financial aid award package from a college or institution
- Furthermore, while the student aid offices of most educational institutions use
the FAFSA "submission date" in determining whether an applicant is considered "on
time," a small percentage use the date on which the FAFSA application is "fully
processed." A "fully processed" FAFSA typically means that the application has been
processed by the federal processor and made available to the student aid office,
and that the applicant has met the signature requirement, either by signing and
returning the signature page or by signing the FAFSA electronically on the ED website
using a Personal Identification Number ("PIN") provided by the ED. The process for
creating, approving and distributing a PIN is managed by the ED. SFAS does not have
any control over such process and recommends that clients direct questions about
such process to the ED. You are fully responsible for all activities that occur
in connection with your PIN, and SFAS is not liable for any harm caused or related
to the disclosure, theft or misappropriation of all or any portion of your personal
or financial information, or if someone else uses your PIN through no fault of SFAS.
Accordingly, you should not disclose your PIN to anyone else. Notify the ED immediately
if you become aware of any disclosure, loss, theft or unauthorized use of your PIN.
- By subscribing, you authorize SFAS to submit your FAFSA application electronically and
accept any terms of use or conditions on your behalf specifically related to the electronic
submission process with the ED. You also acknowledge and agree that it is your sole responsibility
to meet and accept the FAFSA signature requirement and any terms of use by signing electronically
with your PIN or signing and returning the signature page for your completed FAFSA application to
the federal processor should we electronically submit it on your behalf, and for complying with
your state's and/or educational institution's student aid policies, procedures, requirements and
deadlines, including individual FAFSA filing deadlines.
- SFAS offers personalized FAFSA review by trained Student Aid Advisors; however,
because we do not independently verify the accuracy of information provided to us
by clients, and because rules and regulations do change, we do not guarantee that
all applications will be error-free or will not be selected by federal, state or
applicable educational institution student aid offices for verification. The verification
process is managed by the federal, state or educational institution student aid
offices. SFAS does not have any control over the FAFSA verification process and
refers all questions from clients with respect to such process to the applicable
student aid offices.
- If, at any time prior to submission of a FAFSA application to the official processor
of the ED, SFAS determines that there are potential errors in your FAFSA application
that need to be corrected, SFAS will use commercially reasonable efforts to contact
you to request permission to correct such error. However, if SFAS is unable to contact
you after making commercially reasonable efforts to do so and corrections must be
made without delay in order to meet any required deadline for submission of your
FAFSA application, you authorize SFAS to utilize its judgment to make any corrections
to the FAFSA application in order to file it before the deadline.
- Once a FAFSA application is "fully processed", SFAS has no control over such application
and cannot make any changes or corrections to your FAFSA record. You may make changes
or corrections to your FAFSA record by (a) making all necessary corrections in the
appropriate boxes located in the middle of the Student Aid Report that you receive
following the submission of the FAFSA application and submitting the corrected Student
Aid Report to the appropriate entity as designated thereon; (b) contacting the ED
by phone, 1.800.433.3243, solely for the purposes of adding schools
and/or changing your address, by using your data release number ("DRN"), the four-digit
number located in the lower-left corner of your Student Aid Report; or (c) accessing
and correcting your FAFSA application electronically on the ED website (please note
that you must obtain a "Confirmation Stamp" in order for your corrections to be
applied to your FAFSA application).
- Should SFAS determine either that a). you have provided inadequate information for the
ED to either accept the submission of your FAFSA, b). the quality of the information you
provide to us is inadequate for the ED to fully processed a submitted FAFSA or c). that
there are outstanding issues or questions relating to the information you have provided
such that it may affect the amount of student aid that you are eligible to receive, then
SFAS will use commercially reasonable efforts to contact you to gather the information
required. You agree to respond to SFAS's requests for additional information in a
prompt and timely manner. However, if SFAS is unable to contact you by either email,
telephone or mail, or you fail to provide the information requested in a prompt and
timely manner, then SFAS reserves the right to cease providing any additional Services
to you.
4. Privacy Statement
Any information provided by you or gathered by us or third parties during any use
of the Services is subject to the terms of our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated
herein for reference. We encourage you to periodically read our
Privacy Policy.
5. Fees, Payments, Billing and Cancellation
The current fees payable to SFAS for your use of the Services are available at
www.FAFSA.com/pricingpackages
("Fees"). You agree to pay the Fees and any other charges incurred in connection with your use of the Services
(including any applicable taxes, chargeback fees or bounced check fees) at the rates in effect when
the charges were incurred. You agree to pay the Fees in accordance with one of our payment options
as described at www.FAFSA.com/pricingpackages.
Fees will be billed prior to the provision of the Services by SFAS. You agree to pay all costs of collection
of fees due to us, including legal fees, incurred by SFAS.
Some of our payment options provide for automatic annual billing.
If you choose one of these payment options, you expressly agree that we are
authorized to charge you an annual fee, any applicable tax and any other charges
you may incur in connection with your use of our Services. The annual fees, as
outlined in your chosen pricing package, will be billed between November and December
each year for the next year's Services unless and until you cancel our Services.
We will bill annually for our Services to the credit card you provided to us during
registration (or to a different card if you change your account information.)
If your credit card reaches its expiration date, your continued use of our Services
constitutes your authorization for us to continue billing that credit card and you
remain responsible for any uncollected amounts.
If you have selected a payment option with automatic annual billing, our Services will
continue in effect unless and until you cancel our Services or we terminate them.
You must cancel our Services before the annual renewal period in order to avoid billing
of next year's Services to your credit card. We will provide prior notice to you of the
date on which the annual billing will be made. You may cancel our Services at any time,
and such cancellation will be effective immediately.
To cancel, call a Student Aid Advisor at 1.866.550.5120.
Effective as of June 17, 2009, if you notify us that you are not satisfied with the Services
within seven (7) days of any billing of our Services, SFAS will issue you a refund of the Fees
paid by you for such Services, less a service charge. The service charge will be $10.00 if your
application has not been reviewed and submitted to ED or $35.00 if your application has already
been reviewed and submitted to the ED. If for any reason the service charge is greater than the
Fees paid by you for such Services, then SFAS will cancel the application with no refund due to you.
We reserve the right to change our fees at anytime. SFAS may change the fees and charges
then in effect, or add new fees or charges, by giving you notice in advance.
If you want to use a different credit card or there is a change in credit card validity or
expiration date, you must follow the procedures outlined in the Privacy Policy for changing
your personal information. You are responsible for any fees or charges incurred to access
the Services through an Internet access provider or other third party service.
We reserve the right to terminate your account for any or no reason.
6. License
Except as expressly provided otherwise, SFAS grants you a personal, revocable, non-transferable
and non-exclusive license to display on your computer, print, download and use the
underlying HTML, text, audio clips, video clips and other content that is made available
to you on this Site, for non-commercial, personal or educational purposes only,
provided that:
- you do not (and do not allow any third party to) modify or create a derivative work
of any such content; and
- you include with and display on each copy of such content the associated copyright
notice.
No other use is permitted. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, you
may not:
- include such content in or with any product that you create or distribute;
- reproduce, duplicate, copy, sell, rent, resell or exploit for any commercial purposes
any portion of the Site, use of the Site, or access to the Site;
- establish a frame containing any portion of the Site on any other website or text
document with hyperlink capabilities; or
- copy such content onto your or any other site; and you may not direct any other
person to do any of the foregoing.
You agree not to access the Site by any means other than through the HTML or other
interface that is provided by SFAS for use in accessing the Site.
Notwithstanding the above, nothing contained in this license shall be construed
as conferring any right under any intellectual property of SFAS, its affiliates
or any other person who owns the intellectual property in the content provided on
this Site.
7. Intellectual Property
SFAS is the owner and/or authorized user of the Site and any trademark, registered
trademark, service mark and/or other intellectual property appearing at this Site
or used in connection with the Services, and is the copyright owner or licensee
of the content and/or information on this Site, including but not limited to any
screens appearing at the Site. You may not download, modify, copy, distribute, transmit,
display, perform, reproduce, publish, license, create derivative works from, sell,
transfer, or in any way commercially exploit any of the content, software or services
that are a part of the Site, or infringe upon any copyrights, trademarks or service
marks contained herein, without the express written consent of SFAS. However, you
may print a copy of the information on this Site for your personal use or records.
If you make other use of the Site, except as otherwise provided above, you may violate
copyright and other laws of the United States and other countries, as well as applicable
state laws, and may be subject to penalties. SFAS does not grant any license or
other authorization to any user of its trademarks, registered trademarks, service
marks, or other copyrightable material or other intellectual property, by placing
them on this Site. Suggestions or feedback provided by you to SFAS ("Feedback")
shall be the exclusive property of SFAS, and you hereby irrevocably waive all your
rights to all Feedback and assign all such rights to SFAS.
8. Member Account; Password and Security
- SFAS may supply you with a password and account designation upon completing the
registration process for use of the Services. You are responsible for maintaining
the confidentiality of the password and account, and are fully responsible for all
activities that occur under your password and account. You agree to immediately
notify SFAS of any unauthorized use of your password or account, or any other breach
of security of which you are aware, and to ensure that you properly log out of your
account at the end of each session. SFAS assumes no liability for any loss or damage
arising from your failure to comply with this section.
- You acknowledge and agree that you may obtain access to documents containing your
personal and/or financial information by using your password to access your account
and that you may download and save such documents or elect to receive such documents
in paper form. You are entirely responsible for all documents that you download
or otherwise obtain via your account. In addition, SFAS is not responsible for the
theft of, loss of, or any fraudulent activity related to any documents, including
documents containing your personal or financial information that are sent to you
by United States Postal Service or private package delivery service at your request.
9. Use of Interactive Components of the Site
The Site may contain functionality that enables live support and instant messaging
for users to obtain support from a SFAS representative (collectively, "Site Forums").
Although we will make every effort to keep any Site Forums up and running, they
may be unavailable at times. We do not warrant or ensure the continuous availability
of any Site Forums.
10. User Content
Other than personal and financial information that you provide in connection with
your FAFSA application ("FAFSA Data"), which shall be treated in accordance with
this Agreement and the Privacy Policy, you grant to SFAS an unrestricted, irrevocable
and non-exclusive right to use, reproduce, modify, distribute, publicly display,
publicly perform and transmit all non-FAFSA Data, content and material uploaded,
posted or otherwise provided by you through use of the Site, including but not limited
to comments, ideas for new products or services, and feedback and suggestions regarding
the Site. You are responsible for the content of that material. SFAS does not have
any responsibility for content, including the content of any messages or information
posted or provided by you or users of the Services, or for the content of information
accessible via direct or indirect hyperlinks from the Site. However, SFAS retains
the right, which it may or may not exercise in its sole discretion, to review, edit,
or delete content which SFAS deems to be illegal, offensive, in violation of these
terms and conditions or otherwise inappropriate. No compensation, unless explicitly
noted, will be paid with respect to the use of any information, content or material
that you upload, post, transmit or otherwise make available through this Site.
11. User Conduct
As a condition of your use of the Services, you agree (a) to abide by all applicable
local, state, national, and international laws and regulations in your use of the
Services; (b) not to impersonate any person or entity or falsely state or otherwise
misrepresent your affiliation with a person or entity; (c) not to use the Services
for any purpose that is unlawful or contrary to this Agreement; (d) not to use the
Services, or any portion thereof, in any manner that could damage, disable, overburden,
or impair the Services or interfere with any other party's use and employment of
the Services; (e) not to attempt to gain unauthorized access to any databases, information,
computer systems, or network associated with SFAS; (f) not to obtain or attempt
to obtain any materials or information through any means not intentionally made
available or provided for through the Services; and (g) not to post, upload, provide
access to, or transmit material that (i) is libelous, defamatory, obscene, child
pornography, fraudulent, harmful, threatening, abusive or hateful, or that violates
the property rights of others (including, without limitation, infringing use of
a copyright or trademark right); (ii) violates the privacy or publicity right of
others; or (iii) is in violation of any applicable laws.
SFAS has no obligation to monitor the Services. However, you acknowledge and agree
that SFAS has the right to monitor the Services from time to time and to disclose
any information as necessary or appropriate to satisfy any law, regulation or other
governmental request, to operate the Services properly, or to protect itself or
its clients. SFAS reserves the right to remove any information or materials, in
whole or in part, that, in its sole discretion, are unacceptable, undesirable, inappropriate
or in violation of these Terms of Use.
12. Failure to Comply with Terms of Use
You acknowledge and agree that SFAS may deny you access to all or part of the Services
without prior notice if you engage in any conduct or activities that SFAS, in its
sole discretion, believes violate any of the terms and conditions, violate the rights
of SFAS, or are otherwise inappropriate for continued access.
You acknowledge and agree that SFAS may, in its sole discretion, deny you access
through the Site to any materials stored on the Internet, or to access third-party
services, merchandise or information on the Internet, and SFAS shall have no responsibility
to notify any third-party providers of services, merchandise or information, nor
any responsibility for any consequences resulting from lack of notification.
13. Third Party Sites
SFAS may provide links to other sites or resources. You acknowledge and agree that
SFAS is not responsible for the accuracy or availability of such external sites
or resources, and does not endorse and is not responsible or liable for any content,
advertising, products, or other materials on or available from such sites or resources.
You agree that SFAS shall not be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly,
for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with use
of or reliance on any such content, products or services available on such external
sites or resources.
14. Disclaimer of Warranties
By using the Services, including any applets, software, and content contained on
the Site, you agree that use of the Services is entirely at your own risk. In no
event shall SFAS be responsible for the correctness of the Services, and no statement
made by a representative of SFAS or through the Services or elsewhere — expressed
or implied — shall be deemed such as a guarantee, warranty or representation of
liability. THE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS, AS AVAILABLE" BASIS, WITHOUT
WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION,
ANY WARRANTY FOR INFORMATION, DATA, SERVICES OR UNINTERRUPTED ACCESS PROVIDED THROUGH
OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SERVICES. SPECIFICALLY, SFAS DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL WARRANTIES,
INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO (a) ANY WARRANTIES CONCERNING THE AVAILABILITY, ACCURACY,
USEFULNESS, OR CONTENT OF THE INFORMATION OR SERVICES; AND (b) ANY WARRANTIES OF
TITLE, WARRANTIES OF NON-INFRINGEMENT, WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS
FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THIS DISCLAIMER OF LIABILITY APPLIES TO ANY DAMAGES OR
INJURY CAUSED BY ANY FAILURE OF PERFORMANCE, ERROR, OMISSION, INTERRUPTION, DELETION,
DEFECT, DELAY IN OPERATION OR TRANSMISSION, COMPUTER VIRUS, COMMUNICATION LINE FAILURE,
THEFT OR DESTRUCTION OR UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO, ALTERATION OF, OR USE OF RECORD,
WHETHER FOR BREACH OF CONTRACT, TORTUOUS BEHAVIOR, NEGLIGENCE, OR UNDER ANY OTHER
CAUSE OF ACTION. SFAS MAKES NO WARRANTY THAT THE SERVICES WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS,
OR THAT THE SERVICES WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY, SECURE, OR ERROR-FREE. SFAS
MAKES NO WARRANTY AS TO THE RESULTS THAT MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE USE OF THE SERVICES,
OR AS TO THE ACCURACY OR RELIABILITY OF ANY CONTENT OR ANY INFORMATION OBTAINED
THROUGH THE SERVICES, OR THAT DEFECTS IN THE SERVICES WILL BE CORRECTED. ANY INFORMATION
OR DOCUMENTS DOWNLOADED OR OTHERWISE OBTAINED THROUGH THE SERVICES ARE AT YOUR OWN
DISCRETION AND RISK AND WITH YOUR AGREEMENT THAT YOU WILL BE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE
FOR ANY DAMAGE TO YOUR COMPUTER OR LOSS OF DATA THAT RESULTS FROM THE DOWNLOAD OF
ANY SUCH INFORMATION OR DOCUMENTS.
15. Limitation of Liability
NEITHER SFAS NOR ANY OF ITS EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, SUCCESSORS, ASSIGNS, AFFILIATES OR
CONTENT OR SERVICE PROVIDERS SHALL BE LIABLE TO YOU OR OTHER THIRD PARTIES FOR ANY
DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, SPECIAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING
OUT OF USE OF THE SERVICES OR INABILITY TO GAIN ACCESS TO OR USE THE SERVICES, INCLUDING
BUT NOT LIMITED TO DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, USE, DATA OR OTHER INTANGIBLE PROPERTY,
EVEN IF SFAS HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. SFAS' LIABILITY
TO YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTIES IN ANY CIRCUMSTANCES IS LIMITED TO THE AMOUNT OF FEES
COLLECTED BY SFAS FROM YOU IN ACCORDANCE WITH THIS AGREEMENT.
SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL
OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO SOME OF THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
16. Indemnification
You agree to indemnify and hold harmless SFAS and its affiliates and their licensors,
agents, officers, employees and contractors for any and all claims, losses, damages,
liabilities, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorney fees) which arise
out of, are connected with or directly relate to (a) your use of the Services; (b)
any breach of any obligation, representation or warranty made by you in this Agreement;
or (c) the preparation and electronic submission of financial information filed
with any government entity, educational institution, or private or non-profit agency
utilized to ascertain financial assistance, including the failure of SFAS to complete
or properly transmit the FAFSA application.
17. Modification to Terms of Use
Periodically, SFAS may update and/or change the terms, conditions, and notices contained
in the Terms of Use to reflect changes in the Services offered, changes in applicable
laws, or for any other reason it deems necessary or appropriate. If our Terms of
Use materially change, we will post the revised version of the Terms of Use on our
Site. If you are a registered user of our Services, we will try to notify you about
material changes using the most current e-mail address you provided to us, or if
no e-mail address is available, we may contact you by postal mail. Your continued
use of the Services after any such change shall constitute your consent to, and
agreement to be bound by, the revised Terms of Use.
18. Modification to Services
SFAS reserves the right, at its discretion, to change, modify, terminate or suspend
any of the component(s) of the Site or these Terms of Use without liability to you
or any third party, and will notify users through online postings of the Terms of
Use and any changes, modifications or amendments thereto on the Site. We may also
impose limits on certain features of the Site or restrict your or any third party's
access to part or the entire Site for any reason (including, without limitation,
your breach of these Terms of Use) or no reason, without notice or penalty. You
acknowledge and agree that we will not be liable to you or any third party in the
event that we exercise our right to modify or terminate access to the Site (or portions
of the Site). You, the user, understand that SFAS has the right to make these changes
and that you are responsible for regularly reviewing the current Terms of Use as
posted on the Site. Your continued access to this Site after any such change shall
constitute your consent to, and agreement to be bound by any such changes.
19. Notices
Notices by the parties shall be provided in writing. You agree that if you have
provided us with an e-mail address for you, we may provide any written notices to
you in electronic form via an e-mail to you. You are responsible for notifying us
if your e-mail address changes. If you have not provided us with an e-mail address,
we may provide such notices to the postal address you specified. You may submit
notices to us at our e-mail address,
clientservice@FAFSA.com
. Notices sent by e-mail shall be deemed given forty-eight (48) hours after
the e-mail is sent, unless the sending party is notified that the e-mail address
is invalid. Alternatively, you may send notices to us by regular mail, with postage
prepaid, to the SFAS address provided below. SFAS may also broadcast notices or
other matters of importance on this Site; such broadcasts shall constitute notice
to you.
20. Assignment
You shall not assign or otherwise transfer or delegate or subcontract any of your
rights or obligations under this Agreement, in whole or in part, without SFAS' prior
written consent, such consent not to be unreasonably withheld. Any attempted transfer
or delegation by you without SFAS's consent will be void. These Terms of Use will
bind and inure to the benefit of each party's successors and permitted assigns.
21. Miscellaneous
This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of
the State of Delaware, without regard to its conflict of law provisions. Any cause
of action with respect to this Agreement and your rights and obligations must be
submitted for arbitration, pursuant to Section 22, within one (1) year after the
cause of action; otherwise, the cause shall be barred, provided that either party
may seek injunctive or equitable relief in any court of competent jurisdiction.
Nothing contained in this Agreement shall be deemed to constitute either party as
the agent or representative of the other party, or both parties as joint venturers
or partners for any purpose.
This Agreement, the Privacy Policy, any operating rules, policies, or procedures
that may be posted from time to time by SFAS on the Site, and any modifications
to the foregoing constitute the entire agreement between you and SFAS and supersede
all prior or contemporaneous communications, promises and proposals, whether oral,
written or electronic, between you and SFAS with respect to the Services associated
with it. In the event of any conflict between foreign laws, rules and regulations
and those of the United States, the laws, rules and regulations of the United States
shall govern. The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale
of Goods will not apply to these Terms.
The failure of SFAS to exercise or enforce any right or provision of the Terms of
Use shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. If any provision of
the Terms of Use is found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, the
parties nevertheless agree that the court should endeavor to give effect to the
parties' intentions as reflected in the provision, and the other provisions of the
Terms of Use shall remain in full force and effect. A printed version of this Agreement
and of any notice given in electronic form shall be admissible in judicial or administrative
proceedings based upon or relating to this Agreement, to the same extent and subject
to the same conditions as other business documents and records originally generated
and maintained in printed form.
Sections 1 - 4, 7, 14 - 16 and 19 - 25 shall survive termination of these Terms
of Use.
22. Arbitration
All disputes, controversies or claims arising out of or relating to these Terms
of Use will be resolved through binding arbitration conducted in Sacramento, California,
in accordance with: (i) the Federal Arbitration Act; (ii) the then-current commercial
arbitration rules of the American Arbitration Association (the "AAA"); and (iii)
these Terms of Use. The terms set forth in these Terms of Use will control in the
event of any inconsistency between such terms and the AAA rules. The arbitration
will be conducted by a single arbitrator reasonably familiar with the technology
and business covered by these Terms of Use, selected by mutual agreement of the
parties. If the parties fail to select an arbitrator within thirty (30) days following
the date of either party's notice of demand to conduct arbitration, then the AAA
will appoint an arbitrator in accordance with its rules. The award of the arbitrator
will be in writing, setting forth findings of fact and conclusions of law. Judgment
on the arbitrator's award will be final and binding upon the parties and may be
entered in any court having jurisdiction thereof. The arbitrator's fees will be
shared equally by the parties, and each party will bear its own costs and attorneys'
fees. All papers, documents, or evidence, whether written or oral, filed with or
presented in connection with the arbitration proceeding will be deemed by the parties
and by the arbitrator to be confidential information.
23. Void Where Prohibited
SFAS administers and operates the Services from its location in the United States.
Although the Services are accessible worldwide, not all features, products or services
discussed, referenced, provided or offered through or on the Services are available
to all persons or in all geographic locations, or are appropriate or available for
use outside the United States. SFAS reserves the right, in its sole discretion,
to limit the provision and quantity of any feature, product or service to any person
or geographic area. Any offer for any feature, product or service made on or through
the Services is void where prohibited. If you choose to access the Services from
outside the United States, you are solely responsible for complying with all laws
applicable thereto. You may not access, download, use or export the Site or the
Content in violation of U.S. export laws or regulations, or in violation of any
other applicable laws or regulations.
24. Acknowledgement
You acknowledge (a) that you have read and understood this Agreement; and (b) that
this Agreement has the same force and effect as a signed agreement.
25. Contact Information
If you have any questions regarding these Terms of Use or the Services, please contact
SFAS at clientservice@FAFSA.com.