Royal Open College
Please read these Terms and Conditions carefully before using the Royal Open College website, learning platform, or related services. By accessing or using our services, you agree to be bound by these Terms and Conditions.
College name | Royal Open College |
Website / platform | royalopencollege.org |
Contact email | support@royalopencollege.org |
1. About these Terms
1.1 These Terms and Conditions apply to all users of Royal Open College, including visitors, registered learners, subscribers, and anyone who purchases or accesses a course or service through our website, mobile experience, or any other channel we make available.
1.2 If you do not agree to these Terms, you must not register for an account, purchase a course, or use the services.
1.3 We may update these Terms from time to time. The revised version will apply from the date it is published on our website, unless a later effective date is stated.
2. Our Services
2.1 Royal Open College provides online learning services, which may include short courses, bundles, assessments, certificates, memberships, live sessions, downloadable learning materials, and related learner support.
2.2 Course descriptions, pricing, access periods, certification details, prerequisites, and other conditions shown on the website form part of the service description for that course or membership.
2.3 We may change, replace, improve, suspend, or withdraw any part of the services where reasonably necessary for operational, technical, legal, or commercial reasons.
3. Registration and Accounts
3.1 Some services may be viewed without creating an account, but you may need to register before purchasing or accessing certain content.
3.2 You must provide accurate, complete, and current information when creating or updating your account.
3.3 You are responsible for keeping your login details confidential and for all activity carried out through your account unless we have accepted a notification that your account has been compromised.
3.4 You must notify us promptly if you suspect unauthorised use of your account or any security breach.
3.5 We may suspend or close an account where we reasonably believe there has been fraud, misuse, a breach of these Terms, or conduct that may harm Royal Open College, its learners, instructors, or partners.
4. Purchase, Fees, and Payment
4.1 Prices are shown on the website or at checkout and may be updated from time to time. Unless stated otherwise, prices include any applicable taxes.
4.2 You must pay the full amount due at the time of purchase unless we expressly agree to an alternative payment arrangement in writing.
4.3 We may use third-party payment processors. By making a purchase, you agree to the terms and privacy practices of those payment providers where applicable.
4.4 If a payment is reversed, declined, charged back, or otherwise not completed, we may suspend access to the relevant service until the payment issue is resolved.
4.5 Where a recurring plan or membership is purchased, you authorise us to charge the applicable fee at the start of each billing cycle unless the subscription is cancelled in accordance with these Terms.
5. Access to Courses and Memberships
5.1 Course access is granted for the period stated on the course page, order confirmation, membership page, or account dashboard.
5.2 Access may depend on device compatibility, internet connection, browser support, or third-party systems outside our control.
5.3 We may set fair-use limits, such as a cap on the number of active courses a learner may hold at one time, where this is required to protect service quality or the availability of the platform.
5.4 We may make reasonable changes to course content, sequencing, instructors, assessment methods, or platform features without reducing the core service promised to you.
5.5 We do not guarantee uninterrupted or error-free access, but we will use reasonable efforts to restore service where disruption occurs.
6. Certificates, Assessments, and Results
6.1 Certificates may be issued only where the stated assessment requirements have been met, and the relevant course has been successfully completed.
6.2 Assessment results, certificate issuance, and grading criteria are based on the information shown for the course and any additional course rules published by us.
6.3 We may withhold or revoke a certificate where we reasonably believe it was issued in error, obtained by misconduct, or associated with a breach of these Terms.
6.4 Certificates are intended to reflect completion of the relevant course or assessment and do not guarantee employment, professional registration, accreditation, or regulatory approval unless expressly stated in writing.
7. Refunds, Cancellations, and Changes
7.1 Unless a course-specific policy says otherwise, you may request cancellation within 14 days of purchase or delivery of access, provided the course has not been substantially completed or fully consumed.
7.2 If significant content has been accessed, downloaded, completed, or used, we may refuse a refund where doing so would be fair and reasonable in the circumstances.
7.3 For subscriptions or memberships, cancellation ends future billing, but you will normally retain access until the end of the current billing period unless we state otherwise.
7.4 We may offer course exchanges or plan changes at our discretion, but any exchange, upgrade, downgrade, or transfer may be subject to availability and additional charges.
7.5 If we need to cancel a course, membership, or scheduled session, our liability is limited to refunding the amounts paid for the affected service that was not provided.
8. Acceptable Use
8.1 You must not use the services in any unlawful, harmful, misleading, defamatory, abusive, or fraudulent way.
8.2 You must not copy, resell, distribute, reverse engineer, scrape, or otherwise exploit our website, platform, course content, or branding except as expressly permitted by us.
8.3 You must not upload or transmit viruses, malicious code, corrupted files, or anything that could damage the platform or other users.
8.4 You must not interfere with the security, performance, or integrity of the platform or attempt to gain unauthorised access to accounts, systems, or data.
8.5 We may remove content, restrict access, or terminate accounts where we reasonably believe these rules have been breached.
9. Content, Intellectual Property, and User Submissions
9.1 All intellectual property rights in our website, platform, course materials, branding, and related content belong to Royal Open College or our licensors unless we state otherwise in writing.
9.2 You receive a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable licence to use the content for your personal learning purposes only, subject to these Terms.
9.3 You must not copy, reproduce, modify, publicly display, distribute, sell, sublicense, or create derivative works from our content without our prior written permission.
9.4 If you submit feedback, reviews, assignments, forum posts, or other material, you confirm that you have the right to share it and that it does not infringe anyone else’s rights.
9.5 You grant us a worldwide, royalty-free licence to use, host, reproduce, adapt, and display your submitted content for the purpose of operating, improving, promoting, or supporting our services, subject to our Privacy Policy and applicable law.
10. Privacy and Data Protection
10.1 We process personal data in accordance with our Privacy Policy and applicable data protection laws.
10.2 You should read our Privacy Policy carefully to understand what data we collect, why we collect it, how long we keep it, and who we may share it with.
10.3 You are responsible for ensuring that any personal information you provide to us is accurate and up to date.
11. Service Availability and Technical Support
11.1 We use reasonable efforts to keep the services available and working properly, but we do not guarantee that the platform will always be uninterrupted, timely, secure, or error-free.
11.2 We may perform maintenance, updates, or emergency repairs from time to time, which may temporarily limit access.
11.3 Technical support may be provided by email, helpdesk, chat, or other channels we make available, but we are not responsible for fixing issues caused by unsupported devices, browsers, networks, third-party software, or user error.
12. Limitation of Liability
12.1 Nothing in these Terms limits or excludes liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud, fraudulent misrepresentation, or any other liability that cannot legally be limited or excluded.
12.2 To the maximum extent permitted by law, we are not liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive losses, including loss of profit, loss of business, loss of data, loss of goodwill, or loss of opportunity.
12.3 We are not responsible for any losses arising from your reliance on content that is not a substitute for professional advice, or from your failure to comply with laws, regulations, or third-party requirements that apply to you.
12.4 Our total liability for all claims arising out of or in connection with a purchase or service will be limited to the amount you paid to us for the relevant service in the 12 months before the claim arose, except where a different limit is required by law.
13. Termination
13.1 We may suspend or terminate your access immediately if you materially breach these Terms, misuse the services, fail to pay amounts due, or act in a way that may harm our platform, staff, learners, or partners.
13.2 You may stop using the services at any time. If you have a subscription, cancellation will take effect in line with the plan terms shown at purchase or in your account.
13.3 Termination does not affect rights or obligations that arose before termination, including payment obligations, intellectual property restrictions, and any clauses intended to continue after termination.
14. General Terms
14.1 These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy and any course-specific rules, form the entire agreement between you and Royal Open College regarding the services.
14.2 If any part of these Terms is found to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will continue in full force.
14.3 Our failure to enforce a right or provision does not mean we waive that right or provision.
14.4 We may transfer or assign our rights and obligations under these Terms where reasonably necessary, provided this does not materially disadvantage you.
14.5 You may not transfer your rights or obligations under these Terms without our written consent.
15. Governing Law and Contact
15.1 These Terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales will have non-exclusive jurisdiction unless a mandatory law says otherwise.
15.2 If you have any questions about these Terms, refunds, or your account, please contact us at support@royalopencollege.org or +44 7877 601578.
