Terms of use

1. The service and this agreement

The Flunk is operated by Ardvarq LLC ("Ardvarq," "we," "us"). These Terms govern the website and features that link to them. Read them before using the service. When an account, submission or purchase flow asks you to accept these Terms, selecting its agreement control is your acceptance. If you do not agree, do not use that feature. We also ask visitors to follow these Terms when using the public site.

Feature-specific terms disclosed before you use a feature govern that feature if they conflict with these Terms. Our Privacy Policy describes information practices; accepting these Terms is not blanket consent to advertising, sensitive-data processing or other uses that require a separate choice.

Accounts, student review submissions, paid features and advertising are not active in this version. The terms below apply if those features are introduced; they do not promise availability or authorize a charge. The Flunk is independent of the schools and instructors it describes. Names and marks identify the subject of records and do not imply affiliation or endorsement.

2. Eligibility and accounts

The service is intended for people researching higher education and is not for children under 13. If you are 13–17, use it only with a parent or legal guardian’s permission and supervision, and only where allowed by law. A feature may require a higher age. Purchasers must be at least 18 and able to enter a binding contract where they live.

If accounts or school-email verification are offered, provide accurate information, use only credentials you are authorized to use, protect your account and tell us promptly about suspected misuse. Do not impersonate a student, instructor or institution. You are responsible for your own authorized account activity, subject to applicable law. Email verification establishes access to that email address; it does not by itself prove enrollment, attendance or the truth of a review.

3. Understand the academic record

Historical records can be incomplete, delayed, incorrectly attributed or affected by small samples, changes in courses, or differences in reporting. Grades, official questionnaires, user reviews and syllabi are different kinds of information. They may cover different people and periods. Missing data is not a zero.

A Flunk Score is a calculated summary of available inputs and comparisons described on the site. It is not a finding about an instructor’s character, professional competence or conduct. A historical GPA or rating does not predict your grade, the difficulty of a future class, or the quality of your experience. A score, search result or comparison is not a recommendation to enroll in a particular class or hire or avoid a particular instructor.

The Flunk is not a transcript, registration system, degree audit, transfer-credit decision or academic advisor. Use the information as one part of your research, not as the sole basis for an enrollment or other consequential decision. You are responsible for your choices. Confirm schedules, requirements, instructor assignments, costs, policies and transfer eligibility directly with the institution. See Reading the data and report errors with their sources.

4. Permitted use and prohibited conduct

You may use public features, keep a personal shortlist and share accurate links. Subject to applicable law, Ardvarq grants you a limited, nonexclusive, revocable license to use its site interface and original materials for personal, noncommercial research. This does not transfer ownership or restrict rights you independently have in public-domain material or under copyright exceptions.

• Do not threaten, harass, dox, impersonate or unlawfully discriminate against anyone; submit unlawful material; or publish private student records, credentials or another person’s sensitive information.
• Do not fabricate experiences, manipulate ratings, buy or sell reviews, coordinate duplicate submissions, or conceal a material conflict of interest.
• Do not introduce malware, evade access controls or rate limits, interfere with availability, or access another person’s information without authority.
• Automated access must obey applicable law and published access restrictions. Do not bypass technical controls or create excessive load. Contact us before commercial bulk extraction or use of our protected compilation; these Terms do not create ownership of underlying public facts.

These restrictions do not prohibit lawful criticism of Ardvarq or its products, good-faith reports to regulators, protected disclosures, or the exercise of nonwaivable legal rights.

5. Reviews and other contributions

When contributions are enabled, follow the Review Guidelines. You are responsible for what you submit. Your review must describe your own experience and distinguish opinion from factual claims. Submit only material you have the right to provide. You represent that your submission and our permitted use of it do not infringe others’ rights or violate law. You retain ownership of your original content.

For material you intentionally submit for publication, you grant Ardvarq a nonexclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to host, reproduce, display, distribute and format it as necessary to operate and present The Flunk, including its search results and rating summaries. We may let service providers perform these functions for us. This license does not authorize inventing statements in your name or changing the meaning of your review, and it does not apply to private support messages as public testimonials.

When a contribution is removed, this license ends for further public display, except that limited copies may be kept for backups, disputes, fraud prevention or legal obligations. Removal cannot recall copies independently made by others. Deidentified aggregate statistics may remain where permitted. You may request removal through Content concerns.

We may screen, decline, restrict or remove contributions for policy violations, suspected abuse, rights concerns or legal requirements. Screening is not a guarantee of accuracy or a promise that every violation will be detected. We do not remove a review merely because it is negative, or offer removal of a policy-compliant negative review in exchange for payment. You can ask us to reconsider a moderation decision.

6. Intellectual property and third-party material

Ardvarq and its licensors retain their rights in the branding, software, original writing and other protected materials they own. University documents, syllabi, trademarks and third-party content remain subject to their owners’ rights. Individual facts and protected documents are different. We do not claim ownership of underlying grade facts. Public availability, public-record disclosure or a university source link does not by itself establish permission to copy or redistribute a syllabus, image, database compilation or other protected work.

Links and document previews may lead to third-party services with separate terms. We do not control their content or availability. Linking does not mean endorsement. Report copyright, identity, privacy or other content concerns through our complaint process.

7. Paid features, subscriptions and advertising

If we offer a paid feature, its checkout must disclose the seller, price, taxes, what is included, billing frequency, trial or promotional period, renewal terms, cancellation method and refund terms before you agree to pay. A recurring charge requires your separate, express authorization; agreeing to these Terms alone does not enroll you in a subscription.

You authorize only the charges presented and accepted at checkout. Cancellation stops future renewals as described there and as required by law. We will provide a simple cancellation method. Any refund limits remain subject to mandatory consumer rights; nothing here makes every purchase nonrefundable. Material price or renewal changes require the notice and consent applicable law requires. Contact legal@ardvarq.com about a billing problem. This section does not create a currently available subscription.

Advertising, sponsorships and affiliate placements, if introduced, must be identified. Paid placement is not an academic endorsement. Advertisers do not buy the removal of policy-compliant reviews or changes to published grade records. Advertising-related information practices and choices must be disclosed in the Privacy Policy before they are introduced.

8. Availability and termination

We may change or discontinue features, correct records, or suspend access when reasonably necessary for security, misuse, legal compliance or operation of the service. Where appropriate, we will explain an account restriction and provide a way to contact us. Urgent action may occur without advance notice. Changes do not erase accrued refund or other mandatory rights.

You may stop using the service and, if accounts are offered, request account closure. Terms that by their nature must continue, including accrued payment obligations, retained-content limits, intellectual property, responsibility and dispute provisions, survive as permitted by law.

9. Warranties and limits of responsibility

To the fullest extent applicable law permits, the service and its information are provided “as is” and “as available.” Ardvarq disclaims implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and noninfringement. We do not guarantee completeness, accuracy, uninterrupted availability, security against every threat, or a particular academic result.

To the extent permitted by applicable law, Ardvarq and its personnel and service providers are not liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential or punitive damages, or lost profits, opportunities or data, arising from use of the service. Subject to the exceptions below, Ardvarq’s total liability for claims arising from the service is limited to the greater of US $100 or the amount you paid Ardvarq for the relevant service in the 12 months before the event giving rise to the claim.

These exclusions and limits do not apply to fraud, intentional misconduct, gross negligence, or any liability or remedy that applicable law does not allow us to exclude or limit. Mandatory consumer rights remain intact. The limits apply only to the extent enforceable in your jurisdiction.

10. Claims arising from misuse

To the extent permitted by law, you agree to reimburse Ardvarq for reasonable, documented losses and legal costs resulting from a third-party claim caused by your unlawful conduct, your infringement of another person’s rights, or your material breach of these Terms. This does not cover losses caused by Ardvarq’s own wrongdoing or liability the law does not allow us to shift. It does not penalize an honest negative review or a protected complaint.

We will give prompt notice of such a claim and reasonable cooperation. No settlement may require you to admit wrongdoing or take on nonmonetary obligations without your consent. You may participate with your own counsel; defense arrangements must be reasonable.

11. Governing law and disputes

Colorado law governs these Terms, without its conflict-of-law rules, except where federal law or nonwaivable protections of your home jurisdiction apply. Subject to those protections, disputes may be brought in the state or federal courts with jurisdiction in Colorado, and the parties consent to those courts’ jurisdiction.

You may contact legal@ardvarq.com to try to resolve a concern informally. Doing so is not a prerequisite to filing a timely claim, seeking urgent relief, using an available small-claims procedure or contacting a regulator. These Terms do not require arbitration or waive class-action rights.

12. Changes and general provisions

We will identify changes with an updated date and provide appropriate notice of material changes. Changes operate prospectively; they do not retroactively authorize charges or materially different uses of information already collected. Where affirmative acceptance or consent is required, we will request it.

If a provision is unenforceable, the remaining provisions continue to the extent possible. A failure to enforce a term is not a waiver. These Terms and applicable feature terms form the agreement about the service, subject to mandatory rights. Ardvarq may transfer the agreement as part of a lawful business transfer without reducing those rights; you may not transfer your account or obligations without permission.

Legal questions: legal@ardvarq.com. Operator: Ardvarq LLC, based in Colorado, United States. You can request postal contact details by email. This request option does not replace any address disclosure or formal service requirement imposed by law.