Terms of Service

Last updated: 5/27/2022

1) Who we are

Big Data 934 (“Big Data 934, LLC”, “we”, “our”, and/or “us”) is a U.S. limited liability company located in Michigan. This Agreement shall be governed by the laws in force in the state of Michigan, and the offer and acceptance of this agreement is deemed to have occurred in the state of Michigan.

2) Use of our services

All usage of our website and courses is governed by the following conditions:

  • All accounts are intended solely for use by the named individual enrolled in the class, and all class material is copyrighted to Big Data 934. You must not share access to your account with others, nor copy, distribute, share or publish any material from our website or courses.
  • You may not attempt to interfere with or compromise the system integrity or security of our services or those of our services providers, including overloading our services or those of our service providers or attempts to mitigate our security processes. 
  • You may not attempt to reverse-engineer our services, or use or access our services to create a similar, related, derivative, improved, or competing versions of our service or any proportion of it.
  • Big Data 934 provides courses on data analysis skills. While such analytical skills have a legitimate and important role in research, Big Data 934 takes no responsibilities for how you use the data analysis skills and other content, and you agree not to hold Big Data 934 responsible. Big Data 934 is not in a position to offer any legal guidance nor advice on whether your research or data analysis is consistent with your institution’s research policies. Nothing contained in our courses is intended as legal or policy guidance. It is your responsibility to ensure that your research and data analysis complies with your institution’s and jurisdiction’s policies and legal frameworks (e.g., IRB/privacy, data security, research ethics, etc.).  
  • You may not misrepresent your affiliation with Big Data 934. Completion of our courses does not constitute certification nor a qualification.

3) Availability of our services

Big Data 934 is committed to making our products and services available as globally as is technically and legally feasible for us to do so. For reasons outside of our control, however, we are unable to provide our services to users located in countries subject to US sanctions (currently including Crimea, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, and Syria); service providers that we rely upon, such as payment processing and video conferencing, likewise impose restrictions on such regions.

The material on our platform is intended to be available for use during the course, and for a period of at least 6 months following. The content available on the platform may change following the completion of the course.

4) Payments

When registering for our courses you agree to pay the associated fees. When submitting payment details you agree for Big Data 934’s third-party payment processor’s to charge your payment method for the indicated amount, and agree to the payment processor’s terms and conditions. All information that you provide must be accurate, complete and current. Access to our services and courses will not commence until funds are received, and we may seek further information to ensure your eligibility for the service or to prevent fraud. Big Data 934 is not responsible for any delays that arise from delays in receiving payment. All payments are charged in the currency displayed during checkout; you are responsible for any payment processing or currency conversion fees that may be charged by your financial institutions.

For electronic payments, Big Data 934 does not process your payment, and has no access to your credit card/debit card details. Our current payment processor is Stripe Inc. (stripe.com), and you will be redirected to Stripe as part of the payment and registration process.

5) Sales tax

Big Data 934 collects sales tax where we believe that we are required to do so. As a Michigan based business, with all of our operations located in the state of Michigan, we do not currently collect sales tax on sales outside of the State of Michigan (although will begin doing so if we are required to). In addition, since Michigan does not subject services to sales tax, we currently do not collect sales tax on our services in the State of Michigan. In locations where we do not collect taxes, you are responsible for determining and paying any taxes that may be due.

6) Termination of service

We may terminate this Agreement with you if we determine that: 1) you have violated this Agreement; 2) if we believe that any of your actions may harm Big Data 934 or our business interests, at our sole decision or discretion; 3) you have violated any applicable laws while using our services; 4) your actions when using our service are counter to our student honor code; 5) other reasons that impact our ability to continue to provide our services, including sanctions or technical reasons. While we may provide a reasons for the termination, we are not required to do so. You may also cancel your subscription and stop using our website and services at any time; any refunds are subject to the refund terms contained in this Agreement. 

7) Disclaimer of warrantees

YOU AGREE YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES AND ALL INFORMATION AND CONTENT (INCLUDING THAT OF THIRD PARTIES) IS AT YOUR RISK AND IS PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS. WE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND AS TO THE USE OF THE SERVICES, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. WE MAKE NO WARRANTY THAT THE SERVICES (i) WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS, (ii) WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY, SECURE, OR ERROR-FREE, (iii) THE RESULTS THAT MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE SERVICE WILL BE ACCURATE OR RELIABLE, AND (iv) ANY ERRORS IN THE SERVICES OR TECHNOLOGY WILL BE CORRECTED.

8) Refund policy

We encourage you to only register for classes if you are sure that you will be able to attend the sessions. Given the small class size, class may become full, and prevent other students from registering. Our refund policy seeks to balance the impact that refunds may have on the ability of other students to register. We offer the following ‘one time’ refunds:

  • 21 days or more notice prior to the first live class: Payments made can be used for future classes within the following 18 month period. If you no longer wish to enroll in a subsequent class, you may instead request a refund to the original payment method, less a US$50 administrative fee (or equivalent converted in your payment currency).
  • Between 21 and 7 days notice prior to the first live class: Payments made can be used for future classes within the following 18 month period. If you no longer wish to enroll in a subsequent class, you may instead request a refund to the original payment method, less a US$75 administrative fee (or equivalent converted in your payment currency). 

The ability to receive a refund, partial refund, or credit towards future classes is a ‘one time’ offer; if you register for another class at any point in the future and cancel again, there will be no refund, credit, or re-issuance of credit.

We do not offer refunds if you are unable to attend live classes during a course that you are registered for. In the event that you are unable to attend a live-class, we can share a pre-recorded class summary. This summary, which will typically be shorter than the live class, is intended to cover the necessary course material to allow you to continue with the course. We do not ordinarily record nor share recordings of live-classes. 

9) Honor policy

All students are expected to adhere to professional academic and community standards. Specifically:

  1. It is expected that all students will treat each other with the highest level of courtesy, sensitivity, dignity, and respect.
  2. It is not acceptable behavior to insult, harass, or demean anyone or any group of individuals.
  3. Professional business behavior should be followed at all times. This includes professionalism in appropriate language, jokes, and stories.

Failure to adhere to the honor policy may result in expulsion from the class and future classes, at the sole discretion of Big Data 934.

10) Course content

The syllabus and course schedule is subject to change. Adjustments to course content may occur as we update or improve our courses. Such adjustments may occur prior to the start of the class, during the course, or to the platform after the class is taken.

The class is intended to provide introductions to the topics covered; the classes will not cover all features of the topics and are not intended to do so. 

11) Unforeseen events, technical issues, and rescheduled classes

While effort is taken to ensure that the classes run smoothly and on the published schedule, there may be reasons why this is unfeasible. This may include unforeseen technical events, events outside of our control, or other conditions that may, at our sole discretion, make it infeasible to hold a particular class. For example, we may not be able to run a scheduled class due to power outages, instructor illness, emergency situations, the impact of geopolitical events, or interruptions with our service providers (e.g., Zoom). While we take effort to avoid such disruptions, it is unfeasible to anticipate and mitigate all possible disruptions. We recognize the impact that canceling a class can cause, and will look to hold classes per the schedule to the extent possible. 

In the event that a live-class needs to be canceled, we will make reasonable accommodations (at our sole discretion) to offer access to the material that would have been covered. This may include offering a re-scheduled class, extending the length of a subsequent classes, offering a pre-recorded class, or some combination of these so as to allow anyone unable to attend a rescheduled class to catch-up on the material. There will no refunds due to the need to reschedule a class.  

12) No Academic Credit / University Affiliation

The courses offered by Big Data 934 are intended solely for individual educational purposes. The classes are not recognized by any educational institution or accreditation organization, and do not confer academic credit any education institution. Big Data 934 is not affiliated with any university. 

13) Enrollment criteria/prerequisites

The classes provided by Big Data 934 are intended for academic researchers at a graduate level (i.e., PhD/doctoral students). Certain classes may also have a particular focus (e.g., tailored to management students), helping to ensure a focused discussion in the class. Anyone falling outside of the intended enrollment criteria should contact us at [email protected] in advance of registration to ensure that your background and goals are aligned with the class. While students pursuing closely-related graduate programs may be considered, we reserve the right to restrict enrollment in the class to those meeting required educational background (including both educational level and subject focus), and may place limits on the number of individuals outside of the intended enrollment criteria that are able to enroll in a particular section. We may cancel/refund students in the case of registrations made by individuals who do not meet the enrollment criteria (and without prior contact and lga;lkhdsaASDGKL;’QOIEWQapproval), at our sole discretion.

14) Binding arbitration and class action waiver

If you and Big Data 934 have a dispute, you and Big Data 934 agree to try to resolve it informally. If you and Big Data 934 can’t, you and Big Data 934 agree that any disputes, claims, or controversies be settled by arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association in accordance with its Commercial Arbitration Rules and judgment on the award rendered by the arbitrator(s) may be entered in any court having jurisdiction thereof. The AAA Rules are available online at www.adr.org or by calling (800) 778-7879. If you decide to initiate arbitration, you agree to pay the initiation fee of $200 (or the amount otherwise required by the AAA Rules). A single, neutral arbitrator selected in accordance with the AAA Rules shall decide all Claims. Unless inconsistent with applicable law, each party shall bear the expense of its respective attorney, expert, and witness fees, regardless of which party prevails in the arbitration.

Neither you nor Big Data 934 may act as a class representative, nor participate as a member of a class of claimants, with respect to any Claim. The Claims may not be arbitrated on a class or representative basis. The arbitrator can decide only your and/or Big Data 934 individual Claims. The arbitrator may not consolidate or join the claims of other persons or parties who may be similarly situated. Accordingly, you and we agree that the AAA Supplementary Rules for Class Arbitrations do not apply to our arbitration. This arbitration provision and the procedures applicable to the arbitration contemplated by this provision are governed by the Federal Arbitration Act, notwithstanding any state law that may be applicable.

THIS BINDING ARBITRATION AND CLASS ACTION WAIVER SECTION LIMITS CERTAIN RIGHTS, INCLUDING THE RIGHT TO MAINTAIN A COURT ACTION, THE RIGHT TO A JURY TRIAL, THE RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE IN ANY FORM OF CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE CLAIM, AND THE RIGHT TO ENGAGE IN DISCOVERY EXCEPT AS PROVIDED IN THE AAA RULES. OTHER RIGHTS THAT YOU OR BIG DATA 934 WOULD HAVE IN COURT ALSO MAY NOT BE AVAILABLE IN ARBITRATION.

15) Updates to this terms of service

From time to time it may be necessary to update this terms of service. This may include as new services are added or changes to our operations are required. You are encouraged to check these terms and conditions regularly for updated. Continued use of our website and services constitutes acceptance of these terms.