Effective: January 1, 2025

Thank you for using Heron Courses!

Heron offers products and services provided by Heron Hydrologic Ltd., a federally incorporated company located in Ontario, Canada (collectively, “Heron,” “us,” “we,” or “our”). These Terms of Use (“Terms”) govern your use of our website, apps, and other products and services (“Services”). As some of our Services may be software that is downloaded or used to your computer, phone, tablet, or other device, you agree that we may automatically update this software, and that these Terms will apply to such updates. Please read these Terms carefully, and contact us if you have any questions, requests for information, or complaints. By clicking “I accept” (or for those who have not yet created an account, by using our Services), you agree to be bound by these Terms, including the policies referenced in these Terms. By using our Services, you agree to be bound by these Terms, including the policies referenced in these Terms.

Who May Use Our Services

Any use or access by anyone under the age of 13 is strictly prohibited.

Additionally, you may use our Services only if you:

  • can form a binding contract with Heron;
  • comply with these Terms, all applicable laws, and our policies (including the Acceptable Use Policy, Honor Code, course-specific eligibility requirements, and any other policies that may be applicable from time to time (“Policies”)); and
  • are over the age at which you can provide consent to data processing under the laws of your country. Certain regions and Content Offerings may have additional requirements and/or different age restrictions.

Any violation of our Terms, applicable laws, or Policies may result in your access to all or part of the Services being suspended, disabled, or terminated.

When you create your Heron account, and when you subsequently use certain features, you must provide us with accurate and complete information, and you agree to update your information to keep it accurate and complete.

Our License to You

Subject to these Terms and our Policies, we grant you a limited, personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, and revocable license right to use our Services. The rights granted herein are only for your personal, non-commercial use, unless you obtain our written permission otherwise. You also agree that you will create, access, and/or use only one user account, unless expressly permitted by Heron, and you will not share access to your account or access information for your account with any third party. Using our Services does not give you ownership of or any intellectual property rights in our Services or the content you access.

Commercial Use

Any use of our Services for commercial purposes is strictly prohibited. Any commercial use must be subject to a separate agreement with Heron. If you are an organization already using our Services, separate terms apply. These terms do not govern the relationship between your organization and Heron.

Changes to Content Offerings

Heron offers courses and content (“Content Offerings”) that may involve external providers (“Content Providers”). While we seek to provide quality Content Offerings from our Content Providers, unexpected events do occur. Heron reserves the right to cancel, interrupt, reschedule, or modify any Content Offerings, or change the point value or weight of any assignment, quiz, or other assessment, either solely, or in accordance with Content Provider instructions. Content Offerings are subject to the Disclaimers and Limitation of Liability sections below.

No Academic Credit

Heron does not grant academic credit for the completion of Content Offerings. Unless otherwise explicitly indicated by a credit-granting institution, participation in or completion of Content Offerings does not confer any academic credit. Even if credit is awarded by one institution, there is no presumption that other institutions will accept that credit. You agree not to accept credit for completing a Content Offering unless you have earned a course certificate or other equivalent documentation of your completion of the Content Offering. Heron, instructors, and the associated Content Providers have no obligation to have Content Offerings recognized by any educational institution or accreditation organization.

Disclaimer of Student-Content Provider Relationship

Nothing in these Terms or otherwise with respect to your participation in any Content Offerings by Content Providers : (a) establishes any relationship between you and any Content Provider; (b) enrolls or registers you in any Content Provider institution, or in any Content Offering offered by any Content Provider institution; or (c) entitles you to use the resources of any Content Provider institution beyond participation in the Content Offering.

Your Content

The Services enabling you to register for courses, create an account, provide reviews on courses, and the like (“User Content”), with Heron, instructors, and/or other users. You retain all intellectual property rights in, and are responsible for, the User Content you create and share. User Content does not include course content or other materials made available on or placed on to the Heron platform by or on behalf of Content Providers or their instructors using the Services or Content Offerings. As between Heron and Content Providers, such Content Offerings are governed by the relevant agreements in place between Heron and Content Providers.

How Heron and Others May Use User Content

To the extent that you provide User Content, you grant Heron a fully-transferable, royalty-free, perpetual, sublicensable, non-exclusive, worldwide license to copy, distribute, modify, create derivative works based on, publicly perform, publicly display, and otherwise use the User Content. This license includes granting Heron the right to authorize Content Providers to use User Content with their registered students, or other learners independent of the Services. Nothing in these Terms shall restrict other legal rights Heron may have to User Content, for example under other licenses. All information provided to Heron through course registrations or other means is also subject to our Privacy Policy.

We reserve the right to remove or modify User Content for any reason, including User Content that we believe violates these Terms or other policies.

Security

We care about the security of our users. While we work to protect the security of your account and related information, Heron cannot guarantee that unauthorized third parties will not be able to defeat our security measures. Please notify us immediately of any compromise or unauthorized use of your account by emailing hello@heronhydrologic.ca.

Third Party Content

Through the Services, you will have the ability to access and/or use content provided by instructors, other users, and/or other third parties and links to websites and services maintained by third parties. Heron cannot guarantee that such third party content, in the Services 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. Heron disclaims any responsibility or liability related to your access or use of, or inability to access or use, such third party content.

Copyright and Trademark

Heron respects the intellectual property rights of our users, Content Providers, and other third parties and expects our users to do the same when using the Services.

All course content delivered through Heron services is hereby subject to copyright by Heron, unless otherwise stated. Unless explicitly permitted by Heron in writing, course participants are not allowed to distribute, duplicate, modify, resell, post electronically, or otherwise use the content outside of the context of completing the course modules.

Paid Services from Heron

Heron offers paid Services (e.g., course certificates for certain courses) for a fee. Unless otherwise stated, fees are quoted in Canadian currency. You are responsible for paying all fees charged by or for Heron and applicable taxes in a timely manner with a payment mechanism associated with the applicable paid Services. If your payment method fails or your account is past due, we may collect fees using other collection mechanisms. Fees may vary based on your location and other factors, and Heron reserves the right to change any fees at any time at its sole discretion. Any change, update, or modification will be effective immediately upon posting through the relevant Services. Refunds may be available for paid Services as described in our Payments and Refund Policy below.

Modifying or Terminating our Services

We are constantly changing and improving our Services. We may add or remove functions, features, or requirements, and we may suspend (to the extent allowed by applicable law) or stop part of our Services altogether. Accordingly, Heron may terminate your use of any Service for any reason. If your use of a paid Service is terminated, a refund may be available under our Refund Policy. We may not be able to deliver the Services to certain regions or countries for various reasons, including due to applicable export control requirements or internet access limitations and restrictions from governments, or for commercial or reputational reasons. None of Heron, its Content Providers and instructors, its contributors, sponsors, and other business partners, and their employees, contractors, and other agents (the “Heron Parties”) shall have any liability to you for any such action. You can stop using our Services at any time, although we’ll be sorry to see you go.

Refund Policy

Please note that our policies may differ between offerings, and payment options may vary. Please also note that we treat violations of our Terms of Use very seriously, and we have no obligation to offer refunds to users who violate these or other Heron policies.

Courses purchased from Heron are subject to no refunds, unless noted otherwise. This applies to residents of Canada, Europe, and elsewhere. Heron has no obligation to issue course refunds for purchased courses for any reason. This applies to those living in jurisdictions with any applicable European Union laws.

In cases where users experience technical issues, Heron will work to resolve the technical issue to the extent that it is reasonably demonstrated that this issue is caused by a deficiency in Heron’s delivery of the course.

DISCLAIMERS

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THE SERVICES AND ALL INCLUDED CONTENT ARE PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” BASIS WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. THE HERON PARTIES SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ANY AND ALL WARRANTIES AND CONDITIONS OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT, AND ANY WARRANTIES ARISING OUT OF COURSE OF DEALING OR USAGE OF TRADE. THE HERON PARTIES FURTHER DISCLAIM ANY AND ALL LIABILITY RELATED TO YOUR ACCESS OR USE OF THE SERVICES OR ANY RELATED CONTENT. YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT ANY ACCESS TO OR USE OF THE SERVICES OR SUCH CONTENT IS AT YOUR OWN RISK.

LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, HERON SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS OR REVENUES, WHETHER INCURRED DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, OR ANY LOSS OF DATA, USE, GOODWILL, OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES, RESULTING FROM: (A) YOUR ACCESS TO OR USE OF OR INABILITY TO ACCESS OR USE THE SERVICES; (B) ANY CONDUCT OR CONTENT OF ANY PARTY OTHER THAN THE APPLICABLE HERON PARTY, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY DEFAMATORY, OFFENSIVE, OR ILLEGAL CONDUCT; OR (C) UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS, USE, OR ALTERATION OF YOUR CONTENT OR INFORMATION. IN NO EVENT SHALL HERON’S AGGREGATE LIABILITY FOR ALL CLAIMS RELATED TO THE SERVICES EXCEED TWENTY CANADIAN DOLLARS ($20) OR THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF FEES RECEIVED BY HERON FROM YOU FOR THE USE OF PAID SERVICES DURING THE PAST SIX MONTHS, WHICHEVER IS GREATER.

YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT THE DISCLAIMERS AND THE LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY SET FORTH IN THIS TERMS OF USE REFLECT A REASONABLE AND FAIR ALLOCATION OF RISK BETWEEN YOU AND HERON, AND THAT THESE LIMITATIONS ARE AN ESSENTIAL BASIS TO HERON’S ABILITY TO MAKE THE SERVICES AVAILABLE TO YOU ON AN ECONOMICALLY FEASIBLE BASIS.

YOU AGREE THAT ANY CAUSE OF ACTION RELATED TO THE SERVICES MUST COMMENCE WITHIN ONE (1) YEAR AFTER THE CAUSE OF ACTION ACCRUES. OTHERWISE, SUCH CAUSE OF ACTION IS PERMANENTLY BARRED.

Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Heron from any and all claims, liabilities, expenses, and damages (to the extent attributable to you under the applicable law), including reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs, made by any third party related to: (a) your use or attempted use of the Services in violation of these Terms; (b) your violation of any law or rights of any third party; or (c) User Content, including without limitation any claim of infringement or misappropriation of intellectual property or other proprietary rights.