Getting Started - Terms of Use

Use of the Ed-Fi Alliance's MappingEDU system is free to licensees, subject to the site's terms of use. For information about licensing Ed-Fi Technology, see the online licensing form available on Ed-Fi.org. If your organization is already a licensee, you can get a login using the online access request form on Ed-Fi.org (and please note that you're interested in MappingEDU in your access request). 

The full terms of use and privacy policy follow the summary below.

Terms of Use Summary

This summary of the terms of use attempts to outline the points of greatest interest to MappingEDU system users. It is no substitute for legal advice, so make sure to have an attorney review the terms of use in full if you have any concerns or questions. The full terms of use shall form the entire relationship between the parties and this summary has no legal force or effect.

Key Provisions

  • Use of the system is currently free.
  • The system is provided as-is, with no warranty.
  • The Ed-Fi Alliance assumes no liability associated with use of the system.
  • The Ed-Fi Alliance reserves the right to change ANY licensing conditions or terms of service in the future, including the zero-cost hosting.

Users May

  • Use the system for any lawful purpose.
  • Freely modify and distribute reports generated by this system.
  • Provide feedback or suggest improvements for the system.

Users May Not

  • Upload or enter data standard definitions that are considered a trade secret by their owner.
  • Upload or enter data standard definitions that are considered proprietary by their owner.
  • Upload or enter any copyright-infringing material to the system.
  • Share their login information with another person. Logins are free for employees and contractors of licensed organizations, so just sign up.

Worth Noting

  • Should the Alliance establish a cost for system use in the future, users will be notified in advance and given an opportunity to download reports and other data from the system.
  • Users should not load any information they, or the information’s owners, consider confidential. Although users currently have control over the sharing and visibility of many aspects of their work done in the system, data in the system may need to be accessed for maintenance and troubleshooting. In addition, the Alliance encourages users to share mappings, both for informational purposes and to support the system’s computer-assisted mapping algorithms.
  • From time to time, the Alliance staff reviews data standards and mappings held in the system to assess the real-world use of the Ed-Fi Data Standard. Where mappings appear useful to the general public, the Alliance may wish to make the data mappings and associated standards publicly available. Should the Alliance wish to publish information, it will first notify the users associated with the project or data standard and give them the option to opt out.

Terms of Use and Privacy Policy

Revised: August 2016

  1. Introduction. This Website Terms of Use & Privacy Policy (“Terms of Use”) describes the conditions under which users (“Users”) of the website (“Website”) owned and operated by the Ed-Fi Alliance, LLC (Alliance) may use the Website. The Website is mappingedu.ed-fi.org.
  2. Content. The Website has been created by Alliance, a Texas limited liability corporation. The Website and its contents, including, without limitation, all text and images, are owned and/or licensed by Alliance, unless otherwise noted. Except where specifically allowed, reproduction, distribution, republication or retransmission of any Website material is prohibited unless the prior written permission of Alliance or owner has been obtained. Alliance reserves the right to prohibit linking to the Website for any reason in its sole discretion.
  3. No Warranty. While reasonable efforts have been made to ensure the information in the Website is accurate, the information is not guaranteed to be correct, complete or up-to-date. ALL WEBSITE INFORMATION AND FUNCTIONALITY IS PROVIDED ON AN “AS-IS WHERE-IS” BASIS. No warranty is made as to the accuracy of the content on the Website. Alliance reserves the right to change Website content as needed, with retroactive effect as designated, to correct any errors or other information that may have been posted. Alliance may, at its sole discretion, limit access to, close, or otherwise discontinue availability of the Website.
  4. Linking. Nothing in the Website (including links to other sites) should be interpreted as promoting, referring, recommending, endorsing, guaranteeing, or warranting, any particular organization, program, service, product, entity or provider. All links or references to other websites are provided as a convenience only. Users of the Website acknowledge that linked or referenced websites are not operated or controlled by Alliance and are governed by the terms of use and privacy policies of the operators of such other websites. Any interactions a User may have with any websites other than the Website, including, without limitation, uploading or otherwise disclosing personal information to such other websites, is in the sole discretion and control of the User. Alliance reserves the right upon notice to prohibit linking to the Website for any reason in its sole discretion.
  5. Collection of Non-Personalized User Data. Alliance may collect general, non-personally identifiable information regarding usage and Users of the Website, including, without limitation, the name of the domain of each User, the IP protocol number of each User, and the date and time each web page was visited. Some pages may use cookies to maintain sessions or to automate navigation. A cookie is a small text file that the Alliance web server places on a User’s computer hard drive to be a unique identifier of that computer. Cookies enable Alliance to track usage patterns and other statistics. Alliance may use usage tracking and clickstream tracking to track all Users with cookies enabled. Alliance cookies may not expire. Any Users wishing to utilize the Website but not want data about their activity collected can disable cookies on their computers prior to interacting with the site, though disabling cookies will limit the functionality of the User experience with the Website.
  6. Collection of Personally Identifiable Information. Alliance may collect personally identifiable information via the Website from Users who voluntarily provide such information. Personally identifiable information will not be collected by any method that does not involve an affirmative action on the part of the User to submit such information to Alliance. Examples of situations in which the Website may collect personally identifiable information include, but are not limited to: issuing login credentials for Users; email addresses of Users who send email to Alliance; mailing addresses of Users who sign up an account on the Website; Users acknowledge and agree that Alliance may use such information in any manner reasonably related to its charitable purpose. Such charitable purpose may include disclosure of personally identifiable information to Alliance’s employees and third party contractors working on behalf of Alliance in support of Alliance’s administrative functions.
  7. No Selling of Information. Alliance will not sell any non-personalized user data or personally identifiable information to any other party.
  8. Use of Information. As the host of the Website, Alliance requires access to information entered by Users for the purposes of system maintenance and troubleshooting, including copying information for the purposes of system backup. From time to time, the Alliance may also review information held in the system to assess the real-world use of its products and data specifications, or for similar purposes.
  9. Publication and Sharing of Information. The Website allows Users to share information entered into the system with other Users at their discretion. The Website provides downloadable reports which Users may freely share subject to these Terms of Use. The Website also provides the ability for the Alliance to make information public. Should the Alliance wish to make information entered by a User available to the general public, it will first notify said User who shall have the option to opt out.
  10. Security of Communications/Information. Users may not share their login information with another person. While Alliance makes reasonable efforts to secure communications over the Website, which may vary depending on the content of the information transmitted, Alliance does not provide secure transactions at all times. Alliance also makes reasonable efforts to maintain security measures and tools to protect against the loss or theft of information collected through the Website. However, no security measures can ensure complete privacy and confidentiality of information, and Alliance cannot guarantee, and makes no warranty regarding, the security of any information transmitted or collected.
  11. Compliance with Law. Alliance will fully cooperate with any law enforcement authorities and comply with any court orders requesting Alliance to disclose personally identifiable or other information requested by such authorities.
  12. User Actions and User-Provided Information. Users agree that any information provided to Alliance shall be accurate and complete. Users agree not to provide information to Alliance that relates to any individuals (other than themselves) or entities without the permission of the individual or entity referenced. Users agree not to send unsolicited commercial email, including but not limited to spam, chain emails, advertising solicitations and similar email solicitations, to any email address provided on the Website. Users agree not to use any device, software or routine that interferes with the proper functioning of the Website or servers or networks connected to the Website, or take any other action that interferes with other parties’ use of the Website. Users agree not to use any “robot”, “spider” or other automatic or manual device or process for the purpose of compiling information on the Website for purposes other than for a generally available search engine. Users agree not to use the Website in any manner that may be infringing, for a commercial/advertising purpose, threatening, false, misleading, libelous, defamatory, obscene, or give rise to any criminal or civil liability. Users agree to comply with all applicable laws and regulations relating to User’s use of the Website.
  13. Intellectual Property. Alliance respects the intellectual property rights of others. Users acknowledge and agree that no information shall be entered or uploaded to this site that is copyright-infringing, considered by the owner to be proprietary, or considered by the owner to be a trade secret.
  14. No Users Under 13. The Website is intended for use by individuals who are 13 years old or older. The Website is not directed at children, and any individuals who are under 13 years of age should not use the Website.
  15. User Feedback. Alliance welcomes feedback about the Website from Users. Users acknowledge and agree that any feedback, or any other information, provided shall become the sole property of Alliance, and Alliance may use such feedback or information in any manner in its sole discretion.
  16. Unsubscribing. Users may receive Alliance announcements or information via email or other methods based on prior interactions Users may have had with the Website. To unsubscribe to such announcements, Users should follow the “unsubscribe” instructions provided in the email sent, or contact info@ed-fi.org.
  17. User Assumption of Risk; Release and Indemnification. Users assume all risks related to use of the Website. Each User agrees to indemnify, defend, and hold Alliance (including its owners, heirs, successors, assigns, affiliates, officers, directors, members, employees, agents and representatives) harmless from and against any losses, damages, liabilities or costs of any nature related in any manner to the use of the Website by such User. Alliance shall not be liable to Users or any other parties for any claims for damages, whether direct, indirect, special, consequential, incidental or punitive, based on any cause of action whatsoever relating to use of the Website by any person or entity.
  18. Users Who are Governmental Employees or Officials. Alliance welcomes governmental employees and officials to peruse the Alliance Website. If you choose to contact Alliance for further information, you acknowledge that you are contacting Alliance on behalf of your governmental body/agency to request the input and expertise of Alliance for technical assistance on a specific project.
  19. Governing Law. These Terms of Use are governed by the laws of the State of Texas, United States of America, without regard to choice of law provisions. The courts located in Austin, Texas, USA, shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any disputes relating to the Website.
  20. Amendment. These Terms of Use may be amended at any time by Alliance in its sole discretion. These Terms of Use constitute the entire agreement between Alliance and the User relating to use of the Website.

Acceptance of Terms of Use. YOUR USE AND VIEWING OF THE WEBSITE INDICATES YOUR AFFIRMATIVE AGREEMENT TO THESE TERMS OF USE. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE WITH THESE TERMS OF USE, PLEASE DO NOT USE THE WEBSITE. Copyright © 2022. Ed-Fi Alliance, LLC. All rights reserved.

Getting Started Documentation Contents

Find out more about how to begin using MappingEDU: