Terms of Service

• “Platform” refers to the Collectiv web application and associated services.
• “Institution” refers to the university department or academic unit that executes a Subscription Agreement with Collectiv and is the data controller for its users.
• “Authorized User” refers to students, researchers, instructors, and coordinators who are provisioned by an Institution to use the Platform.
• “Common Pool” refers to the cross-university participant sharing feature that allows students from one Institution to participate in studies posted by another Institution.
• “Subscription” refers to the annual service agreement between Collectiv and an Institution.
• “Subscription Agreement” refers to the executed order form or agreement that specifies the Institution's subscription tier, pricing, and feature availability.

Collectiv provides a research participation management platform that enables university departments to:

• Manage student participant pools, including study creation, timeslot scheduling, and credit tracking
• Administer prescreen questionnaires for study eligibility matching
• Track research participation credits and course requirements
• Optionally participate in the Common Pool for cross-university study access

The specific features available to an Institution depend on its subscription tier. Feature availability is specified in the Subscription Agreement executed between Collectiv and the Institution.

Institutional accounts: Subscriptions are between Collectiv and the Institution. The Institution designates one or more department coordinators who manage users, settings, and studies within the Platform.

User provisioning: Authorized Users are provisioned by the Institution's department coordinator. Collectiv does not allow self- registration. The Institution is responsible for ensuring that only authorized individuals have access to their department's data.

Authentication: Users authenticate using their institutional email address via email one-time passcode (OTP). No passwords are stored. Institutional SSO / SAML integration is available upon request. Each user is responsible for maintaining the security of their login credentials.

Roles: The Platform supports four user roles: Student, Researcher, Instructor, and Coordinator. The Institution assigns roles to users. Role assignments determine what data and actions are available to each user.

Your data is yours. The Institution retains full ownership of all data it and its Authorized Users create, upload, or generate on the Platform. Collectiv acts as a data processor, not a data owner. The data processing relationship between Collectiv and the Institution is further governed by the Data Processing Agreement (DPA), available upon request at privacy@researchcollectiv.com. The DPA is incorporated by reference into these Terms.

Data export: Institutions may export activity reports using built-in CSV download features. For comprehensive data exports, contact us at hello@researchcollectiv.com.

No data monetization: We will never sell, license, share, or monetize Institution data or user data, except as required by applicable law, regulation, or valid legal process (such as a subpoena or court order). In such cases, we will notify the Institution to the extent permitted by law. We will never use student data for advertising. Our sole revenue source is subscription fees from Institutions.

Aggregate data: We may use anonymized, aggregate data (e.g., total number of studies across the network, average completion rates) for the purpose of improving the Platform and reporting on network health. We take reasonable steps to ensure that aggregate data cannot be used to identify any individual, student, or Institution.

Each party agrees to keep confidential any non-public information disclosed by the other party in connection with these Terms, including business strategies, pricing, technical information, and for the Institution, student data and study content. Confidential Information may only be disclosed to employees or contractors who need to know it to fulfill obligations under these Terms.

These obligations do not apply to information that is publicly available, independently developed, or required to be disclosed by law. Confidentiality obligations survive for 3 years after termination, except for student data which remains confidential indefinitely.

Institutions on eligible tiers may opt in to the Common Pool. Participation is voluntary and can be enabled or disabled at any time by the department coordinator.

Fairness algorithm: The Common Pool uses an algorithmic fairness system to ensure balanced exchange of participants between Institutions. The algorithm tracks aggregate contribution and consumption at the department level and adjusts study visibility accordingly. Balances reset each semester. The fairness algorithm is designed to promote balanced exchange but does not guarantee equal outcomes. Collectiv reserves the right to modify the algorithm to improve fairness. Department-level metrics are approximate and are provided for informational purposes only.

Data sharing: When participating in the Common Pool, study metadata (title, description, eligibility criteria, credit value) is visible to students at other participating Institutions. No student personally identifiable information crosses university boundaries within the Platform unless the student voluntarily consents to share their information (e.g., for credit administration). Collectiv is not responsible for data collected by researchers through external survey tools or study procedures conducted outside the Platform. See our Privacy Policy for complete details.

Study control: Researchers choose study by study which online studies to share with the Common Pool. In-person studies are never shared. The Institution maintains full control over which studies are visible to the network.

Institutions and Authorized Users agree not to:

• Use the Platform for any purpose other than research participation management
• Attempt to access data belonging to other Institutions or unauthorized users
• Circumvent or attempt to circumvent data isolation controls
• Share login credentials or allow unauthorized individuals to access the Platform
• Use the Platform to collect data that is not directly relevant to research participation eligibility, including but not limited to sensitive health information, financial data, Social Security numbers, or immigration status, unless such collection is approved by the Institution's IRB and disclosed to participants
• Interfere with the operation of the Platform or the Common Pool fairness algorithm
• Use automated scripts, bots, or scraping tools to access the Platform or extract data
• Reverse engineer, decompile, or attempt to derive the source code or algorithms of the Platform

Collectiv reserves the right to suspend access for Institutions or users that violate these terms, with notice provided to the Institution's designated coordinator. In cases involving imminent harm, security threats, or illegal activity, Collectiv may suspend access immediately without prior notice, with notification provided as soon as practicable thereafter.

Annual billing: Subscriptions are billed annually. Pricing is determined by the Institution's subscription tier as agreed in the Subscription Agreement.

Auto-renewal: Subscriptions automatically renew for successive one-year terms unless the Institution provides written notice of non-renewal at least 60 days before the end of the current term.

Price changes: We will provide at least 90 days' notice before any price increase. Institutions may cancel their subscription before a price increase takes effect.

Refunds: If an Institution cancels within the first 30 days of a subscription period, we will provide a full refund. After 30 days, subscriptions are non-refundable for the remainder of the billing period.

Late payment: If payment is not received within 30 days of the invoice date, Collectiv may charge interest at a rate of 1.5% per month (or the maximum permitted by law, whichever is less). If payment remains outstanding for 60 days, Collectiv may suspend the Institution's access upon 15 days' written notice.

Taxes: Subscription fees are exclusive of all applicable taxes, levies, and duties. The Institution is responsible for all taxes associated with its subscription, excluding taxes based on Collectiv's net income.

We aim to maintain high availability of the Platform. While we do not currently offer a formal Service Level Agreement (SLA), we commit to:

• Providing reasonable advance notice of scheduled maintenance
• Responding to service disruptions promptly and communicating status to affected Institutions
• Maintaining automated backups to protect against data loss

Collectiv retains all rights to the Platform, including its software, design, algorithms (including the fairness algorithm), documentation, and branding. The subscription grants the Institution a non-exclusive, non-transferable right to use the Platform for its intended purpose during the subscription period.

The Institution retains all rights to its data, study content, prescreen questions, and any materials uploaded to the Platform. The Institution grants Collectiv a non-exclusive, worldwide license to host, store, process, and display Institution Data solely for the purpose of providing the Platform services during the subscription term.

Any feedback, suggestions, or ideas provided by Institutions or Authorized Users regarding the Platform may be used by Collectiv without restriction or compensation. Such feedback becomes the property of Collectiv.

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Collectiv's total liability to an Institution for any claims arising from or related to the Platform shall not exceed the total subscription fees paid by the Institution in the 12 months preceding the claim.

Collectiv is not liable for: (a) decisions made by Institutions or users based on data in the Platform; (b) the content or scientific validity of studies posted by researchers; (c) compliance of individual studies with IRB requirements (which remain the responsibility of the researcher and their institution); (d) any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, including but not limited to loss of profits, data, business opportunities, or goodwill.

The limitations in this section do not apply to: (a) either party's indemnification obligations; (b) either party's breach of confidentiality obligations; (c) willful misconduct or gross negligence; or (d) Collectiv's infringement of the Institution's intellectual property rights.

Collectiv provides the Platform “as is” without warranties of any kind, express or implied, except as specifically stated in these Terms or a separate written agreement. Without limiting the foregoing, Collectiv does not warrant that the Platform will meet the Institution's specific requirements, be compatible with the Institution's systems, or comply with any particular institutional policies or accreditation standards.

Indemnification by Collectiv: Collectiv will defend, indemnify, and hold harmless the Institution from any third-party claim that the Platform infringes a valid patent, copyright, or trademark, provided the Institution promptly notifies Collectiv and cooperates in the defense.

Indemnification by Institution: The Institution will defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Collectiv from any third-party claim arising from: (a) the Institution's use of the Platform in violation of these Terms; (b) the content of studies, prescreen questions, or other materials created by the Institution's Authorized Users; or (c) the Institution's failure to comply with applicable laws, including IRB requirements.

Neither party will be liable for failure or delay in performance to the extent caused by circumstances beyond its reasonable control, including natural disasters, pandemics, acts of government, utility failures, or cyberattacks. The affected party must provide prompt notice and use commercially reasonable efforts to mitigate the impact. If a force majeure event continues for more than 90 days, either party may terminate the affected portion of the Agreement upon written notice.

By the Institution: An Institution may cancel its subscription at any time. Access continues through the end of the current billing period. The Institution may request data export before cancellation.

By Collectiv: We may terminate an Institution's subscription for material breach of these Terms (including non-payment) after providing 30 days' written notice and an opportunity to cure.

Effect of termination: Upon termination, the Institution's Authorized Users will lose access to the Platform. We will retain the Institution's data for 90 days to allow for export, after which it will be permanently deleted. Audit logs may be retained longer per our Privacy Policy.

Common Pool withdrawal: If an Institution leaves the Common Pool (by downgrading or disabling the feature), its studies are removed from cross-university visibility immediately. Active study registrations from external students are honored through completion.

Surviving provisions: The following sections survive termination or expiration of these Terms: Definitions, Data Ownership, Confidentiality, Intellectual Property, Limitation of Liability, Indemnification, Governing Law, and any payment obligations accrued prior to termination.

We may update these Terms from time to time. When we make material changes, we will notify subscribing Institutions via email at least 30 days before the changes take effect and update the “Last updated” date at the top of this page. Continued use of the Platform after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.

These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York, without regard to its conflict of laws provisions. Any disputes arising from these Terms will be resolved through good-faith negotiation between the parties. If negotiation fails, disputes will be submitted to binding arbitration under the Commercial Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association, conducted by a single arbitrator in Monroe County, New York.

If the Institution is a public university or government entity that is prohibited by applicable law from agreeing to binding arbitration, disputes shall instead be resolved in the state or federal courts located in Monroe County, New York.

Collectiv is committed to meeting WCAG 2.1 Level AA accessibility standards. For accessibility-related inquiries, contact hello@researchcollectiv.com.

Assignment: Neither party may assign these Terms without the other party's written consent, except in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of substantially all assets, provided the assignee assumes all obligations under these Terms.

Entire agreement: These Terms, together with the Subscription Agreement and DPA, constitute the entire agreement between the parties regarding the subject matter herein.

Severability: If any provision of these Terms is held unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain in full effect.

Waiver: Failure to enforce any provision does not constitute a waiver of that provision.

Questions about these Terms should be directed to:

• Email: hello@researchcollectiv.com
• For privacy-specific questions: privacy@researchcollectiv.com