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One of our students (on left) with a friend after
winning the Congressional Award Gold Medal in DC
Shipping, Return, Credit and Dismissal Policies
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The mission of the Great Books Academy is to promote and further classical, liberal, educational services. All of us at the Great Books Academy do our utmost to provide prompt, quality service to each of our customers and we have been gratified with the overwhelmingly favorable response to and growth of our program. In order to assure our ability to continue our service, we have found it necessary to develop practical and reasonable policies with respect to orders, returns, refunds, replacements and other similar matters, which are stated below.
Privacy Policy: All information (of any type whatsoever) provided to the Academy is considered strictly confidential and will not be shared with any other persons or entities without the prior permission of the customer, except at the request of the customer, unless we are required to share such information by law without giving prior notice to the customer.
Shipping Time: Please allow approximately 1-2 weeks for delivery. Backorders (of books currently out of stock) take longer as they are often due to publisher's decisions beyond our control.
Backorders, Out-of-Print Titles, Substitutions: The high demand for our products and services does result in some items going into backorder (i.e. not immediately available, but ordered to ship out later) status. In addition, as with any book or curriculum supplier, items sometimes go out of print or out of stock without notice to us and we must await resupply from the publisher. In addition, we are subject to unannounced price changes from publishers. The Great Books Academy also periodically updates and enhances its curriculum and literature books. In any of the foregoing or similar instances affecting an order received, the Great Books Academy will offer the customer the option to substitute a replaced title and receive an invoice/credit for any difference OR to receive a refund for the value paid for the original title. In order to assure title availability and prompt reordering, all orders are charged to the customer at the time the customer places an order.
Book Returns: ALL SALES ARE FINAL.
No Refunds for Academy Enrollment Fees, Socratic Discussion Tuition, Great Books Study Guides, Book Report Forms and Lesson Plans: We hire and train staff based on enrollments and tuition received and remain committed to that staff for protracted terms. Therefore Enrollment fees, Socratic Discussion tuition, charges for Lesson Plans, Book Report forms and Great Books Study Guides, are strictly non-refundable once ordered. Therefore, please be certain that you wish to enroll with the Great Books Academy, or to join a Socratic Discussion group, or to purchase Lesson Plans, Book Report forms, and/or Great Books Study Guides, before placing your order. Once your enrollment, tuition, Lesson Plan, Book Report forms or Great Books Study Guide order is placed, at that time it is non-refundable. However, installments in our payment plan for the Great Books Program may be terminated at any time upon 72 hours written notice to us (email is fine) prior to the next installment charge date - otherwise the termination will be processed the next month.
Bulk Orders and Special Orders: Bulk Orders (i.e., orders of five (5) or more of the same item and/or orders in excess of $5,000.00 total), and Special Orders (i.e., orders negotiated for prices other than those posted online), are non-refundable, when placed.
Insurance and Proof of Delivery: All items are shipped freight on board (FOB) the Academy bookstore's dock (usually via either United Parcel Service or the U.S. Postal Service) and shall be considered as delivered if so reflected in the records of the common carrier. Because of limitations imposed by UPS and USPS, all claims for damaged items or items not received must be made within 30 days of receipt. This means that the customer should consider purchasing shipping insurance as damage or loss during shipment is at the risk of the customer. Insurance is available upon request by the customer at the time of the order or by separate e-mail or phone call at the time of the order. The Customer will be billed for the actual insurance cost. Customer bears the risk of loss for items not insured. All items are shipped using a tracking number or delivery confirmation number issued by the common carrier. Items are considered delivered if the records of the common carrier reflect that the item was delivered as addressed. The customer is responsible for payment of all items so confirmed as delivered. There really is no other way for us to protect ourselves against shipping loss, without insuring every shipment and thus not giving our customers the option of paying for insurance or not - and most of our customers prefer to take the risk and not buy shipping insurance. We want to continue to offer them that option, since it reduces their costs by about 5-10%.
Rush Orders, Time for Delivery: Please allow approximately 1-2 weeks for ordinary, domestic US delivery. Backorders (of books currently out of stock) take longer as they are often due to publisher's decisions beyond our control. Although the Bookstore does try to process orders within 48-72 hours (except on weekends and holidays), there is no guarantee of such, particularly during the rush season (from June through September). No refunds will be made simply because shipping takes more than 1-2 weeks - that is just the ordinary time it takes. See our refund policies, above. Please place your order well ahead of your projected start date. Customers may request Next-Day or Two-Day Air shipment but requests for shipment by Next-Day or Two-Day Air are processed as are all other orders (i.e., on a first-in, first-out basis). Once processed, such orders are then shipped via the manner requested by the customer. Acceptance of an order requesting Next-Day or Two-Day Air does not necessarily mean that the customer will receive their order within one or two days of when the order is placed. Rather, it refers to the shipping time once it leaves our dock. No refunds can be made for Next-Day or Two-Day air charges. If the common carrier does not perform as directed, the customer must seek their refund or redress solely from the common carrier (and not from us) for their failure to deliver as contracted. We will be happy to provide our customers with all relevant shipping information.
Shipping Costs: All posted shipping prices are for domestic (continental U.S.) shipments only. Foreign shipments or shipments outside the Continental U.S. will be billed based on actual cost plus associated handling. Next-Day and Two-Day Air shipping charges will be billed at actual charges. At the customer's request, we will be happy to estimate shipping and handling charges for shipments outside the continental U.S., however we will not be held responsible for the accuracy of such estimates, and only handling and actual shipping charges will be billed.
Errors or Mistakes in Orders: Because all institutions are run by humans, mistakes can and will happen with orders from time-to-time. The true test of any fulfillment service is its response to mistakes that are made. Please be assured that we will at all times act promptly and in good faith to address all customer concerns and in the application of the foregoing policies. We regret their length and detail but that is life in the modern world where we must deal with numerous folks we do not yet know, on a daily basis. Thank you.
Credit Policy :
1.) The Academy cannot extend credit to individuals.
2.) Charter schools may qualify upon application and approval.
3.) All orders for $1,000 or more (or which accumulate to $1,000 or more from one school) must either be accompanied by 50% payment, or it must be agree that shipment will be processed C.O.D. for 50% of the order amount (plus the cost of the C.O.D. service).
4.) Payment Terms: As above, balance due in full upon delivery of order, with approved credit. Check, M.O. or Credit Card without approved credit.
5.) A 1.5% monthly finance charge (or the maximum allowed by law in the purchaser's state - whichever is less) will be added for any past due balance.
6.) Our accounting month ends the last day of each calendar month; payments due on or before the 20th of each month (i.e. for orders delivered on or before the 20th of any month) will be assessed a late charge on the 1st of each following month [Examples: A shipment delivered March 20th (or earlier) will be assessed a late fee of 1.5% if not paid in full by April 1st; the balance due on a shipment delivered on March 21st will not be assessed a late charge until May 1st ]. Payment will be considered made when postmarked (or with other verifiable proof of posting date, such as a UPS shipment date).
7.) Balances due more than 90 (ninety) days from delivery of the order may (without further notice) be turned over to a collection agency or attorney for collection in full, plus reasonable costs of collection, and including any court costs and attorney's fees incurred by the Academy. Invoicing and Statements: Any balances due will be noted with the shipment. Statements will be mailed out monthly. Accepted and Agreed to (I authorize the Academy to access credit information for the Charter School from any credit reporting agency):
______________________________________________________
Charter School Legal Name
______________________________________________________
Charter School Mailing Address for Invoicing and Notices
______________________________________________________
Authorized Representative of Charter School
Dismissal Policy : While we have not had a single instance necessitating the following policy, in three years of operation, like all educational institutions the Academy reserves the right to dismiss students for improper behavior, either by the student, their siblings or their parents. Reasons would include (but are not limited to): persistent incivility or rudeness to our staff or other students; failure to observe class rules, instructions by moderators, and/or decorum online; harassment of other students or staff in any manner; use of inappropriate language either online or in correspondence to us; misuse of Academy equipment or materials (not purchased); yelling or shouting at staff or other students. The Academy reserves the sole and exclusive right to determine when and if any of these policies have been violated, leading to dismissal of the related student(s), or to decide whether a warning is merited in advance of any dismissal, or not. In the event of a dismissal for violation of this policy, there will be no refund of any amounts paid for enrollment fees for any student dismissed, regardless of when paid. This includes any Socratic discussion group tuition and regular enrollment fees. Any services paid for with such forfeited enrollment fees and/or tuition would be terminated. If the parents are the cause for the dismissal, the Academy reserves the right to dismiss any/all of their children, as circumstances seem best to dictate to the Academy. The Academy reserves the right not to accept enrollments, for the same reasons. Again this has not happened and we hope it will not ever be necessary. This policy exists in order to enable the Academy to maintain its pleasant and encouraging educational environment, if faced with this problem.
The Great Books Academy complies with all federal and state rules and regulations and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, creed, marital status, age, disabled or Vietnam-era veteran, or disability as defined by applicable state and/or federal regulations or statutes, or national or ethnic origin in the administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, and other school-administered programs. The Great Books Academy is an Equal Opportunity employer.
Program Cancellation : Class Changes and Program Cancellation : We reserve the right to change, modify or cancel any or all Great Books Program, Socratic or other online classes, including but not limited to times, moderators or online locations, at any time, if circumstances warrant (for example, low enrollment in a given class), in our sole discretion. In that event, any portion of tuition not already used would be refunded on a prorated basis of 1/32th per each week of scheduled class or exams remaining (i.e., of the 9 month September-May academic year) at the time of cancellation. [2010] Return to Customer Service |
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