STANDARD LEGAL TERMS FOR EDUCATIONAL SERVICES
Last updated: October 26, 2026
These Standard Legal Terms apply to tutoring, test preparation, group classes and courses, academic support, college advising, application advising, and any other educational or consulting services provided by Ivy Tutor LLC.
These Standard Legal Terms apply solely to the Services purchased under the Individual Service Agreement the Client accepts with them, and do not govern any separate purchase unless the Client accepts them as part of that purchase.
The individualized agreement signed by the Client contains the important business terms, including the selected services, package contents, price, payment arrangements, scheduling rules, cancellation policy, refund terms, and expiration period. These Standard Legal Terms provide the limited general legal provisions that apply to the relationship.
These Standard Legal Terms do not add fees, change the package price, shorten any deadline, reduce any refund right, or override any business term in the individualized agreement.
DEFINITIONS
“Ivy Tutor” means Ivy Tutor LLC.
“Client” means the adult who enters into the Individual Service Agreement. The Client may be the student, a parent or guardian, or another adult authorized to purchase the Services.
“Student” means the person receiving the Services. The Client and Student may be the same person.
“Services” means the tutoring, test preparation, academic support, advising, consulting, assessment, or other educational services described in the Individual Service Agreement.
“Individual Service Agreement” means the individualized agreement, package, proposal, or sign-up form accepted by the Client.
1. AGREEMENT AND ORDER OF PRIORITY
The Individual Service Agreement and these Standard Legal Terms together form the complete agreement between Ivy Tutor and the Client.
The Individual Service Agreement contains the package-specific and service-specific terms. If these Standard Legal Terms conflict with the Individual Service Agreement, the Individual Service Agreement controls.
A change to an Individual Service Agreement must be confirmed in writing by the Client and an authorized representative of Ivy Tutor. An email that clearly confirms an agreed change will satisfy this requirement.
2. AUTHORITY TO AGREE
The Client represents that the Client:
a. is at least 18 years old;
b. has authority to enter into the agreement;
c. has authority to enroll the Student in the Services; and
d. has authority to authorize the payments and permissions described in the Individual Service Agreement.
If the Student is under 18, the Client is responsible for providing any parental or guardian permissions reasonably required for the Services.
3. EDUCATIONAL SERVICES AND RESULTS
Ivy Tutor will provide the Services described in the Individual Service Agreement with reasonable care and professionalism.
Tutoring and advising are collaborative processes. Results depend on many factors outside Ivy Tutor’s control, including the Student’s attendance, preparation, effort, prior knowledge, academic record, testing conditions, application materials, deadlines, and decisions made by schools, testing organizations, scholarship providers, and other third parties.
Ivy Tutor therefore cannot guarantee any particular grade, test score, admission decision, scholarship, financial-aid award, placement, or other academic or application outcome.
When Ivy Tutor assists with an application, essay, form, or submission, the Student and Client remain responsible for reviewing the final materials, confirming their accuracy and authenticity, and submitting them by the applicable deadlines, unless the Individual Service Agreement expressly states otherwise.
The Student remains responsible for complying with applicable academic-integrity rules. Ivy Tutor’s role is to teach, advise, review, and provide feedback—not to create work that the Student may improperly present as entirely the Student’s own.
Unless expressly stated otherwise, the Services do not constitute legal, tax, investment, financial-planning, medical, psychological, or mental-health advice.
Any diagnostic, learning, cognitive, personality, or similar assessment provided as part of the Services is intended for educational and instructional purposes. It is not a medical, psychological, or clinical diagnosis and is not a substitute for evaluation by an appropriately licensed professional.
Coordination with clinicians. Ivy Tutor may receive evaluations and recommendations from a psychologist or other clinician working with the Student, as the Client, or the Student if 18 or older, authorizes the clinician to share them. Ivy Tutor shares information about the Student with a clinician only with the written consent of the Client, or of the Student if 18 or older. When the Client, or the Student if 18 or older, asks Ivy Tutor for an introduction to a clinician, Ivy Tutor may share the family’s contact information and a brief description of the reason for the introduction. Ivy Tutor will consider a clinician’s recommendations in good faith and incorporate them as educational strategies where they fit the Services. Ivy Tutor does not diagnose, treat, or monitor any condition; clinical decisions remain with the clinician and the family. Any professional Ivy Tutor suggests is a suggestion only. Ivy Tutor does not endorse or guarantee the professional, and the Client is responsible for evaluating the professional and for any fees the professional charges.
4. COMMUNICATIONS
a. Direct communication. The Client consents to Ivy Tutor’s tutors and advisors communicating directly with the Student by email, text message, phone, video, or another platform used by Ivy Tutor, for purposes related to the Services. Ivy Tutor may copy the Client on communications with a Student who is under 18.
b. Sharing with the Client. Ivy Tutor may share information about the Services with the Client, including the Student’s attendance, progress, scores, essay drafts, and application plans.
c. Students 18 and older. If the Student is or becomes 18 or older during the Services, Ivy Tutor will continue sharing information with the Client unless the Student asks Ivy Tutor in writing to stop. Such a request does not affect the Client’s payment obligations or the Client’s access to billing and scheduling information. Information Ivy Tutor receives from a clinician about a Student who is 18 or older is shared with the Client only with the Student’s written consent.
d. Safety concerns. If a Student discloses information—in conversation, in an essay, or otherwise—that Ivy Tutor reasonably believes indicates a risk of serious harm to the Student or others, or possible abuse or neglect, Ivy Tutor may notify the Client, emergency services, or appropriate authorities as it reasonably judges appropriate, and will comply with any reporting obligations under applicable law.
e. Communication with Ivy Tutor. The Client is welcome to share goals, concerns, and feedback at any time. Ivy Tutor determines instructional methods, pacing, materials, and tutor assignment. Ivy Tutor responds to messages within a reasonable time during business hours.
5. PRIVACY AND PUBLICITY
Ivy Tutor treats personal, academic, and application information about the Student and Client as confidential. It uses that information to provide the Services and does not share it with third parties except as described in these Standard Legal Terms, the Individual Service Agreement, or Ivy Tutor’s Privacy Policy, or as required by law.
The fact that Ivy Tutor works with a Student or family is not confidential, and Ivy Tutor may disclose it, unless the Client, or a Student who is 18 or older, asks in writing that the relationship be kept confidential. This does not extend to any other information about the Student, which remains confidential as described above, or to using a Student’s name in marketing, which is addressed below.
Ivy Tutor will not use a Student’s name, image, individual scores, admission or scholarship results, or written work in marketing, and will not share a Student’s essays or other written work as examples for other students, without separate written consent. Ivy Tutor may use de-identified, aggregated results, such as average score improvement across a course or the share of advising students admitted to a top-choice college.
Ivy Tutor may make audio or video recordings of sessions, including online sessions and Group Course classes, for quality control and tutor training. The tutor will tell the Student, or the Students in a Group Course, before recording begins. Recordings are used only within Ivy Tutor, are not used in marketing, and are kept and deleted as described in the Privacy Policy.
6. MATERIALS AND STUDENT WORK
Materials created or provided by Ivy Tutor, including worksheets, practice materials, methods, guides, templates, lesson content, and instructional resources, may be used by the Student for the Student’s personal educational and application-planning purposes.
Unless Ivy Tutor gives written permission, these materials may not be sold, published, posted publicly, reproduced for commercial purposes, or distributed to people outside the Student’s household.
Materials owned by testing organizations, publishers, software providers, or other third parties remain subject to the rights and restrictions imposed by their respective owners.
The Student continues to own the Student’s original written work.
7. PAYMENTS AND HOURS
a. Installment payments. If the Individual Service Agreement allows payment in installments and a payment is not received when due, Ivy Tutor may, after written notice, suspend the Services until the balance is paid.
b. Hours statement. When Services are purchased, tracked, or billed by the hour, the Client may request a statement of hours used and remaining, and Ivy Tutor will provide it within a reasonable time.
c. Payment method on file. When the Individual Service Agreement relies on a payment method on file, the Client will keep a valid payment method on file and update it when it changes. If the payment method expires, is declined, or otherwise stops working, Ivy Tutor may, after notifying the Client, suspend the Services until the Client provides a valid payment method.
8. TERMINATION BY IVY TUTOR
Ivy Tutor reserves the right to terminate any package or service relationship if, in its reasonable judgment, continuing the relationship is no longer appropriate or practicable.
Examples include situations where the Client’s or Student’s conduct, communications, or expectations make it impracticable to deliver the Services effectively, repeatedly interfere with Ivy Tutor’s instructional judgment, or are disrespectful toward Ivy Tutor’s tutors or staff, or where Ivy Tutor concludes that the Services are not a good fit for the Student. Ivy Tutor is not required to state a reason in its notice of termination.
Ivy Tutor will provide written notice of termination and will refund all prepaid amounts attributable to Services that have not yet been provided. No termination fee will be charged, and the Client will not be charged for Services scheduled after the termination becomes effective.
Services already provided before termination remain payable in accordance with the Individual Service Agreement.
9. EVENTS OUTSIDE EITHER PARTY’S CONTROL
Neither Ivy Tutor nor the Client will be considered in breach of the agreement because of a delay or inability to perform caused by circumstances reasonably outside that party’s control. Examples may include severe weather, government orders, widespread transportation disruptions, internet or technology outages, building closures, emergencies, or the sudden illness of an Ivy Tutor tutor or advisor.
When reasonably possible, the parties will work together to reschedule the affected Service or provide an appropriate credit. This section does not create a forfeiture of prepaid Services.
This section does not apply to a Student’s or Client’s own illness, scheduling conflicts, or other individual circumstances. Cancellations for those reasons are governed by the cancellation policy in the Individual Service Agreement. Ivy Tutor may, at its discretion, waive a cancellation fee in cases of illness or emergency. Waiving a fee once does not waive it on later occasions.
10. GROUP COURSES
This section applies when Ivy Tutor teaches more than one Student at the same time in a class, course, workshop, or similar program (a “Group Course”), in person or online. For a Group Course, the registration form or Parent/Guardian Agreement is the Individual Service Agreement. If a Group Course is held at a school or other facility that Ivy Tutor does not operate, that facility is the “School” or “Host School.”
a. Group instruction. A Group Course follows a set curriculum and pace designed for the class as a whole. Unless the Individual Service Agreement states otherwise, it does not include individualized lesson plans, one-on-one instruction, or personality-matched tutor pairing. Ivy Tutor may place Students in sections by level or schedule, combine or divide sections, and assign substitute or additional instructors.
b. Individual absences. The rescheduling and credit provisions of Section 9 apply to sessions that Ivy Tutor cancels or reschedules for the class. They do not apply to a Student’s individual absence, including an absence due to illness. Consistent with the Individual Service Agreement, Ivy Tutor does not provide make-up classes, credits, or refunds for sessions a Student misses. Ivy Tutor may, at its discretion, share materials from a missed session.
c. Refund calculation on removal. If Ivy Tutor removes a Student from a Group Course, the refund under Section 8 is calculated in proportion to the number of scheduled class sessions and practice tests remaining on the date the removal takes effect.
d. Enrollment is non-transferable. Enrollment is for the named Student. It may not be transferred to another student without Ivy Tutor’s written approval. Ivy Tutor may, at its discretion, offer a transfer to a later course.
e. Supervision and emergencies. Ivy Tutor supervises Students only during the scheduled class or practice-test time and only within the instructional space. Ivy Tutor does not provide supervision before the scheduled start time or after dismissal. In an emergency, Ivy Tutor may contact emergency services and will notify the Client as soon as reasonably practicable.
f. Accommodations and health information. Before the course begins, the Client should tell Ivy Tutor about:
- any testing accommodations (such as extended time);
- relevant health information (such as severe allergies); and
- any other needs that affect the Student’s participation in a group setting.
Ivy Tutor will work with the Client to provide reasonable accommodations. Accommodation requests may be made at any time, including after the course begins, and will be considered individually. Advance notice is encouraged, since some arrangements, such as extended time on a practice test, take time to set up.
g. Classmates’ privacy. In class, Students may see or hear other Students’ names, questions, and work. The Client and Student agree not to record, post, or share other Students’ work, scores, or personal information. Ivy Tutor will not disclose a Student’s individual scores or the Client’s contact information to other families. Section 5 governs Ivy Tutor’s use of Student information in marketing.
h. Host School. Unless the Individual Service Agreement states otherwise, Ivy Tutor, not the Host School, provides the Services and is the party to this agreement.
i. Online sessions. For online Group Courses, Students may not share class links or login credentials, let others into a session, or use another person’s account. Ivy Tutor may require cameras to be on during instruction and practice tests. Ivy Tutor may remove a participant from a session for disruption.
j. Personal property. Students are responsible for the devices and belongings they bring. Ivy Tutor is not responsible for loss of, theft of, or damage to personal property, except to the extent caused by Ivy Tutor’s negligence or misconduct.
11. COLLEGE AND APPLICATION ADVISING
This section applies to college admissions consulting, application and essay advising, and related advising Services (“Advising”). It supplements Section 3.
a. Authenticity of applications. The Student is responsible for ensuring that every application, essay, activity description, and other submission is truthful, complete, and the Student’s own work, and for complying with the authorship, honesty, and artificial-intelligence policies of the Common Application and of each college, scholarship, or program to which the Student applies. Ivy Tutor will not help prepare any submission it reasonably believes is false, misleading, or not the Student’s own work, and may stop assisting with that submission or terminate the Advising under Section 8.
b. Accurate information. Ivy Tutor’s advice depends on the information the Student and Client provide, including transcripts, test scores, course selections, activities, disciplinary history, and financial circumstances. The Student and Client will provide complete and accurate information and promptly tell Ivy Tutor of any significant change. Admission requirements, deadlines, testing policies, and other college information change often, so the Student should confirm them with each college’s official sources.
c. Application decisions. Ivy Tutor advises on college lists, application plans (including Early Decision, Early Action, and Restrictive Early Action), and enrollment decisions. The final decisions, and their consequences, belong to the Student and Client. The Student and Client are responsible for understanding and honoring any binding commitment, including an Early Decision agreement.
d. Financial aid and scholarships. Any net-price, financial-aid, merit-aid, or scholarship information Ivy Tutor provides is an estimate for planning purposes, not a promise of any award or cost. The Student and Client are responsible for completing and submitting the FAFSA, CSS Profile, and any other financial-aid or scholarship forms accurately and on time.
e. Application accounts. The Student should not share passwords to the Common Application, college portals, testing-agency accounts, or similar accounts with Ivy Tutor, and Ivy Tutor will not log in to, complete, or submit applications on the Student’s behalf. The Student may share drafts or screens during sessions for review. Ivy Tutor is not responsible for errors, outages, or changes on third-party platforms.
f. Independence. Ivy Tutor does not accept compensation from colleges, universities, summer programs, or other institutions for recommending, referring, or placing a Student, and does not accept referral fees from professionals it suggests.
g. Other students. Ivy Tutor advises other students, some of whom may apply to the same colleges or programs. Ivy Tutor gives each student independent advice, does not favor one student over another, and does not share one student’s information with another.
h. Third-party programs and professionals. Ivy Tutor may suggest summer programs, competitions, outside testing, or other professionals, such as educational psychologists or financial planners. These are suggestions only. Ivy Tutor does not endorse or guarantee third parties, and the Client is responsible for evaluating them and for any fees they charge.
12. IN-HOME SESSIONS
This section applies when a tutor or advisor meets with a Student at the Client’s home or another private residence the Client designates (an “In-Home Session”).
a. Adult present. When the Student is under 18, a parent, guardian, or other responsible adult designated by the Client must remain in the home and be reasonably available throughout the session. Ivy Tutor provides educational instruction, not childcare or custodial supervision, and does not supervise the Student before or after the session, or supervise siblings, guests, or other members of the household. If no adult is present, the tutor may decline to begin or continue the session.
b. Session setting. Sessions are held in a common area of the home or in a room with the door open, unless Ivy Tutor approves another arrangement in advance.
c. Workspace, access, and safety. The Client will provide a reasonably quiet, well-lit, safe, and accessible place to work, and ensure the Student is available at the scheduled time. A tutor may decline to begin or may end a session if the tutor cannot access the home, reasonably believes conditions are unsafe, or is subjected to harassment, threats, or other inappropriate conduct. Ivy Tutor will promptly notify the Client when a session is declined or ended under this subsection or subsection (a). The Individual Service Agreement governs whether the session is charged.
d. Property. Ivy Tutor is responsible for damage to the Client’s property caused by the negligence or misconduct of its tutors or advisors. The Client agrees to reimburse Ivy Tutor for reasonable repair or replacement costs for materials or devices damaged through the negligence or misconduct of the Client, Student, or others present in the home with the Client’s permission, or by pets under the Client’s control.
e. Scope of the tutor’s role. Ivy Tutor’s tutors and advisors provide only the Services. They do not transport Students, supervise or care for other children, administer medication, provide personal care, or perform household tasks, and they do not communicate with Students through personal social-media accounts. Requests for anything outside the Services should be directed to Ivy Tutor.
f. Illness and pets. The Client will notify Ivy Tutor before a session of any known contagious illness in the household that could reasonably expose the tutor. Ivy Tutor may propose moving the session online or rescheduling it, subject to the Individual Service Agreement. The Client will also disclose any pets in the home and, upon request, keep them away from the tutor during the visit.
g. Recording. The Client will tell Ivy Tutor in advance about any cameras or other devices that record audio or video where sessions are held. Apart from those disclosed devices, the Client will not record a session without Ivy Tutor’s prior agreement. Ivy Tutor’s own recording of sessions is governed by Section 5.
h. Emergencies. In an emergency during an In-Home Session, the tutor may contact emergency services and will notify the Client as soon as reasonably practicable. The Client will provide Ivy Tutor with current emergency contact information.
i. Virtual sessions. To keep tutoring continuous, Ivy Tutor may hold up to one in five In-Home Sessions virtually when the tutor cannot meet in person because of illness, personal obligations, or other unavoidable circumstances. This limit is measured across the package, or across all sessions for ongoing tutoring: up to one virtual session within the first five sessions, up to two within the first ten, and so on. A virtual session may occur at any point; earlier sessions do not need to be held in person first.
j. Virtual make-up sessions. If the Student cannot attend a regularly scheduled In-Home Session, a make-up session is available under the Individual Service Agreement, and no alternative in-person time is available, the make-up session will be held virtually. Virtual make-up sessions do not count toward the limit in subsection (i).
13. REASONABLE LIMITS ON LIABILITY
Ivy Tutor remains responsible for providing the Services with reasonable care.
To the fullest extent permitted by law, neither Ivy Tutor nor the Client will be liable to the other for indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages that were not reasonably foreseeable when the agreement was made.
Nothing in the agreement excludes or limits responsibility for fraud, willful misconduct, gross negligence, bodily injury caused by negligence, or any liability, consumer right, or legal remedy that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited.
14. ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS AND RECORDS
The Client agrees that the agreement, notices, receipts, scheduling communications, and other service-related communications may be provided electronically, including through email, text message, Noto, or another platform used by Ivy Tutor.
The Client is responsible for providing accurate contact information and notifying Ivy Tutor of any change to that information.
The Client may print or save the Individual Service Agreement and these Standard Legal Terms and may request an additional electronic copy from Ivy Tutor.
Ivy Tutor may retain records of the Services, including notes, drafts, and communications, for as long as reasonably needed to provide the Services and meet its legal and business obligations, and may then delete them. The Student and Client should keep their own copies of essays, application materials, and other documents they wish to retain.
15. ELECTRONIC ACCEPTANCE
Checking an agreement box, submitting an electronic agreement, or providing an electronic signature is intended to have the same effect as signing a paper agreement.
The Client acknowledges having had an opportunity to review both the Individual Service Agreement and these Standard Legal Terms before accepting them.
The version of these Standard Legal Terms presented when the Client accepts the Individual Service Agreement will govern that agreement. A later update will apply only to future agreements or Services unless the Client and Ivy Tutor expressly agree otherwise in writing.
16. GOVERNING LAW AND DISPUTES
The agreement is governed by the laws of the State of New Jersey, without regard to conflict-of-law rules.
Before filing a lawsuit, the Client and Ivy Tutor will make a reasonable good-faith effort to resolve the dispute through direct written communication. This requirement does not prevent either party from seeking urgent relief or filing a claim before an applicable deadline expires.
Any court proceeding concerning the agreement may be brought in a state or federal court with jurisdiction in Hudson County, New Jersey, except where applicable consumer law permits or requires a different location. Either party may also bring an eligible claim in small claims court.
Nothing in this section eliminates any consumer protection or legal remedy that cannot lawfully be waived.
17. GENERAL PROVISIONS
If a court finds that any portion of the agreement is unenforceable, the remaining portions will continue in effect. The unenforceable portion will be interpreted as narrowly as reasonably possible so that it most closely reflects its original purpose while remaining lawful.
A party’s decision not to enforce a provision on one occasion does not waive the right to enforce it later.
The agreement does not create a partnership, joint venture, employment relationship, or fiduciary relationship between the Client and Ivy Tutor.
The headings are included for convenience and do not change the meaning of the provisions.
18. CONTACT INFORMATION
Questions or notices concerning these Standard Legal Terms may be sent to:
Ivy Tutor LLC
P.O. Box 5152
Hoboken, New Jersey 07030
[email protected]