Terms and Conditions

Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) provides training services to accredited Conformity Assessment Body (CAB) staff and freelance auditors according to the terms and conditions defined below.

These terms outline how we provide our training services to our customers. ASC training services include e-courses, e-modules, webinars, self-study options, and various forms of e-learning and blended learning as suitable. Please review these terms carefully before enrolling in any training course, as your registration signifies a binding agreement between us. All rights not specifically granted here are reserved. You agree to periodically review these terms to stay informed of any updates or changes that may occur.

By enrolling in a course, you agree to be bound by these terms & conditions.

1. Interpretation

The below definitions apply to the terms and conditions:

Course Fee: the charges applicable per course at the ASC standard rates.

Customer: The CABs and their employees or freelance auditors who enrol in the courses.

Contract: any agreement that includes these conditions and is made between the Company and the Customer for the sale and purchase of a course.

Training Services: the training activities offered by ASC to the Customer including e-courses, e-modules, webinars, self-study options, and various forms of e-learning and blended learning.

2. Application of Conditions

2.1. Upon receipt of payment, ASC grants you a license to take the training courses for the period of time in which they were acquired, unless specified otherwise. This license is limited, revocable, non-exclusive, non-transferable, and cannot be sublicensed, subject to the rights and obligations outlined in these terms and conditions. The license is solely for the personal use of the customer and may not be shared, exchanged, or transferred to others, either within the customer’s organization or externally. This agreement may not be assigned or transferred to any third party without prior written consent from the ASC training team. These conditions are also applicable as follows.

2.2. The terms under which ASC will provide the courses to the customer are established under these conditions. By registering on a course, the customer agrees to be bound by these terms and authorizes ASC to carry out the courses in accordance with these terms.

2.3. This policy will be found under the list of Controlled documents as well as the footer of our online platform. Any further update will apply from the date indicated on the latest updated version of this document

2.4. Each enrolment for Courses placed by the Customer is considered an offer to acquire such Course(s) subject to these terms and conditions, and all enrolments are subject to fee payment to ASC – in case of paid courses – and to admissibility of the candidate participant in case of free of charge courses. The ASC does not accept participants on the courses until the course fee is paid, or the candidate participant is formally invited to join the course (in the case of free of charge courses). Such a formal invite can be intended as admission into the e-learning platform, an email invite or calendar invite.

3. Process

3.1 Enrolment

3.1.1. The date, time, venue, and description of the Courses provided by the ASC shall be available at least 3 weeks before the course starts or the learning activity.

3.1.2. Unless stated otherwise, all enrolment for courses provided by ASC shall be exclusively done in the ASC’ s registration portals (MyASC and/or the online learning platform). The customer completes the enrolment by accepting these conditions.

3.1.3. At the time of registration, the Customer shall provide ASC with full and correct details of the Participant. The customer shall also provide the ASC with the correct details to invoice the course fee and the correct email address to send the invoice.

3.1.4. The Customer shall adhere strictly to the registration deadline.

3.2 Materials

3.2.1 To acknowledge approved bookings, customers will receive joining instructions/registration information through email. ASC is not liable for the failure to receive joining instructions or registration information due to incorrect registration details, or other impediments.

3.2.2 ASC shall grant the customer access to course materials through Its online learning platform. ASC shall not be liable for the failure of the customer to access these materials when access to the training platform has been granted.

3.3 Live sessions

3.3.1 The live webinars or Q&A sessions are mandatory to attend, where so indicated. The customer must attend all mandatory sessions related to their registered course. Failure to meet this condition will result in declined access to the exams and certificate of course completion.

3.3.2 The customer shall join the live sessions on time and must not leave before the end, without having agreed so with ASC.

3.3.3 The customer shall participate actively in the live sessions, keep their cameras on at all times to foster a conducive learning environment and shall not disturb the smooth running of the session.

3.3.4 ASC reserves the right to refuse or stop participation of a customer if their behaviour is interfering with other participants’ learning or if they are acting in an inappropriate way.

3.3.5 ASC maintains under the terms of this contract, confidentiality and privacy during the live webinar. As such, the customer is not allowed to disclose all that happens during the live sessions, and the information shared by other participants.

3.4 Live Exam

3.4.1 The customer must register for the online course exam following the instructions provided by ASC. ASC is not liable for the inability of the customer to perform the exam due to failure to register or join.

3.4.2 The customer shall not leave the exam online session once the exam starts.

3.4.3 ASC reserves the right to cancel the exam in case of violation of this rule by the customer.

3.4.4 The customer shall perform the live exam session in a private area, where there is no contact with other people for the duration of the exam. The customer shall not use any mobile phones during the live examination, nor seek or receive suggestions or advice from anyone.

3.4.5 If the customer is not able to perform the exam on the set date, the customer must inform ASC at least 14 days prior to the exam.

3.4.6 If the customer informs ASC of their inability to take the exam 3 days to or on the day of the exam, ASC reserves the right (under the terms of this condition) to only reschedule the exam subject to their availability.

3.4.7 ASC shall provide the customer with the result of their exam at most within 15 working days from the day of the exam.

3.5 Procedures for resit exams:

3.5.1 If the customer fails to pass the exam at the first sitting, they are entitled to a free resit of the exam under the terms of this contract.

3.5.2 If the customer fails to pass the resit exam, the customer shall under the contract conditions, enrol for the course again as a fresh learner and pay half the training fee. This second enrolment only comes with one exam attempt which the customer must pass at first sitting.

3.5.3 Failure to meet sub-condition 3.5.2 above, the customer shall re-enrol for the course at full price and attend all the webinar sessions before they can take the exam.

3.6 Self-study courses:

3.6.1 ASC offers self-study courses which the customer Is free to take at their own pace and time.

3.6.2 These courses must be completed at most six months after registration and assignment to the course. ASC reserves the right to delete the customers registration and remove him from the course after six months.

3.7 The customer shall at all times keep their own or their learners’ profile and course participation updated in the ASC portal.

4. Fees

4.1 The Customer agrees to pay the fees for the Course(s) in line with condition 5 in exchange for ASC agreeing to provide the Courses.

4.2. Prices (Fees) are subject to change at any time, but orders that ASC has accepted will remain unaffected.

4.3 Unless otherwise specified, the charges do not include value added tax, which will be assessed separately at the current rate from time to time.

5. Payment

5.1 The customer commits under the terms of this contract to pay in full the invoiced price for the courses.

5.2. Invoices payment must be made in full within 30 days of the date of the company’s invoice, or at least 7 days prior to the start date of the applicable course.

5.2.1. If payment Is not made in full at least 7 days before the start of the course, ASC reserves the right to allocate the participation slot to another Customer if this condition is not met by the start of the course.

5.3. No payment shall be regarded received until the funds have been cleared Into ASC account. The Customer must make all payments owed under the Contract in full, without any set-off, deduction, or counterclaim. In cases of non-payment of the full invoiced amount for the courses, ASC reserves the right under these conditions to:

5.3.1. Refuse admission to a course and/or exam by the customer and its participants if payment is not received on time.

5.3.2. In other cases, ASC reserves the right to withhold certificate of participation until the full invoiced amount for the course Is paid.

5.4. In the event that the Customer fails to pay ASC any money owed under the terms of this policy, ASC may not accept the customer for further courses until the outstanding amount is paid.

6. Cancellation, Refund and Deferment

6.1 Enrolment in a course is contingent upon availability.

6.2. The minimum number of required participants for a course is 5 unless otherwise stated by ASC.

6.3. The number in 6.2 above is subject to change at the discretion of ASC without liability.

6.4. ASC reserves the right to cancel a course If the minimum number of required participants Is not reached by the end date of registration.

6.5. ASC shall provide the Courses in all material respects consistent with any written description issued by ASC; however, such description is to be considered an indication, and trainers, the Course venue, and/or the Course content are subject to change by ASC without liability, provided that the content remains consistent with the description and learning goals of the course.

6.6. A Course may be cancelled by ASC at any time without incurring any obligation, provided that the customer receives a full refund for the cancelled course. Refunds are often issued using the same payment method that the customer used to purchase the course in the first place.

6.7. Failure to attend as a result of illness or death in the family will result into a full refund or enrolment into another course at a later stage, whatever is preferred by the customer. In this case, the customer is expected to provide proof of these events.

6.8. Ad hoc courses: the following consequences apply, should ASC commit to provide an ad hoc course or training activities on Customer’s request and according to their needs, if the Customer decides to cancel their participation:

6.8.1 Any cancellations made more than 30 calendar days in advance of the training will receive a full refund If you do not move to another course.

6.8.2 Any cancellations made at least 30 calendar days in advance of the training with substitution will be accepted and the fees paid carried over to the substitute.

6.8.3 In case of cancellation made less than 30 calendar days before the start of the course, shall not be refunded and the agreed price must be invoiced and paid in full.

6.9. In the case of deferment, ASC will hold onto the learner’s spot in the course until they are able to attend, provided that the course has been fully paid for. Under these terms, the customer acknowledges that they are entering into an agreement to finish their training at the next available time, that their spot is reserved based on a sufficient notice period of four weeks of their intention to attend, that the fee is nontransferable to another course type, and that they will not receive a refund if they decide not to attend.

6.9.1 The condition in 6.9 is only valid and can be initiated when we receive a written request via email. The customer can defer as many times as possible within 18 months from the date of the deferment as long as sufficient notice is given.

7. Intellectual Property rights

7.1. Customers may not copy, modify, transmit, distribute, or otherwise use the training materials or any copyrighted materials provided, except for their individual training purposes. Any other use is strictly prohibited under this condition. Additionally, you are not permitted to allow others to copy, reproduce, republished, use, modify, transmit, distribute, or exploit these training services or copyrighted materials in any way.

7.2. So stated above, training materials such as tools, pictures, recordings, and data that ASC provides to the customer during the course – regardless of self-study or live sessions – will always be and continue to be the sole property of ASC and shall be accessed exclusively by the persons enrolled. The Customer agrees not to utilize, copy or share any of the ASC (or its agents or sub-contractors’) items subject Intellectual Property Rights without explicit consent from ASC.

7.3 The Customer acknowledges and agrees that ASC (and/or its agents or subcontractors) will own all copyright, trademarks, and other intellectual property rights and confidential information (collectively, the “Intellectual Property Rights”) created, developed, embodied in, or related to the Course(s). The ownership of such rights by ASC (and/or its agents or subcontractors) shall not be questioned or disputed by the Customer in any manner at any point, even after the Course(s) have been provided.

7.4. The Customer shall not use the training materials in a way that may impair the performance, availability, accessibility, security and/or integrity of the ASC training services. Additionally, they must not engage in any unlawful, illegal, fraudulent, or harmful activities, or use the training services for any such purposes. Any actions that interfere with the normal operation of the training activities are also strictly prohibited. .

8. Delivery of the service

ASC’s training services encompass training offerings, including e-courses, e-modules, webinars, and other appropriate forms of e-learning and blended learning. These training services are delivered through our online learning platform, where all participants can create their own personal user accounts. Certain training activities may lead to the issuance of a certificate, which will be provided through the ASC’s online learning platform.

ASC also makes sure that the training content is valid and complies with current laws and regulations at the time of purchase of the training. However, ASC reserves the right to remove or modify a training service if it becomes invalid due to changes in regulations or other circumstances. She may also adjust the training services at any time to reflect updates in relevant laws, regulatory requirements, or to implement minor technical improvements of the standard.

Additionally, we will manage your access to these services and offer support as needed. Other terms under this condition are outlined below:

8.1. ASC Instructors (and/or its agents or subcontractors) and employees involved into preparations and delivery of the learning activities shall:

8.1.1. Provide effective and accessible learning activities which meet the description and learning goals indicated.

8.1.2. Treat our customers fairly, respectfully, and without prejudice based on their age, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, handicap, religion, or country origin.

8.1.3. Examine any grievances or issues that customers report, and make sure that any disruptions are brought up with the relevant person.

9. Availability

9.1. ASC training services are available 24/7. Our support is available during regular office hours, from 09:00 to 17:00 CET.

9.2. Support inquiries can be submitted 24/7; however, we will primarily respond during the hours mentioned above. For assistance, please contact us via email at Training@asc-aqua.org.