MTA Online Terms & Conditions

Welcome to the MTA Online Learning Center, MTA’s online training and content library (hereafter referred to as “the Site”). These Terms and Conditions govern your access to and use of the Site and its contents, as defined below.

DEFINITIONS

For purposes of these Terms and Conditions, the following definitions apply:

"Site" means the MTA Online Learning Center, including all webpages, online courses, webinars, virtual events, digital resources, software, features, services, and related content made available by Michigan Townships Association through the platform or via other related MTA websites or the MTA database.

"Content" means all materials available on or through the Site, including, without limitation, courses, webinars, recordings, videos, audio, handouts, presentations, quizzes, assessments, downloadable resources, text, graphics, images, software, databases, documents, and all other educational or informational materials provided by MTA or its licensors.

"Subscription" means an annual MTA Online organizational subscription purchased by a township or other eligible organization that provides authorized users with access to designated online learning content and benefits during the applicable subscription term.

"Individual Account" means a personal user account created by an individual to purchase or access eligible MTA Online webinars, virtual events, courses, or other content that is not accessed through an organizational Subscription.

"Authorized User" means an individual who has been granted access to the Site either through an active organizational Subscription or through an Individual Account and who is authorized to use the Site in accordance with these Terms and Conditions.

AGREEMENT & GENERAL INFO

By using the Site, whether purchasing an MTA Online Subscription or participating in single webinars, virtual events, or other content, you agree to these terms and conditions, and our privacy policy, and agree to receive notices regarding your account, registration or use.

MTA may discontinue, change or update content, function or features on the Site at any time with or without notice.

MTA may change the Terms and Conditions at any time. You can review the most current version of the Terms and Conditions by clicking on the Site’s “Terms and Conditions” link from the homepage. If you continue to use this Site after we make changes to the Terms and Conditions, you are signifying your acceptance of the new terms and conditions. You are responsible for checking these terms periodically for any changes. These Terms and the Privacy Policy constitute the full agreement. If one provision is unenforceable, the remainder stays in effect. Failure to enforce one provision does not waive future enforcement.

Using the Site constitutes your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions and MTA's Privacy Policy (which is hereby included by reference) and is a legally binding electronic agreement.If you do not agree, please do not use the Site. For questions related to Terms & Conditions or Privacy Policy, please contact MTA at 517-321-6467.

REGISTRATION AND ACCOUNT INFORMATION 

Registration and/or membership is optional if you want to browse the Site and access course descriptions. To purchase an individual product, utilize a township/organization-wide subscription, or participate in any Site offerings or events, you must have a valid email address and provide contact information including user name, township/organization, title and any other information required by the Site, such as billing information for purchases, and be logged in. (Your township/organization may establish an account on your behalf when providing appropriate contact information.) Note that the MTA Online account is different from your account to access the MTA Member Website, Community Connection, database or MTA Online Salary Survey.

Users are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of their login credentials and for all activity occurring under their account. Users may not assign or transfer their rights without MTA's consent.

MTA ONLINE SUBSCRIPTION TERMS

MTA Online Subscriptions (Annual township/organization group packages): Annual subscriptions begin at the date of purchase and are valid for one (1) year. Most Content in your township’s subscription will be available for the entire year, however some exceptions may apply. Please see your township’s subscription package confirmation email for details. Access is intended only for current authorized personnel of the subscribing organization. MTA reserves the right to revoke access when an individual is no longer affiliated with the subscribing organization.

Access to Content in your MTA Online Subscription: You may not use your account or share login credentials to give access to a person who is not covered under your subscription package for Content provided by a subscription.

Cancelling an MTA Online Subscription: If you choose to cancel your subscription package early, access to the subscription benefits ends upon the date MTA receives cancellation notice. No refunds, prorated or otherwise, will be issued for the unused portion of the subscription period. Single webcasts or other virtual events cannot be cancelled by the subscription holder, and refunds will not be issued if cancelled.

INDIVIDUAL ACCOUNTS

Individual Account (to purchase webcasts or other virtual events without, or not included in, your annual subscription): Individuals affiliated with member townships or non-member townships/organizations, that do not have an MTA Online Subscription may setup individual account to purchase eligible webinars, virtual events, courses or other Content.

Access to courses purchased Individually: You may not use your account or share login credentials to give access to Content to anyone else.

Cancelling an Individual purchase: MTA cancellation policies for individually purchased live or recorded virtual events may vary; please see confirmation email for full details. Your registration may be transferred to another individual with your township or organization, if the transfer request is made prior to viewing webcast or participating in the virtual event.

Accessibility: MTA is committed to providing reasonable accessibility accommodations. Users needing accommodations should contact [email protected]. 

 
TOWNSHIP GOVERNANCE ACADEMY (TGA) COURSES

Individuals taking TGA courses via webcast for credit toward the certification must be enrolled in TGA in advance OR enrolled in the program within six months of starting the webcast course. To receive credits, the individual must log into their account, fully view all components of the course and satisfactorily complete all quizzes and course assignments, including a Practical Application Commitment form and project, with completed final summary.

TERMS OF PAYMENT

Products and content on the Site may be purchased through MTA Online Township/Organizational Subscriptions or Individual Accounts. Payment may be by credit card or check. Please allow 1-2 weeks processing for check payments. Member pricing applies to Authorized Users affiliated with active MTA-member townships only. All others must pay non-member prices.

CONTENT OWNERSHIP

Collectively, “Content” is defined as all content available on or through the Site, including without limitation, courses, handouts and other resources, headlines, text, files, images (such as photos, icons, visual interfaces, graphics, and design), audio and audiovisual works, software, databases, information, and the compilation, arrangement, and assembly of such Content with hyperlinks, and all other elements provided by MTA.

By using the Site, you acknowledge all Content has been developed, compiled, prepared, revised, selected, and arranged by MTA and its partners through the application of methods and standards of judgment developed and applied through the expenditure of substantial time, effort, and money and constitutes valuable intellectual property of MTA and such others. MTA, its partners and suppliers reserve all rights under intellectual property law and in any content that is on the Site. 

With purchase of content or a subscription, MTA grants you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to access and use the Site and its Content solely for your internal educational purposes in accordance with these Terms. 

Users may not attempt to gain unauthorized access to the Site, interfere with security features, scrape or harvest data, or use automated means to access content except as expressly permitted.

Permitted and Restricted Use and Sharing of Content Content and materials on the Site may not be reproduced, modified, translated, adapted,  used for creating derivative works, republished, distributed (i.e. copied or shared) with others (inside or outside your township/organization), except under the provisions of an MTA Online Subscription. As an MTA Online Subscription benefit, we encourage you to share and collaborate with your entire township team. However, content and materials must retain all copyright and other proprietary notices and carry an MTA-approved attribution. Users may not remove or alter copyright, trademark, or proprietary notices. Reproducing/distributing or otherwise sharing outside of your township/organization is strictly prohibited. Individual Account holders cannot distribute or share MTA content with anyone.

Ownership of Content That You Supply If you post any content in the comment or other public area of the Site, you grant us the right to use, copy, display, perform, distribute, modify, adapt, abridge, exploit, and promote this content in any way and in any commercial or non-commercial medium or form without charge.

ACCEPTABLE USE

You may only use the Site for lawful purposes and only in ways consistent with the law. MTA may allow you to supply comments or content for the Site that can be accessed and viewed by others. In doing so, you agree not to post any content that violates these terms including our code of conduct described within. MTA reserves the right to suspend or terminate access immediately if it reasonably believes these Terms have been violated or continued access presents operational, security, or legal risks. Content that violates applicable rules will be removed.

You agree that MTA is not liable for comments provided by others. Nor do we have a duty to screen content that you, or others, may supply or post. We reserve the right to remove any content for any reason at any time.

To ensure a positive and productive experience for all users, MTA reserves sole discretion to determine whether conduct violates these Terms. Any individual participating under an MTA Online Subscription or any Individual Account holder could lose access to recorded content and/or may be removed from a live virtual event for any violation of Terms. An individual participating under an MTA Online Subscription may also lose access to the township’s subscription privileges, as well as any rights to a refund for the content or event. 

MTA will not tolerate the following unacceptable behaviors:

Unless expressly authorized by MTA, users may not upload, submit, or use MTA content to train, fine-tune, or improve any artificial intelligence or machine learning system, or use automated tools to extract, reproduce, or generate derivative works from MTA content.

Participants may not record, photograph, screenshot, livestream, or otherwise reproduce any live or recorded event, including written questions or chats/comments, without the prior written consent of MTA.

Any type of Spam (verbally or in chats), including unsolicited and unrelated messages from human and non-human sources.

Harassment, bullying, and intimidation, defined as:

• Negative comments about race/ethnicity, gender and gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, age, religion, physical appearance, citizenship, or other protected categories
• Intimidation or threats, including sharing images or text, especially to threaten
• Unwelcome sexual attention, including sharing images or text especially to sexually harass
• Any activity meant to convey or cultivate hostility
• Personal insults or other attacks
• Encouraging the above behavior

MTA ONLINE PRIVACY POLICY

Your use of this Site signifies your continuing consent to the MTA Privacy Policy, which you can examine any time by clicking on the “MTA Online Privacy Policy” link found on the MTA Online Learning Center home page. Personal information that you supply to MTA, including quiz and form completion, attendance tracking, certificates, analytics, cookies, and any information about your use of the Site that we obtain will be subject to the Privacy Policy.

Electronic Delivery Consent You agree that MTA may provide you notices and other information electronically concerning this Site or products you have ordered or expressed interest in, including notice to any email address that you may provide.

Partners, Suppliers, Advertisers, and Third-Party Sites The Site may include links to third party web sites. You agree that MTA is not responsible or liable for any content or other materials on third party sites. You also agree that we are not responsible for content or claims supplied by our partners, suppliers or advertisers. Nor is MTA responsible for any transactions or dealings between you and any third party or any advertiser, including but not limited to claim or loss.

VIOLATION OF TERMS AND CONDITIONS

If we reasonably believe that you are using an MTA Online Subscription or your Individual Account to engage in activity that violates applicable law or any provision of these Terms and Conditions, we may immediately terminate your individual user account, with subsequent notification, and you will not be entitled to any credit or refund of prepaid fees. The township/organization subscription may continue for others not found in violation. The following survive termination: copyright, payment obligations, disclaimers, limitation of liability and indemnification.

DISCLAIMER

ALL SERVICES AND INFORMATION, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE ONLINE RESOURCES, ARE PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS AND ARE INTENDED SOLELY FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES. Due to the rapidly changing nature of the laws, regulations, court decisions and administrative guidance, and our use in some instances of information provided by outside sources, MTA makes no warranty or guarantee concerning the accuracy or reliability of the content at this site or at other sites to which we link. Content provided in any format should not be considered legal advice. MTA shall not be liable for delays or failure to provide services resulting from causes beyond its reasonable control, including internet outages, cyberattacks, natural disasters, labor disputes, governmental actions, or failures of third-party service providers.

MTA EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THESE SERVICES AND INFORMATION DO NOT CONSTITUTE LEGAL ADVICE, AND THEIR USE IS NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR LAWYERS’ OR A FIRM’S INDEPENDENT PROFESSIONAL JUDGMENT. MTA ASSUMES NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR PROVIDING INTERNET ACCESS.

Limitation of Liability

MTA (including their employees, officers, directors, agents, sponsors, allied service providers, and contributors), are not liable for any loss, injury, claim, liability or damage resulting from errors or omissions in the materials and services, any interruption in providing online materials, or occurrences resulting from the use of the MTA online materials. MTA is not liable for any direct, special, indirect, incidental or consequential damages of any kind (including attorneys’ fees) arising in connection with the use of the online materials. MTA's total liability shall not exceed the amount paid by the user for the applicable product or subscription during the preceding twelve months.

INDEMNIFICATION AND JURISDICTION

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, you agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless MTA (including our employees, officers, directors, agents, sponsors, allied service providers, and contributors) from all liabilities, claims, and expenses, including attorney’s fees, that arise from your use or misuse of this Site. We reserve the right, at our own expense, to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter otherwise subject to indemnification by you, in which event you will cooperate with us in asserting any available defenses. 

These Terms and Conditions shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Michigan, without regard to its conflict of laws principles. You agree that any legal action or proceeding arising out of or relating to these Terms, the Site, or your use of the Site shall be brought exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Ingham County, Michigan, and you consent to the personal jurisdiction and venue of those courts.