Terms & Conditions

A Legal Disclaimer

HBCU Energy Institute Terms and Conditions

Effective Date: February 2025

Welcome to the HBCU Energy Institute ("Institute"). These Terms and Conditions govern your use of www.hbcuenergy.org ("Website"). By accessing or using this Website, you agree to comply with these terms. If you do not agree, please do not use the Website.

1. Introduction

The HBCU Energy Institute is dedicated to advancing energy sovereignty, sustainability, and workforce development within Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). This Website provides research, educational resources, policy insights, and collaborative opportunities.

2. Use of Website

Permitted Use: The Website is intended for informational, educational, and non-commercial use. Users may access content for research, learning, and awareness purposes.
Prohibited Use: Users shall not:
- Modify, distribute, or commercially exploit any content without prior written permission.
- Use the Website in any manner that could damage, disable, or overburden the site.
- Engage in unauthorized data mining, scraping, or similar data gathering activities.
- Violate any applicable local, state, federal, or international laws.

3. Intellectual Property & Copyright

Ownership: All original content on this Website, including text, images, graphics, reports, and research materials, is owned by the HBCU Energy Institute or its content providers and is protected under U.S. copyright laws.
Third-Party Content: The Website may include materials sourced from partners, contributors, or government agencies, including the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Such content remains the intellectual property of the respective owners and is used in compliance with applicable policies.
Usage Rights: Users may reference and share content for non-commercial purposes, provided proper attribution is given. Any commercial use or reproduction requires written permission.

4. Contributions and Submissions

Users who submit content (e.g., articles, comments, reports) grant the Institute a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to use, reproduce, and distribute the submitted material. The Institute reserves the right to review, modify, or remove any user-submitted content at its discretion.

5. External Links & Third-Party Websites

This Website may contain links to third-party websites, including governmental and partner organizations. The Institute does not endorse, control, or assume responsibility for the content, accuracy, or security of external sites. Users access third-party links at their own risk.

6. Disclaimer of Warranties

The information provided on this Website is for general informational purposes only. The Institute makes no warranties, express or implied, regarding the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of the content. The Website is provided "as is" without warranties of any kind, including but not limited to fitness for a particular purpose or non-infringement.

7. Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, the Institute, its affiliates, partners, or contributors shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages arising from the use or inability to use the Website or its content.

8. No Professional Advice

Nothing on this Website constitutes legal, financial, or professional advice. Users should seek independent professional consultation before making any decisions based on Website content.

9. Privacy Policy & Data Use

Use of this Website is also governed by our Privacy Policy, which outlines how user data is collected, stored, and processed. By using this Website, you agree to the terms of our Privacy Policy.

10. Changes to Terms & Conditions

The Institute reserves the right to update or modify these Terms and Conditions at any time without prior notice. Continued use of the Website after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the revised terms.

11. Governing Law

These Terms and Conditions shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the United States. Any disputes shall be resolved in the appropriate jurisdiction.

12. Contact Information

For questions or permissions regarding these Terms and Conditions, please contact:

HBCU Energy Institute
Info@hbcuenergy.org
2600 Virginia Ave., Suite 205

Washington, DC 20037  
[Website: www.hbcuenergy.org]

By accessing or using this Website, you agree to be bound by these Terms and Conditions.

Terms & Conditions - The Basics

Having said that, Terms and Conditions (“T&C”) are a set of legally binding terms defined by you, as the owner of this website. The T&C set forth the legal boundaries governing the activities of the website visitors, or your customers, while they visit or engage with this website. The T&C are meant to establish the legal relationship between the site visitors and you as the website owner.

T&C should be defined according to the specific needs and nature of each website. For example, a website offering products to customers in e-commerce transactions requires T&C that are different from the T&C of a website only providing information (like a blog, a landing page, and so on).

T&C provide you as the website owner the ability to protect yourself from potential legal exposure, but this may differ from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, so make sure to receive local legal advice if you are trying to protect yourself from legal exposure.

What to Include in the T&C Document

Generally speaking, T&C often address these types of issues: Who is allowed to use the website; the possible payment methods; a declaration that the website owner may change his or her offering in the future; the types of warranties the website owner gives his or her customers; a reference to issues of intellectual property or copyrights, where relevant; the website owner’s right to suspend or cancel a member’s account; and much, much more.

To learn more about this, check out our article “Creating a Terms and Conditions Policy”.