Do You Need an Online Course Agreement Template?
If you’re thinking about putting your teaching expertise online, you may be wondering if you need an online course agreement template.
The answer is yes!
As a business lawyer and seven-figure blogger myself, I have seen many course creators getting into legal trouble and issues for not having proper terms and conditions for their online courses before they start selling online.
And they have also lost thousands of dollars for this legal mistake.
In this blog post, I’ll explain why course creators need this terms and conditions template before the sale of any online course, how it protects them and their students, how to create it, and what could go wrong legally if they don’t have this agreement template in place.
This template provides you with the complete information as well as required information under contract law to protect your course and online business legally.
Save and use this as a complete guide to creating an online course agreement in just minutes WITHOUT any stress or overwhelm.
Table of Contents
Why You Need an Online Course Agreement Template
As a course creator, it’s important to have a legally binding agreement in place with your students.
This entire agreement should outline the terms and conditions of the course to the fullest extent, including the student’s rights and responsibilities, how you protect their personal information, as well as the expectations of the instructor for the program participants.
Having such information in this agreement protects BOTH you and your students to the maximum extent in the event that there are any issues with the course.
You have seen Terms and Conditions for courses (another name for the same legal document) and you also need Terms and Conditions on your website (for different reasons) as you can see in this blog post.
If you’d rather watch a video on this topic than read it, then click below.
5 Important Reasons Why You Need an Online Course Agreement?
First, an online course agreement is a contract between a student and you (the creator of the course).
This agreement outlines the terms of the online course, including the price, duration, and other important details.
For example, here are 5 big reasons why you need to have an online course agreement in place:
1. An online course agreement helps protect your online course content and confidential information.
2. An online course agreement helps ensure that your students are learning the material you intend for them to learn.
3. An online course agreement helps prevent online cheating and plagiarism, so the property of the course provider is safe.
4. An online course agreement helps you enforce your online course rules and regulations against someone who violates the provisions of this agreement.
5. An online course agreement helps you resolve online course disputes on reasonable grounds between you and your students without hefty legal fees.
Related Post – How to License Content and Template You’ll Need
What are the other names for an Online Course Agreement?
You may have seen so many different names for an Online Course Agreement under general contract principles, such as below. These are all used interchangeably to refer to the Online Course Agreement, such as:
- Terms and conditions template for online courses
- Online course agreement template
- The online course development agreement
- Online course terms of use
- Terms and conditions for online courses
- General terms and conditions for online and taught courses
- E-course terms and conditions agreement
- Online course contract
- Online course disclaimer template
- Online course terms and conditions
- Online course service agreement template
and more!
What Should be Included In Your Online Course Agreement?
There are many important things you need to include in your online course agreement template (aka terms and conditions for courses).
First, you’ll want to list the terms and conditions of the course. This should include things like the length of the course, refund policy, payment terms, etc.
You’ll also want to include a section on intellectual property rights, which will protect your ownership of the course material.
Finally, you’ll want to have a section that outlines the disclaimer of warranties and liability. This will protect you from any legal liabilities that may arise from your online course.
Let’s talk about some of those crucial legal clauses you must have in your e-course terms and conditions agreement:
13 Crucial Clauses to Include in Your Online Course Agreement Template
An online course agreement template should include the following:
– The name of the online course, description, and effective date
– The price of the online course
– The duration of the online course
– The cancellation policy and modification policy of the online course terms
– The methods of payment (credit card, PayPal, etc) for the online course including your course fee and any payment plan you offer
-The annual subscription plans of the program if your course offers it or maybe you want to charge annual subscription fees or membership fees?
– The terms and conditions of the online course including intellectual property protection and program features
– The refund policy for the online course to provide a refund of any portion of the fees (if applicable)
– The money-back-guarantee legal clause if you offer it
-Your website terms and the use of the online course provisions
– The copyright notice for the online course to protect your ownership rights
– The disclaimer for the online course acts as a limitation of liability and lets your students know that the information shared is for educational purposes only and doesn’t constitute professional advice
– Your contact details, so your students can easily reach you for additional questions
–Testimonials release if you are going to use your students’ testimonials, photos, videos, etc
-The course termination policy that protects you in the event of such termination
-The force majeure provision to provide an exception to liability arising from acts of God.
and more!
How To Create An Online Course Agreement Template
As you can see, there’s A LOT of information that needs to be included in your terms and conditions template for online courses, and that’s why it’s NEVER a wise idea to ever grab a free legal template online thinking it will protect you as the course creator.
As a business lawyer, I have personally audited the free legal templates out there and have always found them to be missing key legal provisions exposing you and your business to risk, and you have no idea who wrote them in the first place (or if they will be enforceable in court).
It’s always a mistake, and just to show you, here are 50+ entrepreneurs who do NOT trust free legal templates to protect their business.
So how do you create your online course agreement WITHOUT having to spend thousands of dollars hiring a lawyer?
Creating your online course agreement is now super easy with this template. This online course terms and conditions template is written by a lawyer (aka me!) but won’t cost you an arm or leg.
In other words, you get lawyer-level protection without the hefty legal fees!
Online Course Agreement Template (Written by a Lawyer & Entrepreneur)
As an entrepreneur and lawyer selling digital products myself, I understand what can go wrong legally!
A lot of course creators have reached out to me frustrated and overwhelmed with trying to put together terms and conditions for their online courses on their own.
Creating online course terms of use can be quite time-consuming and overwhelming! And if you don’t get it right, you could end up making costly legal mistakes.
That’s why I put together this online course agreement template (aka Terms and Conditions template for course creators). It’s the ultimate legal protection for a course that will prevent dispute of any kind!
It’s a done-for-you legal template that you need to sell your courses and avoid lawsuits. I created this template, so you can easily and quickly protect your course, avoid legal issues with your students, and ensure that your business is protected!
You could try to do it yourself and risk making costly mistakes, or you could use this template and be confident that everything is covered.
Take a look at what my customer, Ling, has to say about my legal templates, including this one!
It also includes 5 incredible bonuses worth $600 absolutely free! (The bonuses alone are worth purchasing the template).
What is Included in this Terms and Conditions Template (for Course Creators)
Unlike the free legal templates that are not comprehensive enough to protect you as the course creator, the terms of this agreement template will protect your course and online business right away, giving you instant peace of mind!
Here’s everything you get in this Online Course Agreement Template:
1. Terms and Conditions (aka Terms of Purchase) template for Courses – a detailed contract template (13 pages) that you can use right away with your customers to outline the use of the program and your course! Simply include these terms on your website or course platform of choice, and have your customers click to accept them BEFORE purchasing your course. $700 VALUE
2. BONUS #1: Grant of Rights & Testimonials Release, so you can use your customer’s photos, videos, and testimonials for your course legally without strict liability and owing them money. $100 VALUE
3. BONUS #2: The Lawful use of your course and website clause is needed to protect your site from liability in case somebody does something illegal on your website or with your course. This could be anything from hacking into another user’s account to posting offensive material. The clause will state that the user agrees to only use the site for lawful purposes and will indemnify you against any damages that may result from their misuse of the site. $200 VALUE
4. BONUS #3: Third-party links disclaimer so that you are not liable for the third parties related services and affiliate links you share in your course and also ensure compliance with the Federal Trade Commission rules. $100 VALUE
5. BONUS #4: Mandatory Arbitration clause is included as part of your Terms and Conditions to reduce your risk of legal liability and costs if a dispute arises, so you can use a single arbitrator instead of going to court. $100 VALUE
6. BONUS #5: Money Back Guarantee legal clause – if you offer money-back guarantee to your students, then you need this additional clause to outline your policy. $100 VALUE
You simply fill in the highlighted blanks of the template as instructed, and can begin using it right away! It’s plug-and-play saving you tons of valuable time and money.
If you hired a lawyer (like me) to put together this online course agreement template, it would easily cost you thousands of dollars but you’ll be amazed to know how affordable this template is!
Not only do you save thousands of dollars in legal fees where you do not have to hire a law firm for legal advice, but can use the template as many times as you wish in your business.
I’m known to over-deliver as you can see from 100’s of love notes and testimonials here from entrepreneurs using my legal templates around the world.
Also, by signing up as an affiliate here and earning a generous 40% commission on each sale, you can quickly and easily recoup your investment!
Look at this example of my customer Adrian here who barely spent a few hundred dollars on my legal templates and already earned her investment back 20x!! That’s correct.
Learn more about our affiliate program here, and watch Adrian’s video below to discover the 3 secret ways she earns money from my affiliate program each month, even with a small blog. You can make this kind of money too!
What Could Go Wrong without an Online Course Agreement Template?
If you don’t have an online course agreement template in place, you could be opening yourself up to a number of legal problems.
First, without this agreement template, your intellectual property rights are not fully protected. This could lead to someone stealing or copying your content without your permission.
Additionally, without this template, you could be held liable for any damages that occur as a result of your online course (e.g., if a student is injured while taking your course). So, it’s important to have this template in place to protect yourself from any potential legal problems.
Download This Terms and Conditions Template for your online course…
- To protect your business from legal action: If you don’t have terms and conditions in place for your courses, you risk being sued if something goes wrong. For instance, if a student sues you for breach of contract or negligence, you must be able to demonstrate that you had proper terms and conditions (online course agreement) in place that the student agreed to.
2. To lay out your course rules: Having terms and conditions for a course allows you to lay out the course rules so that students know what is expected of them. For example, if the student requests a refund, you must include a refund policy.
3. To safeguard your intellectual property: If you have created unique course materials, you should make sure to state in your standard terms that they are the property of the course provider (aka you!) and ensure that there’s no violation of the copyright. Including terms and conditions stating that the materials are your property will assist in ensuring that they are not copied or used without your permission for derivative works.
4. To limit your liability: As a course provider, you may be held liable for any damages, personal injury, or losses incurred by a student as a result of taking your course. You can reduce the risk of being held liable for any claims by including terms and conditions that limit your liability and letting your students know they own risk, and it’s their sole responsibility for what they do with the course content.
5. To ensure that your courses are legal: A number of laws, including the Consumer Protection Act and the Data Protection Act, apply to courses. You can ensure that your courses are legal and compliant by including terms and conditions that comply with the applicable law.
6. To keep your students happy: If you have terms and conditions in place, your students will know what to expect from your course and will be happy with the service that you provide. This will encourage them to continue taking your courses and recommend them to others.
Obviously, any business that sells courses MUST have course terms and conditions. And this online course service agreement template allows you to create an online course agreement with your students in just minutes!
Watch WHY thousands of entrepreneurs (like you) LOVE my legal templates and you can subscribe to my YouTube channel here:
You also get free access to our private Facebook support group here.
Grab your copy of the Terms and Conditions template for online courses here.
How to Create Course Content 10X Faster?
Now that you know how to legally protect your course with my online course agreement template here, as a bonus pro tip, I wanted to share this incredible tool to help you create your course content 10x faster!
This is an AI tool that can help you create course content faster. You can use Jasper to brainstorm ideas, organize your thoughts, find resources and create outlines for your course.
Also, if you need help learning how to sell or market your course to make six figures then check out this course. Here are some more helpful tips to make millions by selling a course.
So many of you emailed and thanked me for sharing this incredible tool to produce content faster in your biz.
You have to try it for free if you haven’t already.
Many business owners don’t want to reveal their secret tips or tools but not me!
When I find something that truly helps my business in a big way, I share it with you openly!
THIS TOOL can also write Facebook ads, Google ads, copywriting frameworks, emails, landing page copy, and more. I personally use it daily and you can:
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You won’t have to mess around writing copy anymore, because you can do it with this tool instead.
Click here to try it for free!
Final Thoughts on Online Course Agreement Template (aka Terms and Conditions for Online Courses)
As a course creator, it’s important to have an online course agreement template in place. A lawyer-drafted course agreement template like this one will protect both you and your students by outlining the terms and conditions of the course, as well as by disclaiming any warranty or liability on your part for any third party.
It also helps your online students to understand their rights and responsibilities.
You won’t have to waste time figuring out how to create an online course agreement with your students. By following terms of this template, you can make your life easy, so that you can focus on creating great content for your course!
If you don’t have this online course agreement template in place already, be sure to get one as soon as possible to protect yourself from any potential legal problems down the road.
Related Video: 13 Costly Legal Mistakes to Avoid in Business
Related Blog Posts to Online Course Agreement Template
In addition to the online course agreement template, you will need this terms and conditions template for your website and other digital products as well. You also need three legal pages on your website (Privacy Policy, Disclaimer, and Terms and Conditions), so make sure to grab a legal bundle here to ensure compliance.
Similarly, if you are creating an ebook or printables then you’ll need this Copyright Notice and Disclaimer template to protect it.
Check out this legal tips page of helpful blog posts on various legal and business topics.
Here are a few helpful blog posts that you should read next:
- 3 Must Have Legal Pages for Website and Online Business
- Lawyer’s Guide to ADA Website Compliance – Use this checklist
- 16 DIY Legal Templates for Business Owners
- 6 Essential Business Contracts Every Entrepreneur Needs and Why
- CCPA Compliance for Your Website
Sign up for your free legal guide to avoid the 3 common legal mistakes I see entrepreneurs making all the time!
I plan to create some online courses on one of my blogs, thanks for sharing these template which I will check out when am ready.
Sounds great, John! Good luck creating your online course in the future 🙂