Payment Terms and Conditions
Student Payments
Student can use a one-time trial period of up to a maximum of 3 weeks, in which they can submit solutions to assignments for free.
After the trial period is over, students must purchase a subscription in order to be able to submit solutions to assignments in CrowdGrader. The subscription gives access to CrowdGrader for six months, and can be renewed; it does not renew automatically.
The enrollment fee is non-refundable, even in case the student has not submitted any solution to assignments during the enrollment period.
Instructor Payments
Instructors may be required to pay when they create or edit an assignment, according to the new type of the assignment.
Changing the Assignment Type
Once an assignment has been created, instructors can change the assignment type according to the following rules:
Conversion from instructor-supported to student-supported. Instructors can change the assignment type from instructor-supported to student-supported only as long as no submissions to the assignment have been made. This ensures that all students join the assignment under the same conditions (namely, they all need to use a trial period or pay the subscription fee).
Conversion to instructor-supported. Any assignment can be modified to any instructor-supported type (free, medium, or large), provided the number of submissions that have already been made is no larger than the maximum allowed by the new assignment type.
Example 1: If an assignment has already received 67 submissions, and was created of type instructor-supported large, it is possible to change its type to instructor-supported medium. The instructor who paid for the large assignment will receive a partial refund.
Prices
The price for a student enrollment or instructor-supported assignment is the one displayed at www.crowdgrader.org at the moment the payment is requested by the Service. While we strive to ensure that the prices listed on the pricing page are accurate, the nature of software and documentation updates makes it unfeasible to guarantee a match at all times.
Upgrades
If an instructor wishes to upgrade an instructor-supported assignment to a larger size, the instructor will pay the price difference between the larger and the current size. See the discussion below for what happens if CrowdGrader pricing changes between the time of original purchase, and the time of the upgrade.
Refunds
Enrollment fees for student-supported assignments are not refundable.
For instructor-supported assignments, when an instructor converts an assignment from a more expensive to a cheaper one, if the conversion is permitted (see above rules), a refund for the price difference is issued. See the discussion below for what happens if CrowdGrader pricing changes between the time of original purchase, and the time of the upgrade.
Example 2: If an instructor has created and paid for a large instructor-supported assignment, and the assignment is not needed, the instructor can convert it to free and receive a full refund (as long as fewer submissions to it have been made than the maximum allowed).
Beneficiaries of the Refund
Refunds are paid out to the users who made the original payments, and no user is refunded more than the user originally paid. This is true even if the refund is caused by the actions of another user, such as another assignment manager.
Example 3: Jane creates and pays for a large instructor-sponsored assignment. The assignment is later deemed not needed, and another assignment manager, Joe, changes its size to Free. Then Jane (and not Joe) is refunded for the amount originally paid.
When more than one user has paid for the assignment, the latest payment is refunded first, and in general, refunds are paid out according to reverse chronological order of payments. No user is refunded more than the user has paid; if there is money left after the last paying user has been fully refunded, previous-paying users are refunded in turn.
Example 4: Suppose Joe creates a medium instructor-supported assignment, paying $7.99, and Jane later converts this to a large assignment, paying $13.99 - $7.99 = $6.00.
If Helen, who also manages the assignment, converts the assignment back to medium size, then Jane, as the last one who paid, receives the $6.00 refund.
Example 5: Suppose Joe creates a medium instructor-supported assignment, paying $7.99, and Jane later converts this to a large assignment, paying $13.99 - $7.99 = $6.00.
This assignment is later deemed unnecessary, and its type is changed to free before any submissions are made.
Jane is then refunded $6.00, and Joe is refunded $7.99.
Price changes
If prices change between the time when a service is purchased, and an upgrade or refund is desired, upgrade prices and refund amounts for instructor-supported assignments are computed as follows.
Upgrades: The price of an upgrade from size X to size Y is equal to the current price of Y, minus the lesser of the current price of X and the price originally paid for X.
Refunds: The amount refunded by changing assignment type from size X to size Y is equal to the lesser of the current price of X and the price originally paid for X, and the current price of Y.
Example 6: A medium assignment costs $7.99, and a large one costs $14.99.
John creates and pays for a medium instructor-supported assignment.
Prices then become cheaper, and a medium assignment costs $6.99, while a large one costs $12.99.
When John decided to upgrade to a large assignment, he must pay $12.99 - min($7.99, $6.99) = $6.00.
Example 7: John creates and pays for a large instructor-supported assignment, at a price of $13.99; at the time, medium assignments cost $7.99 and large ones $13.99.
Time passes, and CrowdGrader becomes cheaper, so that medium assignment costs $6.99 and large ones $11.99.
When Jane changes the assignment type from large to medium, John, who originally paid, receives a refund of min($11.99, $13.99) - $6.99 = $5.00.
Example 8: John creates and pays for a large instructor-supported assignment, at a price of $13.99.
Prices later increase, so that the cost of a large assignment becomes $15.99.
When John decided the assignment is no longer needed and changes it to free, he receives a refund of min($13.99, $15.99) = $13.99.
Example 9: Jane creates and pays for a large instructor-supported assignment, at a price of $13.99; when she does so, a medium instructor-supported assignment is $7.99.
Prices later increase, so that a medium assignment costs $9.99 and a large one $16.99.
If Jane decides to change the assignment type to medium, she is refunded min($13.99, $16.99) - $7.99 = $6.00.
Payment Processing
CrowdGrader processes its payments via Stripe. When you enter your payment information for processing, you are entering into a transaction directly with Stripe and you are governed by their terms and conditions as well as privacy policy with respect to the information you share with them. CrowdGrader LLC does not have access to your credit card or other payment information.