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Terms of Service

Last updated: March 2026

1. Agreement

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your access to and use of the peer evaluation platform and related services offered by Aleph Null LLC ("CoStudy," "we," or "us"). By accessing or using our Services, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree, you may not use the Services.

2. About the service

CoStudy is a peer evaluation and team management platform designed for higher education. The platform enables professors to run research-backed peer evaluations in their courses, providing students with structured feedback on collaboration skills and providing professors with real-time visibility into team dynamics.

Key capabilities include:

  • Customizable peer evaluation assessments with research-validated question templates
  • Roles-based evaluation tailored to student functional roles
  • Real-time team health dashboards for professors
  • Student feedback report cards
  • Native Canvas LTI 1.3 integration for roster sync and authentication
  • Formative check-ins and summative evaluations throughout the semester

3. User roles

CoStudy serves three types of users:

  • Professors (Course Administrators): Create and manage courses, configure evaluations, view dashboards, and access student evaluation data for their courses.
  • Students (End Users): Complete peer evaluations, view their own feedback report cards, and participate in formative check-ins. Students access CoStudy through their institution's Canvas LMS.
  • Institutions (Enterprise Customers): Department heads and administrators who manage CoStudy at the department or institutional level under a separate agreement.

4. Accounts and eligibility

You must be at least 18 years old or enrolled in a higher education institution to use the Services. Students under 18 who are enrolled in a higher education course may use CoStudy as directed by their professor.

You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials and for all activity under your account. You must provide accurate information when creating an account.

5. Canvas LTI integration

CoStudy integrates with institutional Canvas instances via the LTI 1.3 protocol. By connecting CoStudy to your Canvas course:

  • You authorize CoStudy to import your course roster and group assignments from Canvas
  • Students authenticate using their existing Canvas credentials; no separate CoStudy account is required
  • Grade data may be synced back to your Canvas gradebook at your direction

Your use of Canvas is governed by your institution's agreement with Instructure. CoStudy's LTI integration operates within the permissions granted by your institution's Canvas administrator.

6. Student data and FERPA

CoStudy treats all student data as educational records under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). We act as a school official with a legitimate educational interest.

  • Student evaluation data is only accessible to the professor of record and authorized CoStudy support staff
  • We do not sell, share, or monetize student data
  • We never charge students to use CoStudy
  • Our full data handling practices are described in our Privacy Policy

7. Acceptable use

You agree to use CoStudy in good faith for its intended educational purpose. Specifically, you agree to:

  • Provide honest and constructive feedback in peer evaluations
  • Not use evaluations to retaliate against, harass, or intimidate peers
  • Not submit fraudulent, deceptive, or deliberately misleading evaluation responses
  • Not attempt to de-anonymize peer feedback outside of the platform's intended design
  • Not interfere with the platform through automated scripts, bots, or malicious code
  • Not attempt to access data from courses you are not enrolled in or authorized to manage
  • Not copy, scrape, or bulk extract content from the platform

Violations of these terms may result in account suspension or termination.

8. Intellectual property

a. CoStudy content

The platform, including its design, question templates, research methodology, dashboards, and documentation, is owned by Aleph Null LLC and protected by copyright and intellectual property law. You are granted a limited, non-exclusive license to use the platform for its intended educational purpose.

b. User content

Evaluation responses, feedback, and other content submitted through the platform remain the intellectual property of the submitting user. You grant CoStudy a limited license to process, store, display, and aggregate this content as necessary to operate the Service. We may use de-identified, aggregated data for research and product improvement.

9. Pricing and payment

CoStudy is free for individual professors. The free tier includes full access to all core features with no limits on students or courses.

Department-level plans with additional administrative features are available under separate institutional agreements. Contact us for pricing.

We never charge students. Students access CoStudy at no cost through their institution's Canvas LMS.

10. Disclaimer of warranties

The Services are provided "as is" and "as available." CoStudy disclaims all warranties, express or implied, including warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. We do not guarantee uninterrupted or error-free service.

11. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Aleph Null LLC shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages arising from your use of the Services. Our aggregate liability is limited to the greater of $50 or the amount you paid CoStudy in the twelve months preceding the claim.

12. Termination

You may stop using CoStudy at any time. Professors may request deletion of their account and associated course data by contacting hello@costudy.co.

We may suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms or applicable law. Upon termination, your right to use the Services ceases immediately. Provisions regarding intellectual property, limitation of liability, and dispute resolution survive termination.

13. Modifications

We may update these Terms from time to time. We will notify users of material changes via email or through the platform. Continued use after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.

14. Governing law and dispute resolution

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Any disputes arising from these Terms or the Services shall be resolved through binding arbitration in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, conducted in English under the rules of JAMS. Each party bears its own costs.

You and CoStudy waive the right to a jury trial and to participate in class action proceedings.

15. Severability

If any provision of these Terms is found unenforceable, the remaining provisions continue in full force.

16. Entire agreement

These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy, constitute the complete agreement between you and CoStudy regarding use of the Services.

17. Contact us

For questions about these Terms, contact hello@costudy.co.

CoStudy is a product of Aleph Null LLC.