Edopia Online Terms and Policies
Edopia Online is an innovative community of students, parents, and educators. Like every community, we have a set of guidelines that outline how we work and interact. This ensures that everyone’s rights are respected and their responsibilities to the community are clearly understood.
What follows will not address every issue that may arise; However, we have attempted to provide universal guidelines and principles for our users by which to abide. If you wish to report a violation of any of the policies outlined below, have any questions or need assistance, please write to us through the Help Desk, which can be found in your Schoology account or directly to our school at info@edopia.org.
Is Edopia Online the Right Choice?
At Edopia Online, we believe that children are biologically predisposed to take charge of their own education. When provided with the freedom and means to pursue their own interests within a safe setting, they bloom and develop along diverse and unpredictable paths, acquiring the skills and confidence required to meet life’s challenges. Lessons, assignments, tests, and grades are aids and formative tools for the children, not an end in themselves. Edopia Online is the right choice for you if you want your child to:
● Have a well-rounded personality
● Define success for themselves
●Stay curious and actively seek new experiences
●Take positive risks
●Be comfortable asking for help from adults and peers
●Develop a habit of introspection and reflection
How We Choose Our Educators
Edopia Online educators are mentors for the learners, passing on their knowledge and skills and facilitating fun, holistic and self-directed learning experiences. These educators are expertly trained and are chosen based on the following:
● Experience and creativity
● Expertise and enthusiasm to teach in a specific field
● Commitment to a student-centered approach to learning using critical thinking, problem-solving, and engagement strategies
Our educators are top-notch professionals, fluent in written and spoken English with the technical expertise to run online classes.
Student Safety
At Edopia Online, we are serious about safety! All educators are partners in ensuring that the learning experience is safe for students. Any breaches of the safety guidelines by educators will result in investigation and possible removal. If you, as a parent, have any safety concerns about a child or their environment, report it immediately to Edopia Online through the Help Desk at Schoology, and we will follow up as a priority.
Class Management Safety: All educators are present in the classes from the beginning of class until it ends to ensure there are no lapses of safety. We also ask students to keep their video on for the whole lesson.
Technology Safety: Online classes are by invitation only and students join from within Schoology. Schoology accounts are password protected to prevent any outsiders from entering the class, so please do not share your password with anyone else as it can end with the suspension of our services. Educators always control the functionalities in the meetings to ensure that students cannot share inappropriate content.
Communication Safety: All communication between parents, students, and educators should take place through Schoology and the Student Affairs Coordinator. Educators are strictly prohibited from contacting students outside of the class to discuss personal issues or share their personal contact information. Parents must never interrupt an ongoing class to discuss their issues.
Class Content Safety: The content of what is taught can represent a safety risk when it is controversial, divisive, racist, vexing, or inappropriate in any way. Some of the key areas to avoid are mental health, drugs, and alcohol, religion, politics, and race when they are not specifically part of the course curriculum. If any of these topics are brought up in class by any student, the student will be warned that this is not appropriate in an Edopia Online classroom. If they persist, it will likely end in the removal of the student from the class and suspension/termination of their account.
Student Privacy Safety: No information about students, including their photo or their work outside of classes, will ever be shared by an educator. Edopia Online does not share personal contact details (phone, social media ID, email) amongst themselves. In case anything is transmitted via the student’s video of a personal nature (or in the background), the educator should immediately turn off the student’s camera and discuss the issue in the personal messaging forum of the video class.
Enrollment Policy
Parents can subscribe to our monthly after-school club through our Edopia Online website, but please note: Enrollment status is based upon timely payment clearance. Deadline to sign up is the last Friday of each month.
Students can only join a class at the start of the month, and enrollment for the month will be closed off by the fifth of each month. All classes run in monthly cycles. Please note that enrollment is not guaranteed after submission of the form and is subject to the availability of seats, and mid-month admissions won't be a practice.
We cap each of our classes at 12 students, meaning that there will not be more than 12 students for every teacher.
Classes are offered all year long, but please note that the educators may not always be the same, i.e. during the summer months or if/when an educator decides to take leave.
Local enrolment forms are for families residing within Pakistan and the international enrolment form is for families residing outside of Pakistan. Please make sure to fill out the correct form as per your current country of residence.
Prerequisites for Students
The students are expected to have basic at par grade-level skills, as a prerequisite and/or fall in their appropriate age cohort.
What your Subscription Covers
Class Access: The monthly subscription period starts from 24 hours after payment has been made via credit card.
Content Access: Your learner will only gain access to content posted in the classroom after your subscription begins. If you subscribe mid-month, your learner may be put on a waitlist for the beginning of next month.
Class Policy
Technology: Before classes, please make sure that you are familiar with Schoology. To help, our team has created an induction course that will guide you through the platform. Additionally, please make sure that your laptop or computer is sufficiently equipped with a working camera and microphone as Edopia Online will not be responsible for any classes (or class time) missed due to hardware or connectivity issues. We also ask that you find a quiet corner for your child so that they and the rest of the class can focus. In case you are facing any issues while logging in, please let us know info@edopia.org so that we can help you in resolving the issue.
Class Scheduling: The Literacy and Numeracy Core classes meet 4 times a week and the Nanodegree clubs meet once a week. The timetable is not flexible, and cannot be altered to suit specific requirements. Families must review the timetable in advance before signing up for the classes.
Federal Holidays: If a class falls on a holiday, Edopia Online will not offer a make-up class.
Timely Attendance: We expect students using our services to be on time for their classes.
Late Attendance: If a student is late for any reason, the educator will still remain online for the entirety of the class and will behave professionally. The educator is not, however, required to make up for lost time due to your child’s late arrival.
Student Absences: If a student is unsuccessful in attending a lesson, they can request their educator through Schoology to share materials. In such a case, the learner may join another cohort as a makeup class. Class recordings are for training purposes only and will not be provided to the learner.
Nanodegree Club Certificates: Upon parent request, we provide each student with certificates for Nanodegrees; however, at least 80% attendance is required.
Progress Reports: If you would like to be informed of your child’s progress, you can request a written report for the core subjects up to 4 times a year by contacting the educator through Schoology.
Parent-Teacher Meetings: If for any reason, you would like to meet with the teacher, a parent-teacher meeting can be requested; however, these meetings will have an additional cost of PKR 1000, and can only be scheduled on a Friday or Saturday.
Assignments: All disciplines have their own tabs on Schoology, and assignments must always be submitted via Schoology. Students will also receive feedback for their assignments via Schoology. The purpose of sending homework at Edopia is to help children become self-disciplined. Any homework that does not meet this goal is not sent. Parents are not expected to help children with homework. However, they must ensure that if homework is assigned, the child attempts it.
Payment Policy
We believe in offering flexibility. With Edopia Online, parents can customize depending on the needs of their child. Click here for all subscription options and prices.
How to Pay: When you sign up for a subscription, you will be asked to enter your credit card information. This credit card will be billed every month until a subscription is canceled. If you do not receive an invoice or if there is a discrepancy in the billed amount, please contact the admin through the Schoology Help Desk.
Discounts: Annual subscription purchases for any of the offerings are given a 20% discount.
Trials: The first class for all trial students in any course will be free of cost.
Suspended Enrollment: To remove the suspension from your enrollment, you are required to pay the fee bill with the late charges. Any classes missed owing to late payment will not be compensated.
Nonpayment of Dues: If there is a problem with the credit card, your account will be locked and you will not be able to access the class. Once dues have been cleared, our team will unlock your account, but you will not be offered make-up classes for the ones that have been missed due to nonpayment of dues.
Course Pricing: Pricing is subject to change, with prior notice from the school administration.
Refunds and Stopping your Subscription
Edopia Online will bill you each month that you are enrolled in a class, but you can stop your subscription at any time. You will receive a full refund if you stop your subscription within 24 hours of payment.
Once your first class meeting begins, you are no longer eligible for a full refund. Stopping your subscription after class begins or after the 24 hour period will stop any future charges, but will not result in a refund of your most recent payment.
To stop your subscription, click here: canceling subscription
Situations in which parents are entitled to a full/partial refund
Parents receive a full refund if they find that the educator has behaved inappropriately.
Situations in which parents are not entitled to a refund
Parents are not entitled to a refund if the learner misses a class for any reason. In such a case, the learner may join another cohort as a makeup class. Class recordings are for training purposes only and will not be provided to the learner.
If a child leaves Edopia Online in the middle of the month, they will not receive a refund for the remaining classes.
Adjusting your Payment Method
By changing your credit card on file in your Edopia Online account, you are changing the card associated with any active subscriptions. The new card will start to be charged on the next Sunday. To change credit card information, please contact the project head directly at fatimaasad@edopia.org.
Communication Policy
Our Communication Policy provides guidelines for all members of our community. We do our best to ensure that all interactions between educators and parents are safe and seamless.
If you have any issues with any user of our services, and if you are not sure that you will be able to handle a situation with composure, you are welcome to contact our support staff for help by writing to our team through the Schoology Help Desk or contacting the Project Head directly at fatimaasad@edopia.org.
Parent-Teacher Communication: Please be respectful of the educator and the rest of the students in the class, and refrain from interrupting the class for any reason. All communication with the educator should be directed through the Schoology platform. No teacher will be responsible for addressing any issue that is communicated by the parent directly during classes or via their email inbox.
In-Platform Communication: Edopia Online uses Schoology as our learning management system. Parents and students receive their Schoology IDs at the time of admission, and we use this platform to make all announcements. Regular updates, learning material, and assignments are posted on Schoology every week. The Schoology platform provides parents and students with the ability to leave messages, post respectful feedback, and access educational material intended for the student’s learning. In order to help educators maintain professionalism and to keep in line with these policies, we require all communication to happen within Schoology. Please note, however, that the educator may not respond before the next working day. To streamline all communication, we ask that parents contact the school by clicking the message icon on their screens (top right corner) and directing all their queries to the Help Desk. All communication via the Help Desk in Schoology can be monitored by Edopia Online, which means that we can ensure that parents and students receive timely responses to their questions. Edopia Online cannot be held responsible if, for some reason, an educator does not respond to any messages from parents/students that have not been communicated over Schoology.
Privacy: Do not ask for any user’s personal information, including but not limited to date of birth, phone number, email address, or National Identification number. Edopia Online will record video sessions of the class, which will be used primarily to i) ensure student and educator safety and ii) used by Edopia Online to provide feedback to the educator. These videos and recordings will not be used outside of Edopia Online. All courses and materials are owned by Edopia Online, and any unauthorized use could be legally held against you.
Professionalism: Contact made with users must be respectful and free from arguments. Every member of the Edopia Online community has a right to be respected for their individuality and members of our community are expected to treat educators with respect. Parents are not allowed to interject ongoing classes to talk to the teacher, no matter how brief the discussion is. The request for all meetings should be made via the Help Desk.
Student & Parent Code of Conduct
The Edopia Online team reserves the right to remove anyone from the community who does not follow these guidelines, upon formal inquiry.
Student Guidelines
●Every student has a right to be respected for their individuality and is expected to treat all others (students and educators) with that same respect.
●Time for each class is limited, so ensure that you come to the class prepared and stay focused on the topic being discussed.
●Come to every class on time.
●Video check-in is required from every student at the beginning of each class to verify their identity for safety purposes.
●Do not share any personal information in the classes (like address, phone numbers, online IDs etc) with other students or with educators for safety purposes.
Parent Guidelines
●Please support your child to understand the importance of appreciating diversity in others and behaving with respect at all times.
●Please help your child to be aware of their schedule, be prepared and be on time for classes.
●Ensure your child is familiar with online safety fundamentals, including not discussing their personal information with others.
●Feedback or questions are welcomed on Edopia Online’s classes, systems and interactions. However, parents are asked to also be respectful in their approach, i.e. never interrupt a class.
●Please keep all communication with other community members and teachers on Schoology.
Removal Policy
Our team may take strict action that may result in the removal of your learner from a class conducted by Edopia Online if we find that:
●You and/or the student continuously disrupt classes.
●You and/or the student have violated any of the other Edopia Online policies.
●Depending on the offense and the violation of terms, the situation might warrant a combination of two or more of the following actions, depending on the offense and the violation of our policies:
●Cancel your current and/or related classes, without issuing any course refunds
●Suspend you from using Edopia Online services for a set period of time
●Suspend or terminate your Edopia Online account
●Contact law enforcement or seek legal remedies
If you wish to report a violation of this Removal Policy or any other Edopia Online policies, or have any questions or need assistance, please contact our team through the Help Desk on Schoology.