Terms of Service & User Agreement

📜 Legal Status & Acceptance of Agreement

This Terms of Service and User Agreement (“Agreement”) constitutes a legally binding contract entered into by and between the Uva Institute of Business Management (UIBM) (hereinafter referred to as the “Institute”, “We”, “Us”, or “Our”) and the individual accessing or utilizing the platform (hereinafter referred to as the “User”, “Student”, or “You”).

By accessing, browsing, registering an account, purchasing a course, uploading payment slips, or logging into the UIBM Learning Management System (LMS) at uibm.lk, you expressly and unconditionally acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agreed to be legally bound by this Agreement in full conformity with:

• ✓
  The Electronic Transactions Act, No. 19 of 2006 of Sri Lanka, establishing the legal validity of electronic contracts, digital signatures, and electronic communications.
• ✓
  The Consumer Affairs Authority Act, No. 9 of 2003, governing consumer contracts, digital service delivery, and institutional fair trade.
• ✓
  All applicable statutory, civil, and commercial laws of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.

👤 Eligibility & User Contractual Capacity

Enrollment in professional, diploma, and executive courses at UIBM requires full legal contractual capacity under the Roman-Dutch and Statutory Laws of Sri Lanka:

• ✓
  Age of Majority: You must be at least eighteen (18) years of age to enter into this Agreement independently.
• ✓
  Minors (Ages 16–18): Prospective learners between the ages of 16 and 18 are permitted to enroll only with the explicit, verifiable written consent and co-signature of a legal parent or guardian, who shall assume full financial and legal responsibility for compliance with this Agreement.
• ✓
  Consumer Status: The User must legally qualify as a bona fide “Consumer” engaging in genuine educational and professional development.

🎓 Academic Integrity & Certification Governance

As an internationally accredited higher education institution holding CPD UK (#789124), USDLA, and IVETA alliances, UIBM maintains an uncompromising zero-tolerance academic integrity protocol.

1. Identity Verification Requirements

Official certification requires verifiable confirmation of legal identity:

• ✓
  Submission of a clear, authentic copy of your National Identity Card (NIC) or valid International Passport is mandatory prior to assessment evaluation and certificate dispatch.
• ✓
  The graduate's name printed on certificates and digital transcripts must strictly and exactly match the legal identification document. Post-issuance name alterations, aliases, or modifications are strictly prohibited.

2. Strictly Prohibited Academic Misconduct

The following practices are categorized as major academic infractions:

• ⚠️
  Plagiarism: Submitting work, essays, or assessments authored by others without authentic citation and attribution.
• ⚠️
  Contract Cheating & Proxy Testing: Paying, soliciting, or permitting third parties to sit examinations, complete quizzes, or author assignments on your behalf.
• ⚠️
  Unauthorized AI Submissions: Generating entire assessment responses via artificial intelligence engines (e.g., ChatGPT) without authorized pedagogical instruction.
• ⚠️
  Assessment Distribution: Copying, screenshotting, transmitting, or publishing examination questions, answer keys, or course evaluation rubrics.

3. Mandatory Criteria for Certificate Award

Official certificates bearing unique verification IDs and QR codes are issued exclusively upon fulfilling all three conditions:

• ✓
  100% completion of all designated online curriculum modules and video sessions.
• ✓
  Successful completion of all module assessments, quizzes, and the final comprehensive examination exceeding the minimum passing threshold (typically 65%–70%).
• ✓
  Complete settlement of all administrative tuition fees, enrollment dues, and examination charges.

💻 Cybersecurity & Acceptable Use Policy

UIBM enforces high-grade technical security, continuous behavioral telemetry, and IP logging across its Learning Management System. Any unauthorized penetration, automated harvesting, or interference will be prosecuted under the Computer Crimes Act, No. 24 of 2007 of Sri Lanka.

Prohibited Cyber Operations:

• 🛑
  Initiating SQL injections, cross-site scripting (XSS), denial of service (DoS), or server exploit vectors.
• 🛑
  Deploying web scrapers, automated spiders, scrap bots, or unauthorized API querying tools against LMS endpoints.
• 🛑
  Reverse engineering, decompiling, or attempting to extract proprietary code from the LMS platform.
• 🛑
  Credential harvesting, brute-forcing passwords, or accessing another student's portal account.

🛡️ Intellectual Property & Content Ownership

All academic, pedagogical, visual, and digital assets available on the UIBM platform constitute the exclusive proprietary intellectual property of Uva Institute of Business Management (UIBM), fully protected under the Intellectual Property Act, No. 36 of 2003 of Sri Lanka and international copyright conventions.

Protected proprietary assets include, without limitation:

• 📜
  All instructional video lectures, audio recordings, and voice commentaries.
• 📜
  Course textbooks, presentation slides, PDF study guides, lecture summaries, and case studies.
• 📜
  Quiz databases, assignment rubrics, examination questionnaires, and assessment architectures.
• 📜
  Underlying LMS source code, proprietary algorithms, graphics, course badges, and institutional trademarks.

💳 Fees, Taxation, Installments & Refund Policy

Course tuition fees, enrollment charges, and assessment administration costs must be remitted in accordance with UIBM's published fee structure.

1. Taxation & Government Levies

All published fees are subject to prevailing statutory taxation mandated by the Government of Sri Lanka, including Value Added Tax (VAT), Social Security Contribution Levy (SSCL), and applicable digital service taxes.

2. Strict Digital Refund Policy

Due to the immediate provisioning of proprietary digital intellectual property upon enrollment, refund requests are governed strictly by the following matrix:

3. Monthly Installment Schemes

• ✓
  Students enrolled under installment arrangements are granted a 7-calendar-day grace period following each monthly due date.
• ✓
  Failure to settle due installments within the grace period results in automated LMS portal suspension. Course access and final examination access will be restored only upon full settlement of outstanding arrears.

🔒 Data Privacy & Student Confidentiality

UIBM is dedicated to safeguarding student personal data and strictly adheres to the Personal Data Protection Act, No. 9 of 2022 (PDPA) of Sri Lanka and European GDPR data protection principles:

• ✓
  Data Collection Scope: We collect necessary identification data (Full Name, NIC/Passport, Email, Phone, Learning Logs) exclusively to administer courses, manage LMS access, and execute certificate verification.
• ✓
  No Commercial Sale: UIBM will never sell, rent, monetize, or trade student personal records or academic histories with commercial brokers or external third-party advertisers.
• ✓
  Encrypted Storage: All student records and bank deposit receipts are stored within encrypted database environments with restricted access protocols.
• ✓
  Lawful Disclosure: Personal information will only be shared when legally compelled by court orders, authorized law enforcement subpoenas under Sri Lankan law, or for independent verification requested by employers using your explicit certificate verification ID.

⚖️ Disclaimer & Limitation of Liability

The educational programs, instructional materials, and LMS services are provided on an “AS IS” and “AS AVAILABLE” basis without warranties of any kind, whether express, implied, or statutory.

• ✓
  No Career Guarantees: While UIBM courses are benchmarked against CPD UK, USDLA, and European Commission standards, UIBM makes no express or implied warranty that completion of a course guarantees employment, salary increments, corporate promotions, or successful overseas visa migrations. Career outcomes remain the sole responsibility of the individual.
• ✓
  Force Majeure: UIBM shall not be held liable for delayed services, LMS downtimes, or examination postponements arising from events beyond reasonable institutional control, including nationwide power grid disruptions, national telecommunication failures, cyber warfare, government-mandated internet blockades, labor strikes, civil unrest, or natural disasters.
• ✓
  Cap on Financial Liability: In no event shall UIBM’s aggregate legal liability for any claim arising from this Agreement exceed the total tuition fee actually paid by the student for the specific course in dispute.

🚫 Account Suspension & Permanent Termination

UIBM reserves the unilateral right, exercisable at its sole discretion, to suspend, deactivate, or permanently terminate a user account, revoke digital certificates, and deny future registration without prior notice or refund, in the event that:

• ⚠️
  The User breaches any clause, duty, or warranty enshrined in this Agreement.
• ⚠️
  The User engages in offensive, defamatory, threatening, or abusive behavior toward UIBM instructors, administrative officers, or fellow students in discussion forums or customer support channels.
• ⚠️
  The User submits forged, tampered, or stolen bank deposit slips.
• ⚠️
  The User attempts to compromise the security, authenticity, or intellectual property of the UIBM platform.

📑 Assignment & Severability

• ✓
  Assignment: UIBM reserves the right to assign, transfer, or subcontract its rights and obligations under this Agreement to an institutional successor, affiliate, or governing body without requiring prior user consent. The User may not assign or transfer their account or rights to any third party.
• ✓
  Severability: If any provision, clause, or covenant of this Agreement is adjudicated as invalid, unlawful, or unenforceable by a competent court of law, such provision shall be severed, and the remaining terms shall continue in full force and effect.
• ✓
  Entire Agreement: This Agreement, together with the Institute’s Academic Integrity Code and Privacy Policy, constitutes the complete and exclusive agreement between the parties concerning its subject matter.

⚖️ Governing Law & Dispute Resolution

This Agreement shall be construed, interpreted, and governed exclusively by the laws of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.

• ✓
  Amicable Resolution: In the event of any disagreement, grievance, or dispute arising out of this Agreement, the parties shall first endeavor in good faith to resolve the matter through mutual amicable negotiations by submitting a formal statement to legal@uibm.lk.
• ✓
  Exclusive Jurisdiction: If the dispute cannot be amicably settled within thirty (30) business days, it shall be submitted to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Civil High Court of Sri Lanka / District Court of Colombo / Badulla as determined by the Institute.