NEST FEST Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of Terms

By accessing or using the NEST FEST voting platform ("Service"), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service ("Terms"). If you do not agree to these Terms, do not use the Service.

1.1 Eligibility

• You must be a currently enrolled student at Austin Community College
• You must use your official ACC email address for registration
• You must be physically present on campus during voting periods (geofencing enforced)
• One vote per registered student account

2. Description of Service

NEST FEST is a campus-wide entrepreneurship competition voting platform that allows students to:

• Register for the event
• View finalist presentations
• Cast votes for their preferred projects
• Access event information and schedules

3. User Responsibilities

3.1 Account Security

• You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials
• You agree to notify us immediately of any unauthorized use of your account
• You are responsible for all activities that occur under your account

3.2 Acceptable Use

You agree NOT to:

• Attempt to vote multiple times or manipulate the voting system
• Share or transfer your account credentials
• Use automated scripts, bots, or other tools to interact with the Service
• Attempt to access restricted administrative functions
• Reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble the Service
• Interfere with or disrupt the Service or servers
• Violate any applicable laws or regulations

4. Privacy and Data Protection

4.1 Data Collection

We collect and process the following information:

• Name and ACC email address
• Student major and year
• Voting selections and timestamps
• Device information and IP addresses for security purposes
• Geolocation data (only to verify campus presence)

4.2 FERPA Compliance

We are committed to protecting student educational records in accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). We will:

• Not disclose personally identifiable information without consent
• Limit access to student data to authorized administrators only
• Maintain appropriate security measures to protect student records
• Allow students to review and request corrections to their information

4.3 Data Retention

• Active event data: Retained for the duration of the competition
• Historical data: Anonymized and retained for up to 1 academic year
• Account deletion: Available upon request with 30-day processing time

5. Intellectual Property

All content, features, and functionality of the Service are owned by Austin Community College and its students and are protected by copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws.

6. Voting Integrity

6.1 Audit Trail

All votes are logged with timestamps and encrypted identifiers to ensure:

• Vote authenticity and non-repudiation
• Detection of fraudulent activity
• Ability to conduct recounts if necessary

6.2 Anti-Fraud Measures

• IP address monitoring and rate limiting
• Device fingerprinting
• Behavioral analysis for anomaly detection
• Manual review of suspicious voting patterns

8. Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Austin Community College, its students, faculty, staff, and affiliates from any claims, damages, obligations, losses, liabilities, costs, or expenses arising from:

• Your use of the Service
• Your violation of these Terms
• Your violation of any rights of another party
• Any content you submit or share through the Service

9. Security Incidents

9.1 Incident Response

In the event of a security incident:

• We will notify affected users within 72 hours of discovery
• We will provide information about the nature and scope of the incident
• We will take reasonable steps to mitigate harm
• We may temporarily suspend the Service to address security issues

9.2 User Obligations

You agree to:

• Report suspected security vulnerabilities responsibly
• Not exploit discovered vulnerabilities
• Cooperate with security investigations

10. Modifications to Service and Terms

• We reserve the right to modify or discontinue the Service at any time
• We may update these Terms; continued use constitutes acceptance
• Material changes will be notified via email or Service announcement

11. Termination

We may terminate or suspend your account immediately, without prior notice, for:

• Violation of these Terms
• Fraudulent or illegal activity
• Attempts to compromise system security
• At our sole discretion for any reason

12. Governing Law and Jurisdiction

• These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Texas
• Exclusive jurisdiction: Courts located in Travis County, Texas
• You waive any objections to jurisdiction and venue

13. Dispute Resolution

13.1 Informal Resolution

Before filing any legal action, you agree to attempt to resolve disputes informally by contacting us.

13.2 Arbitration

Any disputes not resolved informally shall be resolved through binding arbitration in accordance with the rules of the American Arbitration Association.

14. General Provisions

• Entire Agreement: These Terms constitute the entire agreement between you and us
• Severability: If any provision is found unenforceable, the remaining provisions continue in effect
• Waiver: No waiver of any term shall be deemed a further waiver
• Assignment: You may not assign or transfer these Terms
• Force Majeure: We are not liable for delays caused by circumstances beyond our control