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General Terms and Conditions (GTCs) of the Society for Academic Study Preparation and Test Development (g.a.s.t.), a registered association

1. General

1.1. g.a.s.t. is an association for sponsoring a university education of qualified foreign university applicants and academics. g.a.s.t. develops tests for assessing aptitude and performance within the university environment, carries these out as well as specialised aptitude and selection testing, prepares prospects for these tests in terms of language, specialist and propaedeutic skills as well as for studying in Germany through training measures including Internet-based learning methods and provides consultation measures, information, training measures and quality assurance and quality development in the area of tests related to the tasks described prior. g.a.s.t. provides these services itself or through institutions g.a.s.t. sponsors or supports.

1.2 The contents and the conditions that apply in addition for the respective services are governed in the Special Terms (ST), which are available as an appendix to the General Terms and Conditions.

1.3 In the following, the designation "Participant" refers to both male and female participants.

1.4 Upon placing the order, the participant accepts the GTCs and STs. Deviating conditions shall not be recognised.

 

2. Registration

2.1 Participant registration is binding. Users can register online or with a DUO course provider. In case of registration through a third-party, the third-party must have the original proxy on hand during registration. The contract is concluded by a written order confirmation by g.a.s.t. and payment by the participant. The order confirmation is generally sent by e-mail and can be printed by participants themselves. Subsequent changes to the registration may only take place by mutual agreement between the parties.

2.2 A fee is charged to participate. Unless otherwise specified in the STs, the fee is due and payable upon registration.

2.3 If g.a.s.t. provides the services in the form of distance learning, the fee can be split up and paid for periods of max. three months.

 

3. Cancellation policy

3.1 Right to cancel
The participant has the right to withdraw from this content without giving reasons within 14 days. The cancellation period is 14 days upon conclusion of the contract. To exercise their cancelation right, participants must notify the Society for Academic Study Preparation and Test Development (g.a.s.t.), a registered association, c/o TestDaF-Institut, Universitätsstraße 134, 44799 Bochum, Germany, fax +49 (0)234 32 14988, kontakt@testdaf.de with a clear explanation (e.g. a letter sent by mail, fax or e-mail) of their decision to cancel the contract. Participants can use the attached sample cancellation form, but this is not mandatory. To meet the cancellation deadline, the notification indicating the participant has exercised their cancellation right must be sent before the deadline is up.

3.2 Consequences of cancellation
In the event of effective cancellation, all payments g.a.s.t. received from the participant shall be refunded immediately, at the latest 14 days after the notification of cancellation was received. For the refund, the same payment method shall be used as was used for the original transaction, unless otherwise agreed explicitly; no fees shall be charged for this refund in any case.

If the participant has requested to begin the service during the cancellation period, g.a.s.t. is entitled to an appropriate amount corresponding to the portion of services already provided in comparison with the total scope of services as defined in the contract up to the point the participant notified g.a.s.t. of the cancellation of the contract.

 

4. Provision of the service

4.1 g.a.s.t. provides the service based on the accepted rules of science and academics.

4.2. The participant agrees to the provision of the service by institutions commissioned or sponsored by g.a.s.t.

4.3 The participant is responsible for providing g.a.s.t. with all documents and information required for providing the service in good time.

 

5. Payment

5.1 Participants can choose to pay their fee by credit card or direct debit. Payment by direct debit requires an account with a German bank. g.a.s.t. can also allow for payment on site at the test centres.

5.2 All bookings are processed immediately. All requests related to bookings, payments and transactions are processed within two workdays. The financial transactions are processed by Heidelberger Payment GmbH, Vangerowstraße 17, 69115 Heidelberg, Germany. The transactions are SSL-128-bit encrypted according to the latest standards. The participant’s credit card will be charged immediately after booking. Participants are recommended to print out and save all transaction data in connection with the booking together with the General Terms and Conditions.

 

6. Cancellation by provider

g.a.s.t. reserves the right to cancel events in the case of absence of an examination officer or teacher, or in case of an insufficient number of participants. In such a case, g.a.s.t. shall make an effort to notify participants of cancellations, necessary changes to the programme or a change in test centres as soon as possible. If a test, seminar or online course is cancelled, the participant will receive a refund for the paid fee as soon as possible.

 

7. Warranty and liability

7.1 g.a.s.t. does not accept liability for the cancellation of services due to force majeure or other reasons beyond its control.

7.2 The warranty provided by g.a.s.t. is limited to supplementary performance within an appropriate deadline. If supplementary performance fails, i.e. it is impossible, unreasonable for the participant or refused unjustifiably or delayed unduly by g.a.s.t., the participant is entitled to demand a reduction in the fee or annulment of the contract at its discretion.

7.3 Except for in cases of intent, gross negligence, bodily harm or liability in accordance with product liability law as well as the violation of essential contractual obligations, all claims of the participant for compensation for direct or indirect damages are excluded, on whatever legal grounds. This shall also apply to the personal liability of g.a.s.t. employees as well as the vicarious agents commissioned by g.a.s.t.

 

8. Contract duration and termination

8.1 The contractual relationship begins upon confirmation of registration by g.a.s.t.

8.2 The contractual relationship shall end with the service to be provided by g.a.s.t. without requiring a termination notice. Early termination is only possible up to the registration deadline, and is otherwise excluded. If the participant is unable to utilise a service in part or full due to personal reasons (e.g. illness, official or personal obligations), the participant is not entitled to a refund of the participation fee or service at another time.

8.3 The right to termination for cause remains unaffected.

 

9. Non-disclosure, copyright, privacy

9.1 All documents and information provided to the participant are protected by copyright. Without the written consent of g.a.s.t., participants shall not reproduce these documents or information in any form, including for purposes of preparing courses, or in particular process them using electronic systems, copy, distribute, use for the public, pass on to third parties or make them available to the public. The publication, release and making available of any test tasks and test documents in the test for third parties as well as publishing them on social networks, Internet forums, websites and other media is prohibited.

9.2  g.a.s.t. and/or the commissioned institutions process and use the personal data of the participant for its own and statistical purposes only. g.a.s.t. utilises automatic data processing systems to this end. To meet data security requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), g.a.s.t. has taken technical measures to ensure the security of all data sets and data processing processes. Employees responsible for processing are obligated and required to comply strictly with all data privacy regulations.

 

10. Retention

10.1 In particular, documents are records, pieces of writing, images, cards, schedules, sketches, in paper and electronic format, films and sound storage media as well as data stored on computer-aided data media including all corresponding documentation.

10.2 The retention period is the time in years during which documents have to be kept available for subsequent processing. The retention period begins with the end of the calendar year in which processing was completed and ends with the end of a calendar year.

10.3 Provided statutory or administrative provisions define specific retention periods, these shall be considered binding. If no provisions are defined, a retention period of two years shall apply.

 

11.  Right of inspection

11.1 On request, the participant can view their test papers in the tests area for one year upon expiration of the contract. This request must be submitted within four weeks after release of the results in the TestDaF participant portal/upon disclosure of the results to g.a.s.t.

11.2 Inspection is possible exclusively at the g.a.s.t. / TestDaF-Institut headquarters. Inspection takes place under the supervision of g.a.s.t. Generally, a period of 30 minutes is granted for inspection. No information may be noted down or taken away. No electronic devices are permitted during inspection.

 

12. Applicable law

The contractual relationship and all legal relationships are subject exclusively to the law of the Federal Republic of Germany.

 

13.  Closing provisions

Should individual clauses of these GTCs or STs become invalid in part or whole, this does not affect the effectiveness of the remaining clauses/remaining parts of such clauses. The parties will replace any ineffective regulation with a regulation closest to the purpose of the ineffective regulation, which shall then apply.

If you want to cancel the contract, please fill out this form aus and return it to:

 

To:     

Gesellschaft für Akademische
Studienvorbereitung und Testentwicklung e.V.
c/o TestDaF-Institut
Universitätsstraße 134
44799 Bochum
Telefax: 0234 32 14988
E-Mail: kontakt(at)testdaf.de

 


 

Special Terms for Deutsch-Uni Online – DUO

 

1. Scope

The following terms apply for Deutsch-Uni Online – DUO.

 

2. Organiser

The organiser of the online language courses of Deutsch-Uni Online is the Society for Academic Study Preparation and Test Development (g.a.s.t.), a registered association. The organiser is referred to as DUO in the following.

 

3. Participants, requirements for participation

3.1. Participants

In the following, the designation "Participant" refers to both male and female participants.

Anyone 18 years and older can participate. With consent of the legal guardian, children 16 years and older can participate.

3.2. Language requirements for participating

To participate in DUO, the participant is recommended to meet minimum language requirements depending on the selected course. The minimum language requirements for the course are defined as levels based on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). Refer to www.deutsch-uni.com for a description of the levels. Refer to the course descriptions at www.deutsch-uni.com for the recommended minimum requirements.

When a participant books a DUO courses directly, a placement test is available to the participant after booking. Based on the results, DUO may recommend selecting a different course. Confirmations of participation from other language institutions are not accepted in place of the DUO placement test.

3.3. Technical requirements for participating

Online language courses from DUO can only be used trouble-free if the device used to participate meets the DUO system requirements:
Supported operating systems and browsers by software component:

Placement test:

  • Operating system: Windows 7, 8, 10; Chrome OS
  • Browser: Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge

DUO learning platform:

  • Operating system: Windows 7, 8, 10; Mac OS; Chrome OS
  • Browser: Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Safari

Virtual classroom (vitero):

  • Operating system: Windows 7, 8, 10; Mac OS
  • Browser: Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Safari

You will find more information at www.deutsch-uni.com. Issues and questions can be addressed to support(at)deutsch-uni.com at any time, free of charge.

 

4. Object, objective, outset, duration of participation in DUO

4.1. Object

DUO courses are online modules for learning German and foreign languages. Participants learn on the Internet. The courses are offered in various variants. The participant chooses one variant when booking the course. They can choose between different learning formats with or without tutor support. The course variants available for selection can be found in the course descriptions at www.deutsch-uni.com. The formats differ in terms of the materials and services provided as well as the records of achievement issued when the course ends.

Participants who book an online course without a tutor do not receive tutor support. They receive learning materials for the respective course for self-study but do not receive support or corrections from an online tutor. No record of achievement can be issued for online courses without a tutor.

Participants who book an online course with a tutor receive individual tutor support in addition to the services of the course without a tutor. The exact services can be found in the course descriptions on the DUO website.

Following successful conclusion of a course with an online tutor, a certificate of completion is issued. In courses with the ECTS option, up to 3 points are indicated on the certificate of completion (as part of the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS)).

All certifications of completion are provided in digital format.

4.2 Objective

The contents of DUO are tailored to prepare the participants, e.g. students, scientists and academics in and outside of Germany, to study in Germany or abroad in terms of language, subject and content.

If the participant books a course with an online tutor, the language preparation includes improvement of vocabulary, reading comprehension, listening comprehension, written production and spoken production as well as grammar.

If the participant books a course without a tutor, the written production and spoken production areas can only be practiced to a limited extent, as the participant does not receive individual feedback.
The courses of the "TestDaf preparation" category prepare participants for the TestDaF of German as a Foreign Language. The TestDaF can be taken worldwide at licensed test centres. The test fee for the TestDaF is not included in the price for the uni-deutsch TestDaF training DUO course module.

4.3. Start, duration

The duration of access to the DUO course materials is specified in the course descriptions at www.deutsch-uni.com. The course duration of DUO courses with a tutor starts on the date selected on booking.