Updated on: Oct, 2026

EARTH University ("EARTH", "we", "us" or "our") operates e-Learning by Doing, an open and accessible digital learning initiative that provides educational content and experiences through the website at https://elearningbydoing.earth.ac.cr, its Moodle-based learning environment, authorized mobile applications and related services (collectively, the "Site"). The Site may provide access to courses, micromodules, simulations, virtual farm experiences, assessments, discussion spaces, multimedia, downloadable resources, certificates or records of completion, and other educational content (collectively, "Content").

By accessing the Site, creating an account, logging in, enrolling in a course or using an authenticated feature, you agree to this Policy. If you do not agree, do not create an account or use authenticated areas of the Site. Visitors who use only public pages remain subject to the provisions that reasonably apply to public access, security, intellectual property and acceptable use.

Personal data collected when you access or use the Site is processed as described in Section 6 of this Policy. We may revise this Policy when the law, the Site or our educational activities change. Material changes will be communicated in an appropriate manner and, where required, renewed acceptance or consent will be requested before the change applies.

1 EARTH and Third Party Content

When using the Site, you may access Content provided by EARTH University, by collaborating organizations or by other third parties. Content is governed by the licence, rights notice or conditions that accompany it. By accessing, downloading, sharing or reusing Content, you agree to follow the applicable conditions and to obtain any permission required for your intended use.

The Site, its design, organization, original software customizations, trademarks and Content produced by EARTH University are protected by applicable intellectual property law. Access to the Site does not transfer ownership. If a resource displays a Creative Commons or other open licence, that licence governs the resource. If no licence is displayed, you may use the resource only in the manner reasonably enabled by the Site or with written permission from the relevant rights holder.

The use of educational materials is also governed by the separate intellectual property and licensing information published by e-Learning by Doing. If there is an inconsistency between a general statement in this Policy and a specific licence attached to a resource, the specific licence governs use of that resource. Users should ask EARTH University or the identified author when the applicable licence is unclear.

Third Party Content remains the responsibility of its provider. Its presence on the Site does not mean that EARTH University owns, endorses or can authorize every use of it. You must respect attribution requirements, non-commercial restrictions, limits on modification, confidentiality obligations and other conditions that apply to the relevant material.

2 Your Content

Where a course or Site feature permits it, you may submit documents, responses, messages, images, audio, video, data, links or other material through your account ("Your Content"). You remain responsible for Your Content and retain any rights you lawfully hold in it. You represent that you have the rights, permissions and lawful basis needed to submit it and to allow the uses described in this Policy.

By submitting Your Content, you authorize EARTH University to host, store, reproduce, transmit, display, format and otherwise process it only as reasonably necessary to operate the Site, deliver the relevant course or activity, assess learning, provide feedback and support, preserve academic integrity, protect the learning community, comply with law and administer the rights described in this Policy. This authorization is non-exclusive and does not transfer ownership.

Your Content is not necessarily confidential. Its visibility depends on the activity and Site settings. A discussion post may be visible to other participants, while an assignment may be restricted to instructors and authorized support personnel. Do not submit confidential information or personal data about another person unless the activity requires it and you have appropriate authorization.

You are responsible for keeping your own copy of important work where the Site permits downloading. If your account is closed, Your Content may remain where retention is necessary to preserve a course record, a discussion, the rights of another participant, an investigation or a legal obligation. It will not be retained solely as a penalty.

Any use of a learner photograph, recording, personal story or work outside the educational context in which it was collected, including promotional publication or a public case study, requires a separate lawful basis and any consent required by applicable law.

3 Account

You may be asked to create an individual account or authenticate through an approved identity provider. You must provide information that is current, complete and accurate to the extent required by the registration process. You must not create an account using another person's identity or contact information without lawful authorization.

An account is personal to the registered user unless EARTH University expressly identifies it as an administrative or organizational account. You must protect your password, authentication method and recovery information; must not share access with another person; and must notify us promptly if you believe your account or credentials have been lost, stolen, disclosed or used without authorization.

Activity performed through an account may be treated as activity of the registered user until we receive notice of compromise and have a reasonable opportunity to take protective action. We may require a password reset, identity verification or another security measure before restoring access.

The Site may be used by individuals who are 15 years of age or older. Individuals under 15 years of age may use the Site only when accompanied and supervised by a responsible adult.

If an educational institution, employer, community organization, donor or other partner arranges your participation, that organization may establish lawful eligibility requirements and may receive limited enrollment, participation or completion information where this has been explained to you and is permitted by law. Facilitating enrollment does not give the organization unrestricted access to your account or personal data.

You may request account closure using the contact information in Section 17. Closing an account ends access to restricted Site functions. Certain records may remain for the period necessary to document learning achievements, meet legal or institutional obligations, preserve the integrity of academic records, resolve disputes or protect the rights of others.

4 Your Use of the Site

You may use the Site for legitimate educational, academic, training, research, outreach, community-engagement and other purposes authorized by EARTH University. Subject to course rules and applicable licences, you may participate in activities, communicate with the learning community, submit your own work and download resources when the interface or rights notice permits.

Unless expressly stated otherwise for a particular course, activity, service or resource, access to and use of the Site, its courses and its learning materials are provided free of charge.

Access to or use of the Site and its Content does not create any employment, agency, partnership, joint venture, fiduciary, professional, advisory or other special relationship between a user and EARTH University, beyond the ordinary relationship arising from EARTH University’s provision of access to the educational materials and related learning services described in this Policy.

You must not use the Site, an account, Content or any Site feature in a way that violates applicable law or this Policy, infringes another person's rights, harms the learning community, compromises academic integrity, or interferes with the Site or its functions. In particular, you must not:

1.     infringe or misappropriate copyright, trademark, privacy, confidentiality, image, data protection or other rights;

2.     impersonate another person, misrepresent authority or affiliation, share credentials, or obtain access through an account that is not yours;

3.     submit content that is unlawful, threatening, harassing, discriminatory, hateful, sexually exploitative, defamatory, intentionally deceptive or harmful to minors;

4.     attempt to gain unauthorized access to the Site, a server, a database, another account, an assessment, a grade or restricted information;

5.     probe or exploit a vulnerability, circumvent an access control, alter a record, disrupt availability, or interfere with the integrity or performance of the Site;

6.     introduce malware, malicious code, harmful files or deceptive links, or use a mechanism intended to damage, monitor, intercept or obtain unauthorized access to systems or data;

7.     scrape, harvest, index, extract or download Content or personal data at scale through automated or manual means beyond what EARTH University expressly permits;

8.     send spam, chain messages, unauthorized advertising or unrelated commercial solicitations;

9.     mine cryptocurrency, enable illegal file sharing, or use Site resources for an unrelated high-volume computing purpose;

10.  submit another person's work as your own, falsify participation or results, facilitate academic dishonesty, or evade an assessment control; or

11.  use educational Content or simulations as the sole basis for a high-risk decision affecting health, safety, legal rights, finances, agricultural operations or the environment without appropriate expert review and local validation.

If we reasonably determine that use of the Site is unlawful, unsafe, abusive or inconsistent with this Policy, we may remove Content, restrict an activity, require corrective action, suspend access or close an account. When appropriate to the risk and circumstances, we will inform the user of the reason and provide an opportunity to respond or request review. Immediate action may be taken where delay could expose a person, data, systems or the learning community to harm.

We may monitor Site activity to the extent reasonably necessary for course administration, support, security, academic integrity and enforcement of this Policy. Monitoring does not create an obligation to review every message, submission or activity before it appears.

5 Community Values Academic Integrity and Artificial Intelligence

e-Learning by Doing is an educational community. Users are expected to contribute to respectful dialogue, collaboration, inclusion, sustainability, practical learning and responsible innovation. Differences in experience and opinion should be addressed constructively and without discrimination, intimidation or harassment.

You remain responsible for work submitted in your name, including work created, translated, analyzed or revised with an artificial intelligence tool. AI may be used only when permitted by the relevant course, instructor or institutional rule. When disclosure, citation or attribution is required, you must provide it accurately.

You must not use an external AI system in a way that discloses personal data, confidential information, assessment content or licensed material without authorization. You must not use the Site or Content to train, test or operate an external AI model when doing so would exceed an applicable licence, compromise privacy or conflict with a course or institutional requirement.

AI output may be incomplete, biased or incorrect. A user must apply appropriate judgment and must not present generated material as verified professional guidance. Course rules may impose stricter limits where independent work, confidentiality, safety or disciplinary standards require them.

6 Privacy Notice

6.1 Who Is Responsible for Personal Data

EARTH University is responsible for decisions about the personal data processed for the institutional operation of e-Learning by Doing. For a specific course, research activity or partnership, another organization may have its own responsibilities as an independent or joint controller, or may process data on EARTH University's instructions. A materially different arrangement will be explained in a specific notice where required.

6.2 What We Collect

The personal data we process depends on how you interact with the Site. We may collect information you provide at registration or in your profile, such as your name, email address, username, preferred language, country or region, institution, role and other details requested for a particular course or activity.

We may also process account and authentication information; courses and enrollments; progress and completion status; submissions, assessment results and feedback; badges, certificates or completion records; discussion posts and communications; survey responses; support requests; and images, audio, video or other content where an activity permits or requests them.

The Site automatically generates technical and activity information. This may include Internet Protocol address, device and browser information, authentication and session events, timestamps, pages and activities accessed, submissions, completion events, errors, system interactions and security logs. Moodle records this information as part of operating the learning environment even when EARTH University is not using it for advertising or behavioral marketing.

Additional information may be collected for a particular course, research activity, event, accessibility accommodation, safeguarding purpose or partner program. Where that collection is not reasonably covered by this notice, a more specific notice will be provided before the information is requested.

6.3 Why We Use Personal Data

We may use personal data to register and authenticate users; manage accounts and enrollments; deliver courses and activities; receive and assess submissions; provide feedback, support and communications; issue or verify completion records; maintain Site performance; protect users and systems; investigate misuse; comply with legal and contractual obligations; and establish, exercise or defend legal rights.

We may also use relevant information to understand participation, identify technical or accessibility barriers, evaluate educational effectiveness, improve courses and allocate resources. Institutional and partner reporting will use aggregated, anonymized or pseudonymized information whenever the purpose can be achieved without identifying a person.

We do not sell personal data. Personal data is not disclosed to Mastercard Foundation merely because the Foundation supports an initiative. Where identifiable information must be shared for a lawful and defined project purpose, the disclosure will be limited to what is necessary and governed by appropriate safeguards.

6.4 Legal Basis and Informed Consent

Except where Costa Rican law expressly permits processing without consent, we will obtain the data subject’s prior, informed, express and documented consent. Before personal data is collected, the data subject will be informed clearly and in an accessible manner of the existence of the relevant database or processing activity, the purposes of collection and use, the recipients or categories of recipients, whether each response is mandatory or optional, the foreseeable consequences of providing or refusing to provide the data, the rights available to the data subject, the identity and address of the person responsible for the database, and the means by which those rights may be exercised.

Consent must be freely given and linked to the stated purpose. Refusing optional processing must not produce an unrelated disadvantage. Where consent is the legal basis, it may be withdrawn for future processing, subject to legal limits and without affecting processing already lawfully completed. A materially new purpose or materially different collection will be assessed to determine whether a new notice and fresh consent are required.

6.5 Data Protection Principles

We seek to process personal data fairly, lawfully and transparently; for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes; using only the minimum data reasonably necessary; maintaining appropriate accuracy; keeping data no longer than needed; and applying technical and organizational safeguards appropriate to the risk. These commitments reflect Costa Rican data protection law and the Mastercard Foundation Partner Organization Data Protection Principles applicable to partnership activities.

6.6 Sensitive Data and Protection for Children and Vulnerable Persons

The Site is not intended to collect sensitive personal data unless a clear educational, accessibility, safeguarding, research or legal purpose requires it and appropriate protections are in place. Photographs, recordings, disability-related information and other potentially sensitive material must be collected and used under a clear notice and valid legal basis. Individuals who are 15 years of age or older may use the Site. Individuals under 15 years of age may use the Site only when accompanied and supervised by a responsible adult.

6.7 Who May Receive Personal Data

Access is limited according to role and need. Recipients may include authorized EARTH University staff, instructors, facilitators, administrators and technical support personnel; service providers that host, maintain, secure or support the Site; approved partners involved in a course or program; and public authorities or professional advisers where disclosure is lawfully required or reasonably necessary to protect rights and safety.

Some providers may process or store data outside Costa Rica. Before transferring personal data or engaging a provider that processes it, EARTH University will assess the recipient and destination, provide documented processing instructions, impose confidentiality, security, purpose-limitation, return or deletion, and assistance obligations by contract, and limit access to what is necessary. Prior, informed and express consent for the transfer will be obtained whenever required by Costa Rican law, unless a specific legal exception applies.

6.8 Data Accuracy Retention and Deletion

You may review and update certain profile information directly. We may ask you to confirm or correct information where accuracy is important to identity, enrollment, certification, safeguarding or another legitimate purpose. Corrections to assessed work or formal academic records may also be governed by academic procedures.

Personal data is kept only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose explained at collection. Relevant periods may include the time needed to maintain an active account, deliver a course, issue or verify a learning record, provide support, protect security, meet legal or contractual obligations, resolve a dispute or preserve a lawful institutional record.

When a retention purpose ends, information will be deleted, anonymized or securely archived under an applicable records requirement. Account closure does not automatically erase every record. Completion records, consent records, incident evidence and records required by law may remain for the applicable period. A specific course notice should identify a more precise period when it is material to the decision to participate.

6.9 Security and Personal Data Incidents

We use reasonable administrative, technical and organizational measures designed to protect personal data against unauthorized or unlawful processing and accidental loss, alteration, disclosure or destruction. Measures may include role-based access, secure authentication, encrypted transmission, backups, logging, vulnerability management, provider controls, staff responsibilities, incident procedures and periodic review.

No online system can be guaranteed completely secure. Users must follow the account-security requirements in Section 3 and report a suspected incident promptly. EARTH University will identify, contain, assess, document and respond to suspected personal data incidents. Where notification to affected persons, a regulator, Mastercard Foundation or another party is required by law or a binding project obligation, we will provide it under the applicable conditions and timeframe.

6.10 Your Rights

Subject to applicable law and reasonable identity verification, you may request information about personal data held about you; access that data; correct, update or complete inaccurate information; request deletion, restriction or cessation of processing where legally available; object to or question a use; withdraw consent for future processing where consent is the basis; and receive information about relevant disclosures or transfers. These rights are commonly described as rights of access, rectification, cancellation or deletion, and opposition.

Requests may be sent to the contact in Section 17. Subject to any different period expressly established by applicable law, we will respond to requests for access, rectification or deletion within five business days after receipt of a complete request and will act free of charge, except where a lawful charge is expressly permitted. If a request cannot be granted in full, we will explain the lawful reason, subject to any restriction on disclosure. You may also submit a complaint to Costa Rica's competent data protection authority, the Agencia de Protección de Datos de los Habitantes (PRODHAB), where applicable.

7 Learning Analytics and Essential Cookies

The Site records learning activity such as course access, participation, completion, submissions, assessment results, forum activity and related timestamps. Authorized instructors and staff may use these records and Moodle reports to administer learning, provide support, identify technical barriers, understand participation and improve educational design.

Learning analytics must be connected to a defined educational or operational purpose, limited to appropriate personnel and interpreted with context. Analytics may be incomplete or misleading and should not be the sole basis for a decision that has a significant adverse effect on a user. Individually identifiable reporting to a partner or participating organization will occur only when necessary, proportionate, transparent and supported by a valid legal basis.

The Site uses cookies or comparable local technologies that are necessary to operate Moodle functions, maintain a session, authenticate access, protect security and remember selected preferences such as language. Disabling these technologies may prevent login or cause parts of the Site to function incorrectly.

EARTH University does not currently use first-party Site cookies for targeted advertising or behavioral advertising profiles. If we later introduce non-essential analytics, advertising or similar tracking, we will update this notice and implement any consent or preference mechanism required by applicable law before that use begins.

Embedded videos, maps, authentication tools, virtual meetings, interactive resources, mobile applications and other third-party services may place their own cookies or collect technical information when you activate or access them. Their practices are governed by their notices. Where practical, we will limit unnecessary third-party collection and identify the service before you engage with it.

8 Feedback Support and Security Reporting

You may provide ideas, suggestions, corrections or other feedback about the Site. Unless otherwise agreed in writing, you authorize EARTH University to use that feedback to improve its educational activities and services without an obligation to compensate you. You must have the right to provide the feedback and must not include another person's confidential information or personal data without authorization.

If you need support, identify harmful Content, suspect an account compromise, or believe you have found a security vulnerability or personal data incident, contact us promptly using Section 17. Do not publicly disclose or exploit a suspected vulnerability beyond what is reasonably necessary to provide a responsible report. Preserve relevant information without further exposing personal data.

9 Links and Third Party Services

The Site may provide links to or integrate with external websites, content repositories, video services, authentication providers, communication tools, mobile application stores, simulations and other learning technologies. Access to an external service may be subject to that provider's terms and privacy notice.

A link or integration does not mean that EARTH University controls or endorses every feature, statement or data practice of the external service. You access optional external services at your own discretion and should review their terms. Where a third-party service is required for a course, we should provide enough information for you to understand its role and any material data implications before use.

Where an external service is optional, a reasonable alternative should be considered when available and necessary to avoid disproportionate exclusion. EARTH University may disable or replace an integration for educational, security, privacy, legal, operational or resource reasons.

10 Availability and Disclaimer

The Site, Content and related services are provided for educational and informational purposes and are made available on an "as available" basis. EARTH University seeks to provide reliable access but does not guarantee uninterrupted, error-free, secure or universally compatible operation. Access may be affected by maintenance, updates, connectivity, equipment, cybersecurity events, provider failures, force majeure, local restrictions or circumstances outside our reasonable control.

Content may present examples, simulations or general practices that require adaptation to local conditions. Unless expressly stated in an authorized written instrument, the Site does not provide individualized legal, medical, financial, engineering, veterinary, agronomic or other regulated professional advice. Users must apply appropriate judgment, safety procedures, supervision and local validation before acting in the real world.

Each user is solely responsible for how they interpret, use and apply the Content and for evaluating whether it is appropriate for their particular circumstances. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, EARTH University will not be liable for any claim, loss, damage, cost or consequence arising from or related to a user’s reliance on, use of or application of the Content.

Participation does not guarantee a particular academic, employment, business, production or certification outcome. A certificate or record of completion has the meaning stated by the relevant course and does not constitute a degree, professional licence or institutional credit unless EARTH University expressly identifies it as such.

We may modify, suspend, replace or discontinue a feature, course, activity or part of the Site for educational, operational, legal, security or resource reasons. When a material change affects an active course or a stated completion requirement, we will seek to provide reasonable notice or an appropriate transition where circumstances permit.

11 Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, EARTH University is not responsible for indirect, incidental or consequential loss arising solely from reliance on general educational Content, interruption of access, loss of data that a user was reasonably able to back up, unauthorized use caused by the user's failure to protect credentials, or acts of an external service outside EARTH University's reasonable control.

This Policy does not exclude or limit liability, remedies or rights that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited. It does not limit responsibility arising from EARTH University's unlawful processing of personal data, fraud, willful misconduct or another matter for which limitation is prohibited by applicable law.

12 Trademarks and Institutional Identity

The names, logos, service marks and other identifiers of EARTH University and e-Learning by Doing belong to EARTH University or their respective rights holders. Access to the Site does not grant a licence to use them in a way that implies endorsement, partnership, certification or institutional approval.

You may make a truthful reference to your participation or completion where appropriate, but you must not alter an institutional mark, use it commercially, incorporate it into another brand, or represent that EARTH University endorses a product, service or statement without written authorization.

13 Waiver Severability and Precedence

A delay or failure by EARTH University to exercise or enforce a right or provision in one circumstance does not waive that right or provision in another circumstance.

If a competent authority determines that a provision is invalid or unenforceable, the provision will be interpreted or limited to the minimum extent necessary to make it lawful. If that is not possible, it will be removed and the remaining provisions will continue in effect.

A course, research activity, certificate, partner program, mobile application or integrated service may have additional terms or a specific privacy notice. Those terms govern that activity when they are more specific, except where this Policy or applicable law provides a protection that cannot be reduced. A licence attached to Content continues to govern that Content.

14 Suspension and Termination

EARTH University may restrict Content, suspend access, require a credential reset, remove a user from an activity or close an account when reasonably necessary to protect security, comply with law, respond to a rights claim, preserve academic integrity, address harmful conduct, enforce this Policy, or manage a discontinued or inactive service.

When practicable and appropriate to the risk, we will inform the user of the reason and provide an opportunity to correct the issue or request review. Immediate action may be taken when delay could expose a person, data, systems or the learning community to harm, compromise an investigation or violate a legal obligation.

Termination ends permission to access restricted Site functions. It does not eliminate obligations that by their nature continue, including duties concerning confidentiality, intellectual property, lawful conduct, retained records and unresolved claims. Personal data will be retained or deleted under Section 6.8 rather than solely as a sanction.

15 Governing Law

This Policy and any claim or dispute arising from access to or use of the Site are governed by the laws of the Republic of Costa Rica, without applying rules that would require the law of another jurisdiction.

Disputes will be submitted to the competent authorities or courts of Costa Rica, subject to any mandatory jurisdiction, consumer, data protection, education or other rights that applicable law grants to the user. Nothing in this Policy limits the authority of the Agencia de Protección de Datos de los Habitantes or another competent public authority.

16 Changes to This Policy

We may revise this Policy to reflect changes in law, technology, Site functions, educational practice, security needs or institutional responsibilities. The current version will be published on the Site with its effective or last-updated date.

For a material change, we will provide notice appropriate to the nature of the change and, where required, request renewed acceptance or consent before the new term or processing applies. A revision cannot retroactively make an earlier unlawful use of personal data lawful or convert consent given for one purpose into consent for a materially different purpose.

The Site may publish this Policy in English and Spanish. The approved publication must identify the controlling language version. A translation should be interpreted consistently with that version and applicable law.

17 Copyright Notice, Privacy Requests and Contact

17.1 Copyright and Content Concerns

Unless otherwise expressly indicated in an applicable licence or rights notice, all learning materials made available through the Site are owned by EARTH University or EARTH University has obtained the necessary authorization to use them. They may be accessed and used solely for personal learning and educational purposes and may not be sold, licensed, distributed, reproduced for commercial purposes, incorporated into commercial products or services, or otherwise commercially exploited without EARTH University’s prior written authorization.

If you believe that Content on the Site infringes your copyright or another right, or that your Content was removed in error, contact us with enough information to identify the work, the challenged material, its location, the basis of your claim and your preferred contact details. We may restrict access while we review the matter and may request additional information reasonably necessary to evaluate the claim.

17.2 Privacy Account and Security Requests

Questions about this Policy, personal data rights, account closure, accessibility, harmful Content, support, suspected vulnerabilities or privacy incidents may be directed to:

e-Learning by Doing
EARTH University
P.O. Box 4442-1000
San José, Costa Rica
Email elearningbydoing@earth.ac.cr
Telephone +506 2713-0000 ext. 3530

A personal data request should describe the right being exercised, identify the relevant account or interaction, and provide information reasonably necessary to verify identity. Do not send passwords or unnecessary sensitive information by email.

Legal Framework

This Policy is interpreted consistently with Costa Rica Law No. 8968 on the Protection of the Person Regarding the Processing of Personal Data and its regulation. For activities supported by Mastercard Foundation, EARTH University also applies the Foundation’s Partner Organization Data Protection Principles to the extent consistent with applicable law.

Costa Rica Law No. 8968: Official consolidated text

e-Learning by Doing licensing information: Published page

© E-LEARNING BY DOING 2026 All Rights Reserved