Belmont Alumni Network

1. Acceptance of Terms

By creating an account on, accessing, or using the Belmont Alumni Network (the "Platform"), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service ("Terms"), our Privacy Policy, and our Community Guidelines (collectively, the "Agreement"). If you do not agree to this Agreement, you may not use the Platform.

We may update these Terms from time to time. If we make material changes, we will notify you by email or through a notice on the Platform. Your continued use of the Platform after such changes constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.

2. About the Platform

The Belmont Alumni Network is operated by Belmont University ("Belmont," "we," "us," or "our"), located at 1900 Belmont Boulevard, Nashville, Tennessee 37212. The Platform provides a community space for Belmont University alumni, current students, and affiliated individuals to connect, share, and engage with one another and with Belmont.

3. Eligibility

3.1 Who May Use the Platform

The Platform is available to the following individuals:

Alumni — Individuals who have graduated from Belmont University
Current Students & Graduating Seniors ("Almost Alumni") — Currently enrolled Belmont students, with an anticipated graduation year
Faculty & Staff — Current or former Belmont University faculty and staff members
Honorary Alumni — Individuals granted honorary alumni status by Belmont University

3.2 Age Requirement

You must be at least 18 years of age to create an account on the Platform. By creating an account, you represent and warrant that you are at least 18 years old.

3.3 Account Creation

To use the Platform, you must create an account by providing your name and a valid email address. You will be required to verify your email address before your account is fully activated.

You agree to:

Provide accurate, current, and complete information during registration and in your profile
Maintain and promptly update your account information
Keep your password secure and confidential
Notify us immediately of any unauthorized access to your account
Accept responsibility for all activity that occurs under your account

3.4 Identity Verification

After registration, Belmont staff may verify your alumni status by matching your account to university records using your Belmont University ID (BUID). Verification is not required to use the Platform but provides a "verified" designation on your profile.

4. Use of the Platform

4.1 Permitted Uses

You may use the Platform to:

Create and maintain a personal profile
Connect with other Belmont alumni and community members
Participate in community discussions
Send and receive direct messages
Join affinity, location-based, and interest-based communities
Access career resources and guidance documents
Submit content for publication (news, events)
Provide feedback on the Platform

4.2 Prohibited Uses

You agree not to:

Harmful Conduct:

Harass, bully, intimidate, or threaten other users
Post content that is defamatory, obscene, pornographic, or hateful
Engage in discrimination based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, age, or any other protected characteristic
Impersonate another person or misrepresent your affiliation with Belmont
Stalk or otherwise make another user feel unsafe

Platform Abuse:

Use the Platform for commercial solicitation, advertising, or spam without prior authorization from Belmont
Collect or harvest other users' personal information without their consent
Use automated means (bots, scrapers, crawlers) to access the Platform
Attempt to gain unauthorized access to the Platform, other user accounts, or our systems
Interfere with or disrupt the Platform's infrastructure
Circumvent any security measures, rate limits, or access controls

Content Violations:

Post content that infringes the intellectual property rights of any third party
Upload files that contain viruses, malware, or other harmful code
Share others' personal information without their consent
Post misleading or fraudulent content

Legal Violations:

Use the Platform for any purpose that violates applicable law
Use the Platform to facilitate or promote illegal activities

4.3 Reporting Violations

If you encounter content or behavior that violates these Terms, you may report it through the Platform's flagging system or by contacting us at alumni@belmont.edu.

5. User-Generated Content

5.1 Your Content

"User Content" means any content you create, upload, post, or transmit through the Platform, including but not limited to: discussion posts, comments, messages, profile information, photos, reactions, and feedback.

You retain ownership of your User Content. However, by posting User Content on the Platform, you grant Belmont University a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide, transferable, sublicensable license to use, display, reproduce, distribute, modify, and transmit your User Content solely for the purposes of:

Operating and improving the Platform
Displaying your content to other Platform users in accordance with your privacy settings
Including your content in email notifications and digests sent to other users
Storing your content on our servers and third-party infrastructure (hosting, file storage)
Moderating content in accordance with our Community Guidelines
Creating anonymized, aggregated statistics about Platform usage

This license continues for as long as your User Content remains on the Platform and for a reasonable period thereafter to allow for backup and archival purposes.

5.2 Content Removal

You may delete your own User Content at any time through the Platform's interface, subject to the following:

Discussion posts and comments may be deleted or edited by the author. Posts with existing replies may be soft-deleted (content removed, placeholder retained to preserve thread context).
Direct messages may be deleted from your view. The recipient's copy is not affected by your deletion.
Profile information may be edited or removed at any time through your account settings.

5.3 Content Standards

All User Content must comply with our Community Guidelines. We reserve the right to remove or hide any content that violates these Terms or our Community Guidelines, with or without notice.

5.4 No Obligation to Monitor

We are not obligated to monitor all User Content, but we reserve the right to do so. We may review, screen, or remove content at our discretion. We rely on user reports and community moderators to help maintain a positive environment.

6. Privacy

Your privacy is important to us. Our collection, use, and sharing of your personal information is governed by our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated into these Terms by reference.

Key highlights:

You control the visibility of your contact information through granular privacy settings
We do not sell your personal information to third parties
We do not use third-party advertising or analytics tracking
You may request deletion of your account and personal data

Please review our Privacy Policy for complete details.

7. Communications

7.1 Transactional Emails

By creating an account, you consent to receive transactional emails necessary for the operation of your account, including email verification and confirmation, password reset instructions, account security notifications, and support thread replies.

These communications cannot be opted out of while your account is active.

7.2 Notification Emails

The Platform sends notifications about activity relevant to you, including new messages, connection requests, replies to your posts, and community updates. You may control the frequency and type of these notifications through your notification preferences in account settings. Options include immediate delivery, daily digest, weekly digest, or off (in-app notification only).

8. Connections & Messaging

8.1 Connection Requests

The Platform allows you to request connections with other alumni for purposes including networking, career advice, and reconnecting. You may control who may send you connection requests through your connection preferences, set daily limits, pause incoming requests, accept or silently ignore incoming requests, and disconnect from a connected user at any time.

8.2 Blocking

You may block any user on the Platform. Blocking a user will prevent the blocked user from sending you messages and hide the blocked user's discussion posts and comments from your view. The blocked user will not be notified that they have been blocked.

9. Communities

9.1 Community Types

The Platform offers various community types, including geographic (district-based), academic (college and major-based), affinity (interest-based), industry, and custom communities.

9.2 Community Membership

You may join communities relevant to your interests and background. Some communities may have membership requirements (e.g., geographic location, college affiliation).

9.3 Community Moderation

Communities are moderated by Belmont staff and volunteer Community Leader Council (CLC) members. Moderators may hide, lock, or remove content that violates these Terms or the Community Guidelines. See the Community Guidelines for details on the moderation process.

10. Career Resources

The Platform provides career guidance resources (downloadable documents and guides) created by Belmont University staff. These resources are provided for informational and educational purposes only, not a substitute for professional career counseling, and are made available without warranty of any kind.

The Platform also offers alumni-to-alumni networking features based on shared career interests. Belmont does not endorse, verify, or guarantee any professional advice, opportunities, or outcomes that may result from alumni connections made through the Platform.

11. Content Submissions

Alumni may submit content (such as news items or event announcements) for potential publication on the Platform. Submitted content is reviewed by Belmont staff before publication. Belmont reserves the right to accept, reject, or edit submitted content at its sole discretion.

12. Intellectual Property

12.1 Belmont's Intellectual Property

The Platform, including its design, features, functionality, and all content created by Belmont (excluding User Content), is owned by Belmont University and is protected by copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws.

"Belmont University," the Belmont logo, "Bruins," and related marks are trademarks of Belmont University. You may not use these marks without prior written permission.

12.2 Third-Party Intellectual Property

You may not post content that infringes the intellectual property rights of any third party. If you believe your intellectual property has been used on the Platform without authorization, please contact us at alumni@belmont.edu.

13. Third-Party Services

13.1 Single Sign-On

The Platform offers the option to sign in using Google. If you choose to use a third-party sign-on service, you are subject to that service's terms of service and privacy policy. We receive only your email address and display name from Google and do not access any other Google account data.

13.2 Infrastructure

The Platform uses third-party services for hosting, email delivery, and file storage. Your use of the Platform constitutes acknowledgment that your data may be stored and processed by these service providers in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

14. Disclaimers

14.1 "As Is" Service

THE PLATFORM IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.

14.2 No Guarantee of Availability

We do not warrant that the Platform will be uninterrupted, error-free, secure, or free of viruses or other harmful components. We may modify, suspend, or discontinue the Platform (or any part thereof) at any time, with or without notice.

14.3 User Interactions

We are not responsible for the conduct of any user on or off the Platform. You are solely responsible for your interactions with other users. We encourage you to exercise caution and good judgment in your interactions.

15. Limitation of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, BELMONT UNIVERSITY, ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, AND AFFILIATES SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OF DATA, LOSS OF PROFITS, OR LOSS OF GOODWILL, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR USE OF THE PLATFORM, WHETHER BASED ON WARRANTY, CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), OR ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY, EVEN IF WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

IN NO EVENT SHALL OUR TOTAL LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ALL CLAIMS ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE PLATFORM EXCEED ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS ($100).

16. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Belmont University, its officers, directors, employees, agents, and affiliates from and against any and all claims, damages, losses, liabilities, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or in connection with your use of the Platform, your User Content, your violation of these Terms, your violation of any rights of any third party, or your violation of any applicable law.

17. Account Termination

17.1 By You

You may request deletion of your account at any time through your account settings or by contacting us at alumni@belmont.edu.

17.2 By Belmont

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate your account at any time, with or without cause, with or without notice. Reasons for termination may include violation of these Terms, fraudulent or illegal activity, extended inactivity, or a request by law enforcement.

17.3 Effect of Termination

Upon termination of your account, your profile information will be removed from public view, your access will be revoked, content you posted in discussions may remain visible in anonymized form (e.g., attributed to "Former Member"), and the license you granted us will terminate except as reasonably necessary for archival, backup, or legal compliance purposes.

18. Governing Law & Dispute Resolution

18.1 Governing Law

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Tennessee, without regard to its conflict of law principles.

18.2 Dispute Resolution

Any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Platform shall be resolved exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Davidson County, Tennessee. You consent to the personal jurisdiction of such courts and waive any objections to venue.

19. General Provisions

This Agreement (including the Privacy Policy and Community Guidelines) constitutes the entire agreement between you and Belmont University regarding the Platform and supersedes all prior agreements and understandings. If any provision of these Terms is found to be unenforceable, the remaining provisions will remain in full force and effect. Our failure to enforce any provision shall not constitute a waiver.

20. Contact Information

If you have questions about these Terms, please contact us at:

Belmont University — Alumni Engagement
1900 Belmont Boulevard
Nashville, Tennessee 37212
Email: alumni@belmont.edu