Terms of Use

What these terms cover

Enrollment in a program is subject to a separate enrollment agreement. Where that agreement and these Terms conflict, the enrollment agreement governs the program.

• This website and its content
• The Ardent Scholar research workspace
• Applications, accounts and program communications
• AI-assisted review and drafting tools within the workspace

Who may use our services

Ardent Research serves students in grades 6 through 12 and their families.

A student may open an account to apply. We require the name and contact details of a parent or legal guardian at the same time, and any enrollment agreement is made with the parent or guardian. A student who has not reached the age of majority takes part with their guardian’s knowledge and consent.

Accounts

You agree to:

• Provide accurate and current information
• Keep your sign-in credentials to yourself
• Tell us promptly about any unauthorized use of your account

You may not

• Access or attempt to access accounts, systems or data without authorization
• Interfere with the operation, security or availability of the services
• Scrape, harvest, copy or bulk-download content or user information
• Use bots or automated tools to extract content except as expressly authorized
• Impersonate another person or misrepresent your affiliation
• Upload malicious code or attempt to disrupt service
• Harass, threaten, abuse or harm another user
• Submit unlawful, defamatory, obscene or infringing content
• Use Ardent materials to develop competing educational products without written permission

Student researchers, as well as adults who have a role in projects, are expected to maintain the highest ethical standards. Scientific fraud and misconduct are not condoned at any level of research or competition. This includes plagiarism, fabrication, and falsification of research data.

Work submitted in the program must be the scholar’s own. AI tools in the workspace review and assemble what a scholar has written; using them, or anything else, to produce work presented as their own is a breach of these Terms.

What you keep

A scholar owns the research work they create. By using the workspace you grant Ardent Research permission to store, display and process that work to run the program, including mentor review and AI-assisted feedback.

We do not publish a scholar’s name, project or work without recorded permission from their family.

What we keep

The site, the workspace, the research methodology, curriculum materials and review rubrics remain the property of Ardent Research and its licensors.

No guaranteed outcome

The program provides mentorship, instruction and structured guidance. Completion of a project, submission to competitions, and awards are not guaranteed. Ultimate responsibility for completing a project and meeting deadlines rests with the student and their parent or guardian.

Services provided as-is

The site and workspace are provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis, without warranties of any kind to the extent permitted by law. AI-assisted features may produce output that is incomplete or incorrect and are not a substitute for a mentor’s judgment.

Changes and governing law

We may update these Terms. Material changes will be reflected in the date at the top of this page. These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of California.

Questions about this document can be sent to research@ardentresearch.org.

See also Privacy Policy · Terms of Use