NATIONAL UNIVERSITY TEACHER AWARD (the “Promotion”) OFFICIAL RULES
NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT NECESSARY TO ENTER OR TO WIN. A PURCHASE WILL NOT IMPROVE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.
SPONSOR:
The sponsor of the Promotion is National University ("Sponsor"), 11255 North Torrey Pines Rd., La Jolla, CA 92037.
PROMOTION DESCRIPTION:
The Promotion begins at 12:00:00 a.m. Pacific Time on March 30, 2021 and ends at 11:59:59 p.m. Pacific Time on May 10, 2021 (the "Promotion Period"). The Promotion is comprised of a contest that involves individuals first submitting nominations for outstanding teachers by 11:59:59 p.m. May 10, 2021 (the “Nomination Deadline”) and then nominees submitting essays for judging, as further explained below. Five (5) regional finalists will each receive a non-transferable full-tuition scholarship for a Masters of Arts in Social Emotional Learning degree at National University’s Sanford College of Education with a cash prize of Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000). One (1) of the regional finalists will be named a grand-prize winner. The grand-prize winner will receive the National University Teacher of the Year Award with an additional cash-prize of Forty Thousand Dollars ($40,000.00) amounting to a total cash prize of Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00). None of the tuition prizes in this contest may be redeemed for cash value.
By participating in the Promotion, each nominee unconditionally accepts and agrees to comply with and abide by these Official Rules and the decisions of Sponsor which shall be final and binding in all respects. Entry in the Promotion does not constitute entry into any other promotion, contest, or sweepstakes.
ELIGIBILITY:
The Promotion is open only to nominees who are residents of the 50 United States of America or the District of Columbia who (a) are 21 years of age or older as of the time of entry; (b) are licensed/credentialed teachers in the 50 United States of America or the District of Columbia; (c) teach at a Pre-K-12 school (public, private or charter) in the United States; and (d) have at least 3 years of teaching experience. Employees of Sponsor, its prize providers and licensors, and each of the foregoing entities' affiliates, authorized designees and other related entities, and any other individual or entity associated with the development, judging or administration of the Promotion (collectively, the "Promotion Entities"), as well as members of such employees' immediate families (spouses, children, siblings, parents), and persons living in the same household as such persons, whether or not related, are not eligible to participate in the Promotion.
HOW TO ENTER:
To nominate a teacher for the Promotion, prior to the Nomination Deadline, submit a nomination form on https://secure1.com/nuta/login/login.cfm. The nominee will receive a follow-up email, through which he/she will be invited to create a free account to complete the application process. The nominee will then receive a link to respond to short essay questions, sharing how he/she incorporates the Inspirational Instruction Indicators in his/her teaching (the “Submission”). The nominee must read and agree to these Official Rules. Limit one (1) Submission per nominee.
The Submission must meet the following “Submission Requirements”: (i) the Submission must be the submitting nominee’s original, previously unpublished work and not include any material owned or controlled by third parties (including without limitation, third party copyrighted material); (ii) if requested, the nominee, must provide upon request all appropriate clearances, permissions and releases for the Submission (in the event an nominee cannot provide all required releases, Sponsor reserves the right, in Sponsor’s sole discretion, to disqualify the applicable Submission, or seek to secure the releases and clearances for Sponsor’s benefit, or allow the applicable Submission to remain in the Promotion); (iii) the Submission must not include any content that is obscene, pornographic, libelous or otherwise objectionable; and (iv) the Submission must be accurate and truthful. Any Submission that, in Sponsor's good faith judgment, violates the Submission Requirements will be disqualified. Submissions must be received by the end of the Promotion Period to be entered into the Promotion. No substitutions of new versions of Submissions will be accepted under any circumstances once the original Submission is submitted for consideration.
GENERAL CONDITIONS OF ENTRY:
Sponsor is the official timekeeper for the Promotion. All entry information and materials become the property of Sponsor and will not be acknowledged or returned. Proof of entering entry information on any of the websites is not considered proof of delivery to or receipt by Sponsor of such entry. Except as otherwise contemplated in these Official Rules, and to the extent nominees may otherwise elect at the time of entry, personal information collected in connection with the Promotion will be used in accordance with Sponsor’s online privacy policy, located at https://www.nusystem.org/sanford-Privacy.html. Any communication or information transmitted to Sponsor by email or otherwise is and will be treated as non-confidential and non-proprietary.
Entry must be made by the nominee only in the manner described above. Submissions made by any other individual or any entity (notwithstanding nominations by other people), and/or originating at any other website or e-mail address, including but not limited to commercial sweepstakes subscription notification and/or entering service websites, will be declared invalid and disqualified for this Promotion. Tampering with the entry process or the operation of the Promotion, including but not limited to the use of any device to automate the entry process, is prohibited and any entries deemed by Sponsor, in its sole discretion, to have been submitted in this manner will be void. In the event a dispute regarding the identity of the individual who actually submitted an entry cannot be resolved to Sponsor’s satisfaction, the affected entry will be deemed ineligible. The Promotion Entities shall not be responsible for incorrect or inaccurate entry information whether caused by Internet users or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Promotion or by any technical or human error which may occur in the processing of the entries in the Promotion. The Promotion Entities assume no responsibility or liability for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, theft or destruction, or unauthorized access to, or alteration of entries. Nominees may be required to submit subsequent materials, including but not limited to video submissions, letters of recommendation and a background check.
REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES; INDEMNIFICATION:
Each person who enters this Promotion, represents and warrants as follows: (i) the Submission is the nominee’s own original, previously unpublished, and previously unproduced work; (ii) the Submission does not contain any computer virus (as applicable), is otherwise uncorrupted, is wholly original with nominee, and as of the date of submission, is not the subject of any actual or threatened litigation or claim; (iii) the Submission does not and will not violate or infringe upon the intellectual property rights or other rights of any third party; and (iv) the Submission does not and will not violate any applicable laws, and is not and will not be defamatory or libelous. Each nominee hereby agrees to indemnify and hold the Promotion Entities harmless from and against any and all third party claims, actions or proceedings of any kind and from any and all damages, liabilities, costs and expenses relating to or arising out of any breach or alleged breach of any of the warranties, representations or agreements of nominee hereunder.
NOMINEE'S GRANT OF RIGHTS:
For good and valuable consideration, the receipt and legal sufficiency of which is hereby acknowledged, each nominee into the Promotion hereby irrevocably grants Sponsor, its successors and assigns, a non-exclusive license (but not the obligation) to reproduce, publicly perform, stream, exploit and otherwise use the Submission throughout the universe, in perpetuity, for any reason whatsoever in any and all media, without further notice to, consent by, or payment to nominee. Without in any way limiting the foregoing, Sponsor shall have the right, in its sole discretion, to edit, composite, morph, scan, duplicate, make derivative works of, or alter the Submission for any purpose which Sponsor deems necessary or desirable, and each nominee irrevocably waives any and all so-called moral rights they may have therein. Sponsor shall have the right to freely assign its rights hereunder, in whole or in part, to any person or entity. Sponsor shall retain the rights granted in each Submission even if the Submission is disqualified or fails to meet the Submission Requirements.
WINNER SELECTION; JUDGING CRITERIA:
At the end of the Promotion Period, employees of Sponsor will select five (5) regional finalists from all entries and one (1) grand-prize winner from among all of the Submissions based on the following judging criteria:
- Engages students (20%)
- Builds confidence (20%)
- Creates an inclusive environment (20%)
- Motivates students to succeed (20%)
- Gives students a voice (20%)
The judging criteria are to be applied in the sole discretion of Sponsor and the individual judges. By entering the Promotion, nominees acknowledge that such evaluations may differ from person to person and agree to be bound by and not challenge the final decisions of Sponsor and the individual judges. In the event a winning entry is discovered to be invalid for any reason whatsoever or the person who submitted the winning entry fails to comply with these Official Rules prior to delivery of the prize, the prize may be forfeited and awarded to an alternate winner/finalist. Nominees may be required to submit subsequent materials, including but not limited to video submissions, letters of recommendation and a background check.
NOTICE TO WINNERS/FINALISTS:
Attempts to notify potential winners/finalists will be made using the e-mail address or other contact information provided at entry and will include instructions on how to respond. Sponsor is not responsible for communication problems of any kind. If, despite reasonable efforts, a potential finalist does not respond as instructed in the notification within ten (10) days of the first notification attempt (or such shorter time as exigencies may require), or if the prize or prize notification is returned as unclaimed or undeliverable to such potential finalist, such potential finalist will forfeit his or her prize and an alternate winner/finalist may be selected.
PRIZES:
Five (5) regional finalists will receive a non-transferable full-tuition scholarship for a Master of Arts in Social Emotional Learning degree at National University’s Sanford College of Education with a cash-prize of Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00). One of the 5 regional finalists will be named a grand-prize winner. The grand-prize winner will receive the National University Teacher of the Year Award with an additional cash-prize of Forty Thousand Dollars ($40,000.00) amounting to a total cash prize of Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00). None of the tuition prizes may be redeemed for cash value.
GENERAL PRIZE CONDITIONS:
Gift cards are subject to the terms and conditions printed thereon and imposed by the issuer. No cash alternative or substitution of prizes will be allowed, except Sponsor reserves the right in its sole discretion to substitute prizes of comparable value if any prize listed is unavailable, in whole or in part, for any reason. Prizes will be awarded only if the potential prize winner/finalist fully complies with these Official Rules. All portions of the prize(s) are non-assignable and non-transferable. Any prizes pictured in point-of-sale, online, television and print advertising, promotional packaging, and other Sweepstakes materials are for illustrative purposes only. All details and other restrictions of the prize(s) not specified in these Official Rules will be determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion. Each prize winner/finalist shall be solely responsible for all federal, state and/or local taxes, and the reporting consequences thereof, and for any other fees or costs associated with the applicable prize. ALL PRIZES ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AND SPONSOR HEREBY DISCLAIMS ALL SUCH WARRANTIES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND/OR NON-INFRINGEMENT.
FURTHER DOCUMENTATION:
Potential finalists will be required to submit a confidential letter of support and execute an Affidavit of Eligibility, a Liability Release, Submissions license or assignment, and (where imposing such condition is legal) a Publicity Release (collectively, "Prize Claim Documents"). If any potential finalist fails or refuses to sign and return all Prize Claim Documents within five (5) days of Sponsor's request (or such shorter time as exigencies may require), the finalist may be disqualified and an alternate finalist may be selected.
DATES AND DEADLINES/ANTICIPATED NUMBER OF NOMINEES:
Because of the unique nature and scope of the Promotion, Sponsor reserves the right, in addition to those other rights reserved herein, to modify any dates or deadlines set forth in these Official Rules or otherwise governing the Promotion. Sponsor cannot accurately predict the number of nominees who will participate in the Promotion.
NATURE OF RELATIONSHIP/WAIVER OF EQUITABLE RELIEF:
Each nominee hereby acknowledges and agrees that the relationship between the nominee and the Promotion Entities is not a confidential, fiduciary, or other special relationship, and that the nominee’s decision to provide the nominee’s Submission to Sponsor for purposes of the Promotion does not place the Promotion Entities in a position that is any different from the position held by members of the general public with regard to elements of the nominee’s Submission. Each nominee understands and acknowledges that the Promotion Entities have wide access to ideas, stories, photographs, designs, and other literary materials, and that new ideas are constantly being submitted to it or being developed by their own employees. Each nominee also acknowledges that many ideas or other materials may be competitive with, similar or identical to the Submission and/or each other in theme, idea, format, or other respects. Each nominee acknowledges and agrees that such nominee will not be entitled to any compensation as a result of any Promotion Entity’s use of any such similar or identical material. Each nominee acknowledges and agrees that the Promotion Entities do not now and shall not have in the future any duty or liability, direct or indirect, vicarious, contributory, or otherwise, with respect to the infringement or protection of the copyright in and to the Submission.
NO OBLIGATION TO USE:
Sponsor shall have no obligation (express or implied) to use any Submission or any materials or content created by the nominee (the “Materials”), or to otherwise exploit any Submission or Materials or, if commenced, to continue the distribution or exploitation thereof, and Sponsor may at any time abandon the use of the Submission or Materials for any reason, with or without legal justification or excuse, and nominees shall not be entitled to any damages or other relief by reason thereof. All costs incurred by the nominee in preparing and submitting a Submission are the responsibility of the nominee. Sponsor is not responsible for and will not reimburse any of the nominee's costs.
GENERAL LIABILITY RELEASE/FORCE MAJEURE:
Nominees agree that the Promotion Entities (a) shall not be responsible or liable for any losses, damages, or injuries of any kind (including death) resulting from participation in the Promotion or any Promotion-related activity, or from nominees' acceptance, receipt, possession, use, or misuse of any prize, and (b) have not made any warranty, representation, or guarantee express or implied, in fact or in law, with respect to any prize, including, without limitation, regarding such prize's quality or fitness for a particular purpose. Nominees, on behalf of themselves and their respective children, hereby release Promotion Entities from and against any liability, including, without limitation, liability for any property damage, property loss, bodily injury, or death resulting from participation in the Promotion or any Promotion-related activity, or from nominees' acceptance, receipt, possession, use, or misuse of any prize. Nominees will indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the Promotion Entities from and against all third party claims arising from or relating to the nominee's participation in the Promotion. Sponsor assumes no responsibility for any damage to an nominee's computer system which is occasioned by accessing Promotion-related websites or participating in the Promotion, or for any computer system, phone line, hardware, software, or program malfunctions, or other errors, failures, delayed computer transmissions or network connections that are human or technical in nature. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, Sponsor is not responsible for incomplete, illegible, misdirected, misprinted, late, lost, postage-due, damaged, or stolen entries or prize notifications; or for lost, interrupted, inaccessible, or unavailable networks, servers, satellites, Internet Service Providers, websites, or other connections; or for miscommunications, failed, jumbled, scrambled, delayed, or misdirected computer, telephone, cable transmissions or other communications; or for any technical malfunctions, failures, difficulties, or other errors of any kind or nature; or for the incorrect or inaccurate capture of information, or the failure to capture any information. Sponsor reserves the right in its sole discretion to disqualify any individual who is found to be tampering with the entry process or the operation of the Promotion or Promotion-related websites, to be acting in violation of these Official Rules, or to be acting in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner, or with the intent to disrupt or undermine the legitimate operation of the Promotion, or to annoy, abuse, threaten, or harass any other person, and Sponsor reserves the right to seek damages and other remedies from any such person to the fullest extent permitted by law. In the event an insufficient number of eligible entries are received or Sponsor is prevented from awarding prize(s) or continuing with the Promotion as contemplated herein by any event beyond its control, including, without limitation, fire, flood, natural or man-made epidemic, earthquake, explosion, labor dispute or strike, act of God or public enemy, satellite or equipment failure, riot or civil disturbance, terrorist threat or activity, war (declared or undeclared) or any federal state or local government law, order, or regulation, public health crisis, order of any court or jurisdiction, or other cause not reasonably within Sponsor's control (each a "Force Majeure" event or occurrence), Sponsor shall have the right to modify, suspend, or terminate the Promotion. If the Promotion is terminated for Force Majeure before the end of the Promotion Period, Sponsor will (if possible) select winners/finalists from all eligible, non-suspect entries received as of the date of the event giving rise to the termination. These Official Rules cannot be modified or amended in any way except in a written document issued in accordance with the law by a duly authorized representative of Sponsor. The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision of these Official Rules shall not affect the validity or enforceability of any other provision. In the event that any provision is determined to be invalid or otherwise unenforceable or illegal, these Official Rules shall otherwise remain in effect and shall be construed in accordance with their terms as if the invalid or illegal provision were not contained herein.
PUBLICITY RELEASE:
By participating in the Promotion, in addition to any other grants which may be granted in any other agreement entered into between Sponsor and any nominee in the Promotion, each nominee irrevocably grants the Promotion Entities and their respective successors, assigns, and licensees, the right to use such nominee's and the nominee’s child’s name, likeness, image, and biographical information in any and all media for any purpose, including, without limitation, advertising and publicity purposes, as well as in connection with the Promotion and hereby releases the Promotion Entities from any liability with respect thereto.
GOVERNING LAW/JURISDICTION:
All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Official Rules or the rights and obligations of nominees and Sponsor in connection with the Promotion shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of California without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of laws rules or provisions. Any legal claims arising out of or relating to the Promotion or these Official Rules must be brought in the federal or state courts located in San Diego County, California.
ARBITRATION AGREEMENT & WAIVER OF CERTAIN RIGHTS:
By participating in this Promotion, nominee agrees that any and all disputes nominee may have with, or claims nominee may have against the Promotion Entities relating to, arising out of or connected in any way with (a) the Promotion, (b) the awarding or redemption of any prize, and/or (c) the determination of the scope or applicability of this agreement to arbitrate (a “Claim”), will be resolved exclusively by final and binding arbitration in accordance with the Rules of the American Arbitration Association (“AAA Rules”). The arbitration will be heard and determined by a single arbitrator. The arbitrator's decision in any such arbitration will be final and binding upon the parties and may be enforced in any court of competent jurisdiction. The parties agree that the arbitration will be kept confidential and that the existence of the proceeding and any element of it will not be disclosed beyond the arbitration proceedings, except as may be required by applicable law.
If nominee demonstrates that the costs of arbitration will be prohibitive as compared to the costs of litigation, Sponsor will pay as much of the administrative costs and arbitrator’s fees required for the arbitration as the arbitrator deems necessary to prevent the cost of the arbitration from being prohibitive. In the final award, the arbitrator may apportion the costs of arbitration and the compensation of the arbitrator among the parties in such amounts as the arbitrator deems appropriate.
This arbitration agreement does not preclude nominees from seeking action by federal, state, or local government agencies. Nominees and Sponsor also have the right to bring qualifying claims in small claims court. In addition, nominee and Sponsor retain the right to apply to any court of competent jurisdiction for provisional relief, including pre-arbitral attachments or preliminary injunctions, and any such request shall not be deemed incompatible with these Official Rules, nor a waiver of the right to have disputes submitted to arbitration as provided in these Official Rules.
Neither Nominee nor Sponsor may act as a class representative or private attorney general, nor participate as a member of a class of claimants, with respect to any Claim. Claims may not be arbitrated on a class or representative basis. The arbitrator can decide only Nominee and/or Sponsor’s individual Claims. The arbitrator may not consolidate or join the claims of other persons or parties who may be similarly situated. If for any reason a claim proceeds in court rather than in arbitration we each waive any right to a jury trial.
THIS SECTION LIMITS CERTAIN RIGHTS, INCLUDING THE RIGHT TO MAINTAIN A COURT ACTION, THE RIGHT TO A JURY TRIAL, THE RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE IN ANY FORM OF CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE CLAIM, THE RIGHT TO ENGAGE IN DISCOVERY EXCEPT AS PROVIDED IN AAA RULES, AND THE RIGHT TO CERTAIN REMEDIES AND FORMS OF RELIEF. OTHER RIGHTS THAT NOMINEE OR SPONSOR WOULD HAVE IN COURT ALSO MAY NOT BE AVAILABLE IN ARBITRATION. If any provision of this Section is found to be invalid or unenforceable, then that specific provision shall be of no force and effect and shall be severed, but the remainder of this Section will continue in full force and effect. This Section of these Official Rules will survive the termination of your relationship with Sponsor.
WINNERS LIST/OFFICIAL RULES:
To obtain any legally-required winners/finalist list (after the conclusion of the Promotion) or a copy of these Official Rules, send a self-addressed envelope with the proper postage affixed to: National University System, 11355 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA 92037 Attn: National University Teacher Awards. Please specify "winners list" or "Official Rules" and the name of the Promotion in your request.