Respondus licence agreements are a family of template contracts that Respondus, Inc. publishes for each audience. Institutions sign an agreement for the product they buy. Students and other end users accept click-through terms when they use the software. Respondus processes personal data under a separate data processing agreement that, by its own words, forms part of the subscription licence agreement.[8] The Privacy Policy lists the software it covers and says it is incorporated into each product’s Terms of Use: Respondus 4.0, StudyMate.com, StudyMate Campus, LockDown Browser, Respondus Monitor (institution, student and Pearson-specific versions) and the Respondus Help Center.[9]
Editions
The documents differ by product and by who signs.
| Document | Signer | Date shown | Covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| LockDown Browser License Agreement for Educational Institutions | Institution | Last Updated 2023-02-03 | LockDown Browser; optional Respondus Monitor seats[1] |
| Respondus 4 License Agreement for Educational Institutions | Institution | Last Updated 2024-06-06 | Respondus 4 campus-wide licence[2] |
| LockDown Browser & StudyMate Campus License Agreement for K-12 Institutions | School or district | None; code LDBSMK 050626 | K-12 pilot or site licence[3] |
| StudyMate Campus License Agreement for Higher Education Institutions | College or university | None | StudyMate Campus pilot or campus-wide licence[4] |
| Respondus Monitor Institution License and Terms of Use | Institution | Last updated 2024-02-27 | Respondus Monitor service and software[5] |
| Respondus Monitor Student Terms of Use | Student | Last Updated 2026-01-15 | Student licence, fees, arbitration[6] |
| LockDown Browser End User License Agreement | Any user | Last Updated 2022-01-10 | Installed software, with Help Center terms[7] |
Metrics
The agreements fix the unit of licence rather than a metered quantity. In the LockDown Browser agreement the software is “licensed as a campus-wide site license” with fees by student Full-Time Equivalency from IPEDS; outside the United States the fee uses total student annual enrollment, subject to audit by Respondus.[1] The Respondus 4 agreement bases higher-education fees on student FTE and K-12 fees on the LMS seat licence.[2] The K-12 agreement licenses LockDown Browser and StudyMate Campus as a site licence with a fee based on the LMS seat licence.[3] The only seat unit is for Respondus Monitor: the LockDown Browser agreement defines the included 200 seats as one student per course, per term.[1] Pricing detail is in Respondus licensing.
Counting / floors
The agreements contain no true-up or retrospective-fee formula. The accuracy of the declared figure is the licensee’s obligation: the ordering form requests Student FTE based on IPEDS data, or total annual enrollment outside the United States, and the K-12 form requests the number of seats licensed for the LMS.[1][3] Respondus Monitor seats above the purchased tier are handled commercially: the pricing page says the system keeps allocating seats so that more can be purchased.[11]
Clause comparison
| Clause | LockDown Browser | Respondus 4 | K-12 | StudyMate (HE) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Who may use | Affiliates: employees, instructors, students[1] | Employees, instructors, teaching assistants[2] | Employees, teachers, students[3] | Employees, instructors, students[4] |
| Term | August 1 or January 1[1] | August 1 or January 1[2] | August 1 to July 31 unless agreed[3] | August 1 to July 31 unless agreed[4] |
| Renewal | Automatic, then current pricing and terms | Automatic, then current pricing and terms | Automatic unless discontinued in writing | Automatic unless discontinued in writing |
| Non-payment | Access may be suspended; terminated after 30 days[1] | Updates withheld; software ceases to function on expiry[2] | Updates withheld or access restricted[3] | Access restricted or functionality reduced[4] |
| Breach cure | 10 days after written notice[1] | None stated; use must stop immediately on notice[2] | 10 days after written notice[3] | None stated[4] |
| Refund on early exit | None | None | None | None |
All four say a licensee that terminates before the end of the term (generally July 31) gets no refund or proration.[1][2][3][4]
Warranty, liability and indemnity
The LockDown Browser and K-12 agreements contain a limited warranty that Respondus has the legal right and title to grant the licence rights, with all other warranties disclaimed. They also include an indemnity for third-party claims alleging breach of that title warranty, with Respondus controlling the defence.[1][3] The Respondus 4 and StudyMate agreements disclaim warranties without a title warranty or indemnity.[2][4] The Respondus Monitor Institution terms are different again: Respondus indemnifies for judgments that Monitor infringes third-party IP and warrants non-infringement to its knowledge when the terms are first accepted. If Respondus later finds a potential infringement it cannot immediately remove, the institution may end use and obtain a refund of advance-paid fees unless a non-infringing alternative is provided within 90 days.[5]
Contract hierarchy and changes
Three precedence rules matter. First, the LockDown Browser end-user agreement says a separate licence agreement with Respondus prevails over it in a conflict.[7] Second, the LockDown Browser agreement is the “entire agreement” and incorporates the Respondus Monitor Institutional Terms of Use and Monitor Privacy Policy by reference; conflicting purchase-order terms are null and void.[1] Third, the Monitor student terms say that, to the extent they conflict, the institution requirements in section 1 govern the student-institution relationship and the Respondus licence requirements govern the student-Respondus relationship.[6]
Change mechanics vary. The institution agreements accept changes to their terms upon the institution’s or its users’ continued use, and renew at then current terms.[1] The end-user agreement lets Respondus update terms at any time by posting them.[7] The Monitor institution terms require written notice of material changes within 15 days and give a 30-day window to object, with an objected change not taking effect during the current term unless required by law.[5] For an asset manager, the practical consequence is that the version in force on the renewal date, not the one filed at signature, may govern.
Disputes, notices and other terms
The LockDown Browser end-user agreement is governed by Washington law, with arbitration in King County, Washington for most disputes.[7] The Monitor student terms contain an arbitration and class-action waiver between a student and Respondus, and say that disputes between a student and the institution are governed by the law of the institution’s state.[6] Notices under the LockDown Browser agreement are effective on the date sent by email if acknowledged within five days, or three days after posting by registered or certified mail.[1] The LockDown Browser and K-12 agreements also record that Respondus maintains general commercial liability, cyber liability and professional liability insurance, and incorporate the Privacy Policy by reference.[1][3]
Programs
Pilot use runs under the same agreements. The K-12 agreement states that it “can be used for a free, 2-month pilot” or for a site licence, and a pilot licence needs the signed form but not a purchase order or payment.[3] For Respondus Monitor in Pearson learning systems, instructors accept their own terms under which fees are borne by student users.[10]
Out of scope
This article does not summarise the privacy, data-security or accessibility provisions in detail, nor the Help Center terms embedded in the end-user agreement, nor the data processing agreement versions for different regions.[8] It does not cover SDK partner contracts, which are not published.