SynchThese Terms govern how external Discord communities take part in the Synch Academy's Community Programs, which let a community submit Courses, Pathways, Exams and Simulation scenarios (together, "Programs") to the Academy catalogue as externally authored content. By applying to become a Provider, or by using the Community Portal in any capacity, the community and its authorised representatives agree to these Terms.
These Terms apply in addition to the SynchAcademy Terms, our Terms & Conditions and the SynchAcademy Privacy Policy. Using the Academy to train your own team (Teams) is separate, and explained in Synch Academy for Teams.
1. Definitions
- Guild: the external Discord server applying to submit Programs.
- Provider: the Academy's record of a Guild once it has applied to this program.
- Designated Person ("DP"): an individual, distinct from the Guild, who may be named as the owner of submitted content instead of the Guild.
- Admin: the individual treated as the primary owner of a Provider (section 3).
- Guild Manager: an individual with content-editing rights in the Community Portal, below the Admin (section 3).
- Synch Liaison: an individual nominated by the Guild as a point of contact (section 4). A Liaison is a different role from a Guild Manager.
- Ambassador: one of the first fifty (50) Providers approved under this program (section 13).
- Program: a course, pathway, exam or simulation scenario submitted for review.
- Verified content: content written or reviewed by Synch's own staff. Content submitted under this program is never verified: it is always shown in the catalogue as external, and credited to the Provider that submitted it.
2. Eligibility
To apply, and to stay active as a Provider, a Guild must:
1. Have at least fifty (50) members, as reported by Synch's systems. Membership is checked regularly. A Provider is only suspended for falling below 50 after two checks in a row find it below, so a temporary dip doesn't cause a suspension. 2. Keep SynchAcademy in its server at all times. We use the bot to check eligibility and run this program. If it's removed, the Provider is automatically suspended until it's added back. 3. Have someone with the Manage Server permission sign in to the Community Portal to complete onboarding.
Meeting these requirements puts an application forward for review; it doesn't make a Provider active by itself. A member of the Education & Training Board (ETB) must approve the application first.
3. Provider administration
The Community Portal recognises two levels of representative in each Guild:
- Admin. The person holding the highest-ranked role with the Administrator permission is treated as the Admin, the Provider's primary owner. There is one Admin per Provider at a time.
- Guild Manager. Anyone else with the Manage Server permission (but not Administrator) is a Guild Manager, with content-editing access below the Admin.
4. Synch Liaison
Every Provider must nominate at least one Synch Liaison, and at least one Liaison must be a member of Synch's public Discord server, so our staff have a reachable contact for tickets, issues and accountability.
If every nominated Liaison leaves Synch's public server, the Provider's content is suspended after a grace period of 24 to 48 hours, so a replacement can be nominated first. If a Liaison is banned instead, there is no grace period and suspension is immediate.
5. Ownership of submitted content
Content submitted under this program is owned by the Guild by default. An application may instead name a Designated Person as the owner, in which case ownership belongs to that individual rather than the Guild.
6. Third-party material and copyright
If submitted content includes material owned by someone else, the Guild or Designated Person must hold a signed letter from the real rights-holder giving permission to use it. We don't collect this letter when content is submitted, but you must keep it, and any member of the ETB may ask to see it at any time.
Synch isn't liable for copyright infringement in externally submitted content. We carry out reasonable checks during review, but the Guild and any Designated Person certify that they own, or have the right to use, everything they submit, and are responsible for that. Rights-holders can report infringing content under our Copyright & Takedown Policy.
7. Required disclaimers
All externally submitted content is shown with a notice that it comes from an external party and may not reflect the views of Synch. Acceptance of this notice, and of these Terms, is recorded in the Community Portal when content is submitted. No separate signed agreement is needed.
8. Submission, review and publication
Our staff review every submission before it's published. Editing content that's already published sends it back for review: there is no way to make a live, unreviewed edit. Any edit to Advanced courses or exams needs re-approval; edits to Essential, Intro and Intermediate content may need re-approval, depending on the change.
Each submission ends as one of:
- Accepted: published to the catalogue, credited to the Provider.
- Returned: not published, because of an issue that can be fixed. You can revise and resubmit it. Being returned isn't a finding that you broke these Terms.
- Rejected: final. Used when a submission breaks these Terms or Discord's Terms of Service, involves false or fraudulent copyright documents, or is part of a similarly serious or deliberate breach.
A Guild can have up to ten (10) submissions waiting for a final outcome at any time. Provider courses must also meet our minimum content requirements (at least one module and three lessons, with no empty modules or blank lessons) before they can be submitted.
Exams on external content are taken and marked automatically in the same way as our own. Synch staff, including our Examiners, approve the answer key before publication and grade any written answers. Providers may write simulation scenarios (the brief, persona and rubric), but never run a live simulation: claiming, steering and grading a live simulation is always done by Synch's own staff.
9. Mature Content tag
A Program can carry a Mature Content tag in two ways: the Provider declares it when submitting (and we confirm it in review), or it's reported after publication and our staff confirm it. Learners can't change the tag.
The tag is a click-through warning, not an age check. Synch cannot and does not verify anyone's age; the tag relies on the viewer's own confirmation.
10. Reporting, suspension and blacklisting
Every externally submitted Program has a Report button, and our staff review every report.
Suspension for reported or rule-breaking content applies to the whole Provider, not just one course, pathway, exam or simulation, so suspended content can't simply be resubmitted under a new name.
Blacklisting applies separately to both the Discord server ID and the Discord user ID of the Provider's owner. A blacklisted server stays blocked under new ownership, and a blacklisted person stays blocked if they try again with a new server.
If a Provider is banned, certificates already issued for its content aren't revoked automatically; the ETB reviews them case by case.
Every Provider action (submission, approval, rejection, return and report) is logged.
11. Certificates
Certificates for externally authored content show the Synch and Synch Academy marks that appear on every certificate, plus a third mark identifying the Provider's Guild. Any Guild logo used this way goes through the same content review as other submitted material. Our Exams, Certificates & Academic Integrity policy applies to every certificate.
12. Display privileges
What a Provider can show depends on its member count, whether or not it's an Ambassador:
- 50 or more members: the baseline for an active Provider, and the point at which the Guild's logo can be shown on certificates and in the catalogue.
- 100 or more members: the Guild's invite link can also be shown.
13. Ambassador Communities
The first fifty (50) Providers approved under this program are Ambassador Communities.
- Ambassadors are exempt from the ongoing 50-member check in section 2: they aren't automatically suspended for dropping below 50 members.
- Ambassadors are eligible for the in-server VIP perks that Synch offers its partners, such as the VIP lounge and high-value giveaways. See the Boosting and Partnerships parts of our FAQ.
Ambassador status doesn't protect a Provider from suspension or blacklisting for cause under section 10.
14. Appeals
A Provider that has been rejected, suspended or blacklisted may appeal. Appeals are reviewed by the Education & Training Board, for up to two review passes. If it's still unresolved after two passes, it goes to the Office of Internal Affairs.
15. Changes to these Terms
Synch may change these Terms at any time. Providers and their Synch Liaisons are told about important changes through the Community Portal. Continuing to use the Community Portal, or to operate as an active Provider, after being told about a change means you accept the updated Terms. Every version is kept in this page's history.