Terms
Terms & methodology
Last updated September 27, 2026
These terms govern your use of CourseTrees. By using the site you agree to them. We tried to write them so you can actually read them. If anything is unclear, just email us.
Acceptance of these terms
By accessing or using CourseTrees, you agree to these terms and to our privacy notice. If you don't agree, please don't use the site. We may update these terms as the project changes. The “last updated” date above reflects the current version, and continued use after a change means you accept it.
A study aid, not official advice
CourseTrees is independent and student-built. It is free to explore, and Pro is an optional paid plan. CourseTrees will never sell data or paywall public catalog data. It is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by any university. It helps you explore and plan, but it is not an official advising tool. Catalogs change, and our data can lag or contain errors, so always confirm requirements with your school's registrar and advisor before you register. We provide the site “as is,” without warranty.
Cam advising content
Cam's answers are assembled from published catalog data and cited CourseTrees records. The underlying data and Cam's interpretation may be incomplete, outdated, or wrong. They are not academic advice. Confirm requirements in the official catalog and with your registrar or advisor before you register.
Plans, renewal and refunds
CourseTrees is free to use. Pro is an optional paid plan that raises the limits of the free plan, and you can pay for it monthly or yearly. On the website, Stripe processes payments for us. Before you pay, you see the price, how often it renews, and a box to accept these terms. Pro bought in the iPhone app works differently, because Apple bills it (below).
- Renewal. A paid plan renews automatically at the end of each billing period, a month or a year, at the price you signed up at, until you cancel. Before a yearly plan renews, we email you a reminder with the renewal date, the price and how to cancel. If we ever change the price of a plan you have, we'll email you before it changes, and you can cancel first.
- Cancelling. Cancel anytime from Manage billing in your settings, or email contact@coursetrees.com and we'll cancel it for you. Your plan stays on until the end of the period you already paid for and doesn't renew after that.
- Deleting your account. Deleting your account cancels a paid plan right away, and the plan ends that day. That is a plan bought on the website. A subscription bought in the iPhone app is Apple's to cancel (below).
- Refunds. We don't refund time you've already had, including the rest of a period after you cancel or delete your account. If you were charged by mistake, or charged after you cancelled, email contact@coursetrees.com within 30 days and we'll refund that charge. If the law where you live gives you a wider right to a refund, that right still applies.
If you subscribe in the iPhone app. Pro bought in the CourseTrees iPhone app is an App Store subscription. Apple processes that payment, not Stripe, and Apple's own terms for App Store purchases apply to it alongside these terms. It is the same Pro, on the same CourseTrees account, so it works on the website too.
- Renewal. Payment is charged to your Apple Account when you confirm the purchase. The subscription renews automatically at the end of each period, a month or a year, unless you turn off auto-renew at least 24 hours before the period ends. Apple charges for the renewal within the 24 hours before the period ends.
- Cancelling. Manage or cancel it on your iPhone in Settings, under your name, then Subscriptions, or at apps.apple.com/account/subscriptions. We can't cancel or change an App Store subscription for you. Pro stays on until the end of the period you paid for.
- Deleting your account. Deleting your CourseTrees account does not cancel an App Store subscription. Apple keeps charging it until you cancel it with Apple, so cancel it there too.
- Refunds. Apple handles refunds for App Store purchases, and we can't issue them. Ask Apple at reportaproblem.apple.com.
Acceptable use
You agree not to:
- scrape, bulk-download, or systematically harvest the site beyond normal personal browsing;
- disrupt, overload, or attempt to gain unauthorized access to the site or its infrastructure;
- use the site to break the law or to infringe anyone's rights;
- misrepresent the site as an official university tool or as providing official advising.
We may suspend or limit access that threatens the site's availability, security, or integrity.
How the data is sourced
We gather factual course information from public university catalogs, at a respectful rate, and attribute it to each school with a link back to the official catalog. We review each source's terms and robots rules. Coverage varies by school: some have a full prerequisite graph and offering history, others currently have only the catalog. See the ethics and data sourcing section for detail.
Intellectual property
Factual course information (codes, titles, prerequisites, offerings) is sourced from each school's public catalog and belongs to the respective institutions. The CourseTrees name, design, original written content, and software are ours. You're welcome to use the site for personal, non-commercial study and planning; please don't copy or repurpose our branding or original materials without permission.
Your data
We don't require an account. Your school choice, courses taken, and plans stay in your own browser, all traffic is encrypted in transit, and we never sell your data. Full detail is in our privacy notice.
Contests
Contests have their own official rules. If those rules and these terms disagree, the rules decide for that contest.
Disclaimer of warranties
The site and all data are provided “as is” and “as available,” without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including accuracy, completeness, fitness for a particular purpose, or uninterrupted availability. You use CourseTrees at your own discretion and rely on it for academic decisions only after confirming with official sources.
Limitation of liability
To the fullest extent permitted by law, CourseTrees and its creators will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, or consequential damages, or for any academic, scheduling, financial, or other decisions made in reliance on the site. CourseTrees is a study aid, and our total liability for any claim relating to it is limited accordingly.
Corrections and takedown
If a course detail looks wrong, use the report button in any course panel. If you represent a university and want data corrected or removed, email contact@coursetrees.com and we will respond promptly.
Security
To report a security issue, see our security.txt or email contact@coursetrees.com.
Contact
Questions about these terms? Email contact@coursetrees.com.