A rigorous governance framework for online mentored research.

VRI may offer Circles, Teams, Research Extensions, workshops, project showcases, or other research-related programming. Cohort sizes, durations, prices, schedules, mentor assignments, and project formats may vary by term, pathway, mentor availability, student preparation, enrollment level, operational feasibility, and program need.

• Published cohort sizes, durations, prices, and descriptions are presented for the relevant program cycle unless a signed agreement or written VRI confirmation states otherwise.
• Research Extension is not guaranteed and is generally treated as a selective, invitation-only continuation pathway after a Circle or Team.
• VRI may change, merge, postpone, reformat, or cancel offerings based on enrollment, mentor availability, scheduling feasibility, quality-control concerns, safety concerns, legal constraints, or business considerations.

A proposal listing is an invitation to evaluate interest, apply, register, or request information. It is not a guarantee that the offering will run in the exact form listed, that a particular mentor will remain assigned, that a specific schedule will be available, or that a student will be placed in that offering.

• VRI may determine whether enrollment is sufficient based on pathway, topic, mentor availability, scholarship mix, student fit, staffing, strategic need, schedule feasibility, quality control, and operational circumstances.
• If a proposal does not have sufficient enrollment or does not otherwise meet VRI launch conditions by the relevant deadline, VRI may move it to a later session, revise it, merge it with another offering, keep it listed for future interest, or retire it.
• Families should not assume that every listed proposal will run, that every offering will run every term, or that a proposal moved to a later session will remain unchanged.
• VRI may limit the number of active proposal pages, listed offerings, pending projects, or participant-facing assignments associated with a mentor to preserve quality, responsiveness, and breadth of offerings.

Participation in VRI does not guarantee publication, authorship, recommendation letters, awards, admissions outcomes, academic credit, internships, external recognition, Research Extension eligibility, project continuation, or placement with a particular mentor or team.

• VRI does not guarantee that a student will be matched with a specific mentor or remain with a specific team.
• VRI does not guarantee a schedule aligned with every personal preference.
• Participation may be suspended, restricted, reassigned, or terminated when VRI determines that doing so is appropriate.
• VRI does not provide medical care, psychotherapy, crisis counseling, legal advice, immigration advice, guaranteed college-admissions counseling, or employment placement services unless expressly stated in writing as part of a separate service.

A student is not considered fully enrolled until all required registration steps, acknowledgments, and payments have been completed by the applicable deadline. VRI may accept, waitlist, conditionally accept, decline, restrict, reassign, defer, or adjust placement when needed to support academic fit, safety, scheduling, program capacity, operational feasibility, or compliance with institute requirements.

• Applications and registration materials must be accurate and complete.
• Placement may depend on project feasibility, mentor availability, cohort viability, student fit, and scheduling compatibility.
• VRI may merge, reassign, postpone, revise, or cancel under-enrolled or otherwise unworkable sections.
• Participation is a privilege, not a guaranteed entitlement.

VRI may require a non-refundable registration deposit to reserve a place and support mentor and cohort planning. Remaining tuition deadlines, any partial-refund windows, and session-specific terms are communicated in the relevant program materials and governing forms.

• Deposits are generally non-refundable except where VRI cancels a session or cannot place a student.
• Refund requests must be made in writing and are not automatically granted.
• Refunds requested after substantial services have already been delivered may be denied.
• Students dismissed for misconduct, repeated non-participation, or material policy violations are generally not eligible for refunds.
• Requests submitted late in a session may be reviewed, but review does not create an entitlement to a refund.

VRI programs are live, online, and collaborative. Families are responsible for reviewing published expectations, mentor time zones when disclosed, and the likely scheduling demands of the program before enrollment. A student’s ability to participate is part of overall program fit.

• Students and families are responsible for making sure they can participate in the meeting times reasonably required for the cohort.
• Sessions may be scheduled around mentor availability and cohort-wide scheduling feasibility rather than a single family’s preference.
• Repeated missed sessions, chronic lateness, or persistent non-participation may affect continued enrollment and refund eligibility.
• VRI is not responsible for local technology failures, travel conflicts, extracurricular conflicts, or late-disclosed schedule constraints not caused by VRI.

VRI is a research-first environment. Students must present honest work, appropriately acknowledge sources and collaborators, and avoid plagiarism, fabrication, misrepresentation, or unauthorized assistance. Participation does not guarantee publication, authorship, recommendation letters, awards, admission advantages, or any other specific external outcome.

• Students should discuss authorship and project credit openly with mentors when appropriate.
• Use of AI or computational tools may be restricted, disclosed, or prohibited depending on the project or assignment.
• VRI may remove a student from a project, withhold a certificate, or restrict participation if research integrity is compromised.
• Output quality and publication viability depend on many factors and are not guaranteed by tuition or participation alone.

VRI does not allow bullying, discriminatory harassment, retaliation, threats, stalking, doxxing, humiliation, coercion, sexually explicit or sexually suggestive conduct, or other behavior that undermines safety, dignity, or scholarly participation.

• Speech and conduct should be suitable for a professional academic environment and, where relevant, a mixed-age learning community.
• Students may not share sexually explicit content, engage in romantic or sexual behavior in any VRI context, or retaliate against reporters or witnesses.
• Private harassment through text, chat, social media, or direct messaging related to the program may be treated as a VRI conduct matter.
• Significant or repeated violations may lead to immediate interim restrictions or removal while review is ongoing.

Mentors may be asked to provide background information, a current CV or resume, academic or professional affiliations, work authorization information where relevant, and supporting documentation needed for onboarding. Material misrepresentation may be grounds for denial, termination, withholding of assignments, or other action.

• Mentors must not misrepresent degrees, publications, affiliations, teaching history, certifications, or work authorization.
• Mentors engaged through VRI work under the applicable VRI mentor agreement and engagement terms.
• Mentor roles, assignments, compensation, and responsibilities are governed by the applicable written VRI agreement.
• Mentors may not bind VRI, represent themselves as VRI officers, guarantee project launch, promise refunds, or use VRI branding except as authorized.

Mentors may submit or be invited to prepare project concepts, proposal listings, session plans, prerequisites, expected outputs, and realistic learning goals. Submission, approval, editing, or public listing of a mentor proposal does not guarantee assignment, launch, student enrollment, participant-facing work, or compensation.

• A proposal becomes an active VRI engagement only when VRI confirms that the project is launching and authorizes the mentor to begin participant-facing work for that specific engagement.
• Mentors may not tell families that a project, Circle, Team, or Research Extension engagement is guaranteed to run unless VRI has authorized that representation.
• Mentors may not redirect a VRI project, proposal, student inquiry, family inquiry, or participant relationship into private services or outside commercial arrangements without prior written authorization from VRI.
• Once a mentor commits to an active program, the mentor must continue in good faith through completion unless VRI authorizes a transition, replacement, or early exit.

Mentors should maintain a professional, private, quiet, and appropriately presented environment for live sessions. Communications with students must use approved VRI channels unless expressly authorized otherwise.

• Mentors should not teach from cars, beds, bathrooms, noisy public settings, or similarly unsuitable spaces.
• Personal social-media contact, unapproved direct messaging, or personal-phone communications with students are generally prohibited.
• Unauthorized in-person meetings, private unsupervised arrangements, or off-platform side relationships are not permitted.
• Mentors must never engage in sexually suggestive, romantic, exploitative, or otherwise inappropriate conduct with students.

Documentation is part of professional practice at VRI. Mentors may be required to keep or submit attendance records, meeting notes, progress summaries, incident documentation, and final deliverables as a condition of good standing and payment processing.

Mentor compensation structures are governed by the applicable agreement, engagement confirmation, payment schedule, and onboarding requirements. Approval as a mentor, execution of a one-year agreement, proposal submission, or public proposal listing does not guarantee active work, project launch, student assignment, or compensation.

• Unless separately agreed in writing, VRI does not generally prepay mentors before work begins.
• Payment may be tied to session completion, documentation submission, and final approval of required deliverables.
• Mentors are responsible for accurate tax and payment information and for their own tax compliance unless required otherwise by law.
• Mentors may not accept unauthorized direct payments from families for VRI-related services without written institute approval.
• Where background checks, identity verification, or payment-platform setup are required, VRI may delay assignment or payment until those steps are completed.

Good-faith reports are reviewed promptly. Depending on the nature of the concern, VRI may gather facts, review available records, consult relevant staff or mentors, and determine whether interim measures are appropriate. Concerns involving minors, harassment, exploitation, sexual misconduct, abuse, threats, or urgent safety risks should be escalated immediately.

• Participants should report concerns promptly rather than waiting until the end of a term.
• Mentors and staff may be required to escalate concerns involving abuse, neglect, self-harm risk, or similar safety issues in accordance with applicable law and institute procedure.
• Unauthorized guests, suspicious access, or platform breaches should be reported quickly.
• Retaliation against a reporter, witness, or cooperating participant is itself a major policy concern.

VRI may use a staged review process in which an initial assessment determines whether a matter requires no action, educational correction, warning-level response, or more formal review. VRI may act on a good-faith determination that a violation more likely than not occurred, based on documents, statements, communications, logs, and other relevant information.

• Interim measures are protective, not final findings.
• VRI may consult prior warnings, patterns of conduct, and program impact when determining outcomes.
• Where needed, VRI may restrict participation during review to protect the safety or integrity of the program.
• VRI may remove a participant or mentor when continued participation is inconsistent with institute standards.

Depending on severity, recurrence, and risk, VRI responses may include coaching, written warnings, parent/guardian notification, reassignments, restricted privileges, temporary suspension, removal from a project, dismissal from the program, termination of mentor engagement, future ineligibility, or referral to outside authorities when appropriate.

• Dismissal may occur without a lengthy formal process when VRI determines that safety, compliance, or program integrity requires prompt action.
• Dismissal or withdrawal following notice of significant policy concerns may affect refund eligibility.
• Where VRI permits an appeal or review request, the process may be limited in scope and time.
• VRI may determine that some decisions are final after internal review.

Routine Research Circle and Research Team sessions are not recorded. At least two students must be present during a routine mentor-led session, and a mentor may not continue an unsupervised one-to-one routine session with a minor.

• If only one student is present, the mentor must end and reschedule the routine session.
• Private breakout rooms may not pair one mentor with one minor.
• Mentors and students must use VRI-approved meeting, communication, chat, and file systems.
• Attendance records and session summaries are required.
• A one-to-one session may occur only through an advance VRI-approved exception and must be recorded through a VRI-controlled system.

VRI symposiums and final cohort presentations are recorded through a VRI-controlled account and shared by secure, account-restricted link with the families of students in that cohort. This is a program notice, not an optional publicity release.

• Access is view-only by default; download may be provided upon a specific request.
• Recordings are retained for three years unless a preservation hold requires longer retention.
• The cohort recording is not published in the Public Research Archive.
• Recipients may not publicly post, redistribute, screen-record, or use the recording for unrelated purposes.
• Camera-off participation may be requested for an image objection; a separate safeguarded unrecorded presentation may be requested for an objection to any recorded inclusion.

The Public Research Archive is de-identified at the student level. Student names, preferred names, display names, initials, school names, photographs, likenesses, voices, account handles, contact information, and other direct student-identifying information are excluded. Student identity remains in private VRI records, and separate publicity or media permission does not change the archive rule.

• VRI may publish approved project titles, abstracts, mentor information, topic and term metadata, project summaries, and de-identified scholarly outputs after review.
• Optional publicity and media use remains separate from ordinary participation.
• Project titles, abstracts, reports, slides, code, images, presentation excerpts, recordings, names, likenesses, voices, and testimonials require the applicable permission and VRI review before public use.

VRI programs are designed for high-school students. Every student must be at least 13 years old when the selected program begins, and VRI does not operate an under-13 enrollment path.

• Completion-verification records are retained permanently; rendered signed certificate artifacts are normally retained for seven years.
• Symposium recordings are retained for three years.
• Participant data may be processed only in systems listed in VRI's Approved AI Systems Registry and only for approved purposes and permitted data categories.
• Institutional AI is human-reviewed decision support and does not independently make final consequential decisions.
• Temporary AI working records containing participant data are deleted when the approved task is complete and normally no later than 30 days after the final human decision, unless a documented hold applies.