Policies & Stipulations

Rules governing participation in BBI programs

Discrimination: Zero Tolerance

The Building Biology Institute (BBI) does not and shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender, age, gender expression, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status, in any of its activities or operations. These activities refer to any and all interactions involving our potential and/or current students and our alumni; these operations include, but are not limited to, hiring and firing of staff, recruiting/selecting of vendors, volunteers, and providers of services. We have been and remain committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all.

Our Self-study Courses:

  • Tuition for online courses is not refundable under any circumstances.
  • Tuition for IBE 101, our mentored correspondence course, is not refundable after the course materials have been shipped to the enrolled recipient.

Our Seminars:

BBI reserves the right to deny/rescind enrollment, whether first-time or continuing, to students it deems to present the risk of being or becoming disruptive of our program presentations, and/or a distraction for our students from what they have come to us to learn and experience.

  • Students enrolled in professional certification, who have paid their tuition in advance, in full, who later cancel out of our program after having attended at least one seminar, may carry their tuition forward and resume their studies up to for two years from the date of their cancellation. They are not eligible for a refund.
  • Students enrolled in professional certification, who have paid their tuition in advance, in full, who later cancel out of our program without having attended at least one seminar, will receive a pro-rated tuition refund for unattended seminars, subject to the conditions expressed in footnote1, here below.
  • Students who paid their individual seminar tuition in full and are later deemed unsuitable by BBI for attending said event or events will receive a 50% refund, pro-rated where applicable, subject to the conditions expressed in footnote2, here below.
  • Students who enrolled in a seminar or seminars as part of certification tuition paid in advance in full and are later deemed unsuitable by BBI for attending subsequent events will receive a 50% refund, pro-rated where applicable, subject to the conditions expressed in footnote2, here below.
  • Students who cancel a seminar or seminars may elect to carry their tuition and/or deposit(s) forward and apply them to a subsequent seminar or seminars.
  • Regarding seminar room & board, our refund policy is dependent upon our chosen venue’s cancellation policy; if the venue should issue a refund, BBI will pass 100% of the venue’s refund to the student; in like manner, should the venue refuse BBI a refund, in whole or in part, then said venue’s policy becomes fully representative of BBI’s policy.
  • Candidates for professional certification are required to complete their certification program within three years of the date they attended their first seminar. Seminars attended more than three years prior must be repeated at full tuition due to our seminar materials being updated annually to stay abreast of emerging science and technologies. Exceptions to this rule will be considered on a case-by-case basis but only if addressed in advance of our three-year expiration deadline.

Professional Certification Program Cancellation Policy:

Students who have undertaken either a seminar, or IBE 101 Natural Healthy Buildings, will be granted a credit for the unused portion of their certification. Students who have taken one or more of the required online courses and have not undertaken a seminar or IBE 101 will be granted a refund less the tuition for the online courses they’ve undertaken.

Extended Policy Stipulations:

BBI does not endorse products, methods, practices, services and/or business opportunities (hereafter referred to as “offerings”) that are extraneous to BBI’s policies, practices, and/or curriculum, regardless of whether they are vended/sponsored by our alumni, students, or by outside third parties or organizations.

This policy extends to our seminars, our biennial conference, and all other live or interactive events. And while participants in our events are not restricted by BBI from apprising their fellow participants of any offerings, regardless of whether they are or may be or may not be in conflict and/or in competition with BBI, they may in no way solicit or otherwise “pitch” their fellow attendees during said event(s). Subsequent to said events, neither offerings nor follow-up appraisals of offerings may be made or attempted by any means – telephone, e-mail, or snail-mail – without the expressed prior consent of their intended recipient(s).

footnote1: a student who cancels out of a seminar after having received a digital and/or a hardcopy of that seminar’s manual, will forfeit an additional $425.00 USD (the price of the seminar manual) from their calculated/prorated refund.

footnote2:  a student deemed unsuitable by BBI for attending a seminar, after having received a digital and/or a hardcopy of that seminar’s manual, will forfeit an additional $425.00 USD (the price of the seminar manual) from their 50% refund.