SCOUT is an advanced language model designed to assist and generate human-like text. It is being provided to students as a tool for personal use or for academic or professional use if authorized by the instructor or supervisor. Please read the following Terms of Use to understand how you can responsibly use SCOUT and what you can expect from our service.
Authorized Users
Only employees and students of UC Merced campus are authorized to use SCOUT. By agreeing to these Terms, you represent that you are an Authorized User.
Appropriate Use of SCOUT
SCOUT is designed to assist the UC Merced community with their questions and information needs. It is not intended for personal or commercial use, or to generate output that students would submit for credit.
You are not allowed to use SCOUT for any purpose that is unlawful, prohibited, or otherwise restricted by UC policy (including UC Merced’s TODO: Academic Integrity Policy), guidelines (including those provided by your course instructors or supervisors), or these Terms of Use.
You may not enter any material that:
- Is defamatory, obscene, indecent, abusive, offensive, harassing, violent, hateful, inflammatory, or otherwise objectionable.
- May lead to self harm or to others.
- Promotes sexually explicit or pornographic material, violence, or discrimination based on race, sex, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation, or age.
- Infringes any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright, or other intellectual property or other rights of any other person.
- Promotes any unethical or illegal activity, or advocates, promotes, or assists any unethical or unlawful act.
Output Accuracy
Generative Pre-Trained Transformers (like SCOUT) are trained to generate the next best word in the sentence based on patterns in their training data set. They are neither trained to nor capable of discerning fact from fiction, truth from falsehoods. We do not guarantee that the information provided is always accurate, complete, or up-to-date. We rely on data and information from various sources, and there may be instances where the information is incomplete, outdated, or incorrect, or SCOUT does not retrieve information from the appropriate source. Do not make critical decisions based solely on information provided through SCOUT.
Ultimately, you are responsible for verifying the accuracy and appropriateness of the output before you use it. If you have any doubts or concerns about the accuracy of the information provided, please let us know by providing feedback through SCOUT, and we will do our best to verify it. Administrators review the feedback and use it to help shape the direction of the service. Knowingly providing misleading feedback could result in termination of the service.
You may not submit SCOUT output as your own work for any form of academic credit unless the instructor has authorized such use. In that case, we recommend keeping a record of your chat history should your instructor ask you for it.
No Personal Advice
SCOUT is not designed to provide legal, medical, financial, or academic advice to individuals. The information provided is for informational purposes only and should not be used as a substitute for professional advice.
No Warranty
SCOUT is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis. We disclaim all warranties, either express or implied, including but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. We do not guarantee that SCOUT will meet your requirements or that it will be uninterrupted, timely, secure, or error-free.
Limitation of Liability
In no event shall UC Merced, its employees, agents, or contractors be liable for any damages, including but not limited to incidental, consequential, or punitive damages, arising out of or in connection with the use or misuse of SCOUT.
Intellectual Property
SCOUT content, including but not limited to text, graphics, images, and logos, is the property of UC Merced or its content suppliers and is protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. You agree not to reproduce, modify, display, sell, distribute, or use it in any way for commercial purposes.
Termination
We reserve the right to terminate SCOUT at any time without notice. We may terminate or suspend your account and deny access to SCOUT immediately, without prior notice or liability, under our sole discretion, for any reason whatsoever and without limitation, including but not limited to a breach of the Terms.
Governing Law
These Terms shall be governed and construed in accordance with the laws of California, United States, without regard to its conflict of law provisions.
UC Merced Policy
SCOUT adheres to UC Merced’s Electronic Communications Privacy and Confidentiality Policy and IT Resources Acceptable Use Policy. See Policy and Procedure Manual Code, Section 135-5 and 135-9. Additionally, students adhere to the UC Merced Academic Integrity Policy.
Changes to Terms of Use
We may update or modify these Terms of use at any time without prior notice. When we make changes to these Terms of use, we will change the date at the end of these Terms. Your continued use of SCOUT constitutes your agreement to any changes to these Terms.
Contact Us
If you have any questions, concerns, or feedback regarding SCOUT, please contact us at Scout@ucmerced.edu. [or https://ucmerced.service-now.com/servicehub]
Effective date: June 8, 2026
By using SCOUT, users acknowledge that they have read, understood, and agree to abide by these terms of use.
