Advancement · School Operations

Every app, its renewal
and who is really using it.

List each paid app with its cost, licenses and how many people used it last month. The tracker works out the cancel-by date from the contract’s notice period and the cost per active user, and flags student data without a signed privacy agreement.

$19one-time · every device you sign in on

Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the School operations toolkit, $49 for 32 items.

Subscriptions

The worked example is three made-up subscriptions: a reading platform worth keeping, a premium quiz app with low use and no privacy agreement, and a family sign-up tool. Records save on this device only.

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What you get

Advancement · School Operations$19 · included with Classroom and Whole-school licenses

What you finish with
A record per subscription with users, yearly cost, licenses and active users; the renewal date, auto-renewal and notice period; what student data it collects and four privacy checks; a decision; the cancel-by date and cost per active user worked out; flags for a close or passed cancel-by date, student data without an agreement and licenses under half used; yearly spending and renewals in the next 90 days.
Who it is for
Technology directors, business officers, principals and instructional technology coaches managing school software.
Format
Browser tracker with a saved record per subscription. Prints a record, the full list or a blank intake form; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
$19 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the tool opens once you are signed in with it. Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Also in the School operations toolkit ($49) and the Advancement Suite pass ($99), and 1 more bundle. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The School Operations space in Caveat Advancement.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Add each app as its invoice or contract arrives.
  2. Copy the renewal date and notice period from the contract.
  3. Each month, update active users from the admin dashboard.
  4. Answer the privacy questions for anything students use.
  5. Review anything flagged before its cancel-by date.

Add a subscription

The date that matters

Renewal date minus notice = the real deadlineCancel by Dec 1Renews Dec 3130 days’ noticeMiss the first date and the second one decides for you.Renewal date minus notice = the real deadlineCancel by Dec 1Renews Dec 3130 days’ noticeMiss the first date and the second one decides for you.
Most auto-renewing school contracts need written notice 30 to 90 days ahead, so the date that matters is weeks before the one on the invoice.

Student data rules

Under FERPA, a school can share student records with a vendor acting as a school official only when the vendor is under the school’s direct control for the data and uses it only for the school’s purpose; a data privacy agreement puts that in writing. Under the FTC’s COPPA rule, a school may consent for children under 13 only for use that benefits the school, not for the vendor’s commercial purposes.

Use before price

The cost per active user is often the most telling number on the list. A low price for an app nobody opens is still money spent; training or promotion may fix it, or a smaller license count may.

Sources

  1. U.S. Department of Education, Student Privacy Policy Office. Protecting Student Privacy While Using Online Educational Services: Requirements and Best Practices (studentprivacy.ed.gov).
  2. Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, 34 CFR 99.31(a)(1): the school official exception.
  3. Federal Trade Commission. Complying with COPPA: Frequently Asked Questions, section on schools (ftc.gov).
  4. Student Data Privacy Consortium. National Data Privacy Agreement (privacy.a4l.org).

The worked example is made up, including the vendors. Privacy rules are stated in general federal terms; your district’s policies and state law may add more. It is not legal advice. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.