Hi-Mandarin Learner Policy
Version 1.2 | Effective Date: 2026-10-12
Introduction
Hi-Mandarin is committed to providing global executives and business professionals with exceptional Mandarin language learning experiences through our innovative platform. This Learner Policy outlines your rights, entitlements, and responsibilities as you progress through your learning journey with us.
This policy governs all aspects of your relationship with Hi-Mandarin, from initial registration through advanced group learning, ensuring transparency, fairness, and excellence in service delivery.
The Hi-Mandarin Learning Universe
Our Learning Philosophy
Hi-Mandarin delivers business-focused Mandarin language learning through a comprehensive ecosystem combining self-directed learning with personalized instruction. Our platform is designed around real-world corporate communication scenarios, ensuring immediate practical application of your learning investment.
Core Learning Resources
Self-Learning VOD Modules are bite-sized video lessons (60-120 seconds each) featuring business scenarios and practical vocabulary. These modules include advanced bookmarking and note-taking capabilities, allowing you to tag specific timestamps and attach personal notes for future reference.
Instructional Services are delivered by two categories of certified professionals:
Learner Journey and Lifecycle
Stage 1: Visitor Access
As a visitor to Hi-Mandarin, you can explore our platform overview and access general information about our services. Visitor access is provided at no cost and serves as your introduction to the Hi-Mandarin learning methodology.
Stage 2: Member Registration (Unlock 1)
Registration Process: You may register using your email address with password creation and verification, or through Single Sign-On (SSO) integration with Google, Facebook, or LinkedIn accounts.
Member Entitlements: Upon successful registration, you gain access to preview materials and detailed information about the Explorer Package, representing the gateway to full platform functionality.
Stage 3: Personal Plan Subscriber (Unlock 2)
Explorer Package Activation: The Explorer Package, priced at USD $5 per month, serves as your entry point into active learning. This package includes unlimited access to all self-learning VOD modules, advanced bookmarking and note-taking tools, and eligibility to book your mandatory Lead-In Session.
Payment Processing: Both subscriptions and Credit purchases are processed through Stripe (Apple Pay, Google Pay, and major credit/debit cards). PayPal is not available for learners. Upon successful payment, your membership status immediately upgrades to Personal Plan Subscriber.
Stage 4: Lead-In Session Completion (Unlock 3)
Mandatory Onboarding: The Lead-In Session is a 20-minute one-on-one first lesson with a certified Teaching Assistant. The session teaches you two or three immediately usable Mandarin phrases; your level shows naturally in the conversation, with no quiz, and your Teaching Assistant recommends a personalized learning path suited to your goals. It is not an assessment.
Credits Unlock: Successful completion of your Lead-In Session unlocks your ability to purchase Credits and book paid one-on-one lessons with Tutors and Teaching Assistants.
If your First Lesson is missed, or you wish to repeat it:
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The first Lead-In Session is included with your Explorer Package.
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Repeating the Lead-In (your own choice, nothing went wrong): the Lead-In is itself a bookable 20-minute TA session; a repeat costs 2 Credits at the TA rate. If you already know your learning path, you may instead proceed directly to Tutor lessons.
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A missed First Lesson (not yet completed), or a session where the experience did not meet expectations, is handled case by case — please contact us via Report Issue (footer of member.hi-mandarin.com) with your Session ID; our team reviews and follows up.
Stage 5: Group Plan Subscriber (Unlock 4) - Optional
Group Plan Upgrade: Personal Plan Subscribers may upgrade to the Group Plan at USD $10 per month, enabling you to invite up to three friends or family members to join as Group Members.
Group Owner Privileges: As a Group Owner, you manage the shared Credits pool, oversee member invitations and removals, and access exclusive bulk purchasing packages with enhanced Gift Credit bonuses.
Group Member Lifecycle
Invitation Process: Group Members join Hi-Mandarin through invitations from Group Owners, gaining immediate access to all Personal Plan Subscriber benefits without individual subscription fees.
Shared Resources: Group Members enjoy unlimited access to self-learning modules while sharing the group's Credits pool for booking individual sessions.
Independence and Flexibility: Group Members maintain individual learning progress tracking and may exit the group at any time, with the option to upgrade to Personal Plan Subscribers to continue their learning journey independently.
Credits System
Overview
Credits serve as Hi-Mandarin's in-platform prepaid tuition, exclusively used to book one-on-one lessons with Tutors and Practice Sessions with Teaching Assistants. Each Credit represents a USD $10 value and enables precise session booking and resource allocation.
Credit Categories
Paid Credits are purchased directly by learners at USD $10 per Credit. These Credits feature a 12-month validity period from purchase date, are eligible for one-time 6-month extension (if requested within 30 days before original expiry), and qualify for refunds under specific conditions outlined in this policy.
Gift Credits are promotional bonuses included in Credit packages or issued through marketing campaigns. Gift Credits cannot be purchased independently, refunded, extended, or converted to cash. When booking sessions, the system automatically applies Gift Credits before consuming Paid Credits, with a maximum of one Gift Credit applicable per booking.
Credits are tied to the account that purchased them and cannot be transferred to another person. Members of the same Group Plan share one Credits pool — a shared pool within the group, not a person-to-person transfer between accounts.
Credit Package Structure
Personal Plan Subscribers and Group Plan Subscribers have access to different Credit packages, with Group Plans offering enhanced bulk purchasing advantages:
There is currently no annual-subscription discount. Promotional offers, when they run, are announced on the website — please check hi-mandarin.com for current promotions. Team or group discounts are structured through the Group Plan (one Group covers up to 4 people, sharing one Credits pool with access to Group-exclusive Credit packages). Teams larger than four are arranged as multiple groups of four.
Credit Validity and Extension
Paid Credits are valid for 12 months from their original purchase date; Gift Credits carry their own expiry dates. Paid Credits are eligible for a one-time 6-month extension if requested within 30 days before the original expiry date, via Report Issue ('Credit Expiry Extension', quoting the order number). Gift Credits do not qualify for extensions and expire according to their original schedule.
Session Booking and Management
Booking Prerequisites
Tutor-TA Sequence Rule: You must complete a Tutor lesson before booking its corresponding TA Practice Session for each topic. This ensures proper skill development progression and maximizes learning effectiveness.
Booking Methods
You can book as far as 60 days ahead. Within that horizon: Reserve Mode needs at least 3 days' lead time for matching; Instructor Availability Mode books instantly into an open slot.
Reserve Mode (System Matching): Submit your preferred time slots starting three days from the current date, creating a "Pending Reservation" status. The system or available instructors confirm your booking, changing the status to "Reserved." If no instructor is matched by 3 days before the session start, the system sends a "Matching Failure" notification and all Credits for that reservation are returned to your balance.
Instructor Availability Mode: Browse available time slots from certified instructors and make immediate reservations, which are marked as "Reserved" upon successful booking.
Daily bookings: There is no fixed cap on how many sessions you can book in a day. Bookings are bounded structurally: a day has 24 hours; every booking must be covered by held Credits at the moment of booking; and sessions cannot overlap in time.
Instructor matching: There is no option to lock the same instructor for every session — experiencing a range of instructors is part of the learning design. If you have a specific need, submit a request in advance via Report Issue; we will try to coordinate, but it depends on mutual availability and cannot be guaranteed.
Session Confirmation and Calendar Integration
Every successful booking generates automatic email confirmations with session details and calendar integration links. You may also synchronize bookings with your personal calendar through the Session Detail page's "Sync to Calendar" function.
Session Modification and Cancellation Policies
Modification Windows and Rules
System Automation and Transparency
The platform automatically displays applicable rules and penalties before confirmation of any modification or cancellation request, ensuring full transparency in decision-making. All Credit movements are logged and reflected in your Purchase History for audit purposes.
Refund Policies
Paid Credits Refund Eligibility
Refunds for Paid Credits are available exclusively under the following conditions, with all requests requiring submission within 24 hours of the qualifying incident:
Technical Issues: Substantial technical problems preventing full participation in scheduled sessions qualify for refund consideration when properly documented and reported promptly.
Sub-Standard Tutoring Quality: Sessions significantly deviating from Hi-Mandarin's established quality standards may qualify for refunds when reported with detailed accounts and supporting evidence.
Force Majeure Events: Session cancellations due to uncontrollable circumstances such as natural disasters are evaluated for refund eligibility on a case-by-case basis.
Instructor Late: If your instructor checks in late but the session still runs, you receive 1 Gift Credit as compensation.
The default remedy for a qualifying session incident is a complimentary makeup session or a Credit return to your balance, rather than cash. Any promotional offer that provides more favourable terms than this policy applies as an exception to it; where a promotion is in effect, its published terms govern.
Refund Processing and Fees
Platform Credit Returns or Complimentary Makeup Sessions: Approved credit returns or complimentary makeup lessons/sessions are processed as returns to your Hi-Mandarin account without additional fees, maintaining full value for future session bookings.
Cash Refund Option: When platform Credit returns are not suitable, cash refunds may be processed to your original payment method. Cash refunds incur processing fees calculated as 7% of the unused Paid Credit value plus a USD $10 service fee.
Gift Credit Exclusions: Gift Credits and Promotional Gift Credits do not qualify for refunds under any circumstances and cannot be converted to cash value.
Fees for Cancelling: Cancelling a booked session follows the Credit-forfeit windows above. Cancelling your subscription carries no cancellation fee and no prorated cash refund for unused time — access simply continues until the end of the billing period.
Subscription Management
Billing and Renewal
Personal Plan Subscription: USD $5 monthly subscription fees automatically renew until cancellation, with billing cycles beginning from your Explorer Package purchase date.
Group Plan Subscription: USD $10 monthly subscription fees for Group Owners, with automatic renewal and billing starting from the upgrade confirmation date.
Subscription Modifications
Upgrades and Downgrades: Plan changes take effect immediately, with prorated adjustments calculated at 12:00 PM UTC+0 on the day of change. When downgrading from Group Plan to Personal Plan, any prorated subscription fee difference is retained by Stripe as a payment balance in your Stripe customer account, applicable exclusively to future Stripe transactions using the same payment method (credit card, Apple Pay, or Google Pay).
No Pause Option: Hi-Mandarin does not offer a subscription pause option.
Credit Usage Requirements: All remaining Paid Credits must be consumed before subscription cancellation is permitted, ensuring full value realization from your investment.
Cancellation Process and Rights
You may cancel your subscription at any time through Account Settings → Edit → Change Subscription. Cancellation Prerequisite: All Paid Credits in your account must be fully consumed or expired before subscription cancellation can be processed. This requirement ensures full value realization from your Credits investment and maintains platform operational integrity. Cancellation must occur before the next billing date to prevent renewal charges. Access to subscription features continues through the end of your current billing period following cancellation.
No Partial Refunds: Monthly subscription fees do not qualify for partial or prorated cash refunds, including unused portions of billing cycles.
Group Plan Governance
Group Owner Responsibilities and Rights
Member Management: Group Owners maintain complete authority over group membership, including invitation issuance, member removal, and Credits pool allocation oversight.
Credits Pool Administration: Group Owners oversee shared Credits usage while ensuring fair access for all Group Members to maintain collaborative learning effectiveness.
Dissolution Authority: Group Owners may dissolve groups through Account Settings → Downgrade to Personal, which automatically notifies all Group Members and transfers individual learning records to personal accounts. Upon group dissolution, all Credits from the shared Group Credits pool are transferred to the Group Owner's personal account, keeping their original expiry dates, for continued individual use.
One Group per Account: One email account can belong to only one Group at a time. To move an account between Groups, complete or cancel current bookings, have the current Owner remove it, then have the new Owner add it — your Learner Record carries over, but Credits stay with each Group and do not transfer. To learn in two Groups simultaneously, use a new email account for the second Group.
Group Member Rights and Protections
Equal Access: Group Members enjoy identical learning privileges to Personal Plan Subscribers, including unlimited self-learning module access and shared Credits pool usage rights.
Exit Freedom: Group Members may leave groups at any time through Group Settings → Exit Group, with immediate option to upgrade to Personal Plan Subscribers for continued independent learning.
Notification Rights: Group Members receive automatic notifications for all group-related changes, including member additions, removals, and group dissolution events.
Group Membership Privilege Restrictions
Session and Credits Access Upon Exit or Removal: When a Group Member exits the group voluntarily, is removed by the Group Owner, or when the Group Owner dissolves the group (due to downgrade to Personal Plan or involuntary account suspension), the following restrictions apply immediately:
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Booked Sessions Forfeiture: All sessions previously booked by the exiting or removed Group Member using the Group Credits pool are automatically cancelled and forfeited without refund or credit return to the individual member.
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Credits Pool Access Termination: The Group Member immediately loses all access to the Group Credits pool. Freed Credits are returned to the Group pool while the group still exists, or to the Owner's personal account if the group is dissolved.
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Learning Progress Preservation: Individual learning progress, self-learning module completion records, and personal bookmarks/notes remain intact and are transferred to the member's personal account. However, the member must upgrade to Personal Plan Subscriber status and purchase individual Credits to continue booking new sessions.
Group Owner Downgrade or Suspension Impact: When a Group Owner downgrades from Group Plan to Personal Plan or experiences involuntary account suspension, the group is automatically dissolved. All Group Members are immediately notified and lose access to the Group Credits pool. The Group Owner retains all Credits from the dissolved group's pool in their personal account, while all Group Members' pending bookings using group Credits are cancelled and forfeited as described above.
Course Scope
Hi-Mandarin specializes in Mandarin Chinese for business and professional use. Lesson materials use simplified characters (简体字), matching mainland business usage. We do not currently offer Cantonese or other Chinese-language courses.
Hi-Mandarin's one-on-one lessons are designed for individual learners rather than groups. To learn alongside peers or colleagues, consider the Group Plan, where a Group Owner shares one Credits pool with invited members.
Data, Privacy, and Recording
Session Recording: One-on-one sessions may be recorded for quality and support purposes. You are notified at the beginning of each session that recording is taking place, and you may request access to or deletion of eligible records, as set out in our Privacy Policy.
Use of Learning Data: Hi-Mandarin collects and uses your learning data to deliver and improve your learning experience, as described in the official Privacy Policy — to personalize lessons, track progress, and support your journey — and complies with relevant data-protection laws. For data questions or requests, contact Privacy@hi-mandarin.com.
Support and Issue Resolution
Self-Service Resources
Comprehensive Knowledge Base: Access detailed FAQ sections, User Guides, and policy documentation through the Member Center and platform footer links.
AI-Powered Assistance: Utilize our advanced AI Agent for immediate responses to common questions and guidance on platform navigation.
Direct Support Channels
Issue Reporting System: Submit detailed requests through the "Report Issue" link in the Member Center footer for personalized assistance with account issues, Credit disputes, session problems, or policy clarifications. When you need a person, email service@hi-mandarin.com, or log in to member.hi-mandarin.com and click Report Issue in the page footer.
Response Time Commitment: We aim to respond within 2 business days.
Dispute Review: High-value disputes are reviewed by management.
Policy Updates and Communication
Amendment Procedures
Hi-Mandarin reserves the right to modify this Learner Policy to reflect service improvements, regulatory requirements, or operational changes. All policy amendments are communicated through dual channels: direct email notifications to your registered address and prominent in-platform notifications within the Member Center.
Advance Notice Commitment
Material policy changes affecting your rights or financial obligations are communicated a minimum of 30 days prior to implementation, providing adequate time for review and decision-making regarding continued service utilization.
Effective Date and Acknowledgment
This policy becomes effective immediately upon publication, with continued platform usage constituting acceptance of all terms and conditions outlined herein. Previous policy versions are superseded by this comprehensive framework governing all aspects of your Hi-Mandarin learning experience.
Contact and Support Information
For questions regarding this Learner Policy, account management, or learning support, please utilize the following channels:
Primary Support: Member Center → Report Issue (for account-specific concerns)
General Inquiries: Platform AI Agent and FAQ resources
Policy Questions: Direct email support through the platform contact system
Your success in mastering Mandarin for business communication represents our primary commitment, and this policy framework ensures transparency, fairness, and excellence throughout your learning journey with Hi-Mandarin.
This policy is designed to protect learner interests while maintaining operational excellence, ensuring a positive and productive learning environment for all Hi-Mandarin community members.