In force since 30 August 2026.
Who we are and why this page exists
EduCompass Hub is an independent comparison service for online courses. We are not an online school and we do not sell training. This page sets out the rules by which the editorial team selects schools, writes reviews, assigns scores and corrects errors, and where the line runs between editorial content and advertising. If you see us breaking our own rules, tell us via the Contacts page.
Editorial independence from commerce
The site earns money from affiliate links: if you go to a school's website and buy a course, the school pays us a fee. This is the only way the site is monetised. At the same time:
- Compass Score, the order of courses in rankings and the content of reviews do not depend on whether a partnership exists, on the commission rate or on sales volume. The scoring formula is published on the Compass Score Methodology page.
- A school cannot buy a score, a ranking position, a "positive review" or the removal of criticism.
- We do not publish materials written by schools under their own name and we never speak on a school's behalf.
- If a school has no affiliate programme, that is neither a reason to exclude it from the catalogue nor a reason to lower its score.
Separation of editorial and partnerships
Editorial decisions (what to include in the catalogue, which score to assign, what to write about) and partnership decisions (which programmes to join and on what terms) are taken separately. The person who negotiates with affiliate networks does not change scores or edit reviews in a partner's favour. Affiliate programme data (rates, statuses, links) is stored separately from the editorial fields of a course and never overwrites them.
How schools enter the catalogue
A school is added to the catalogue if it passes three checks:
- Legal. The school is an operating legal entity or sole proprietor with a public offer agreement and contact details. For programmes that issue a professional retraining diploma or a certificate of advanced training we check the licence in the Rosobrnadzor register.
- Substantive. A public curriculum, duration, price and description of outcomes exist. Courses "on request, without a programme" are not listed.
- Placement rules. If the school runs an affiliate programme, we study its rules before publishing: which placement formats are allowed, which wording and search queries are prohibited (stop words), how advertising must be labelled. If the programme rules prohibit our format (content site, comparison showcase), we either list the school without an affiliate link or do not list it at all. We never violate a school's stop words and restrictions — that is a condition of staying independent and honest towards schools.
We do not publish content that misrepresents the terms of study, do not use unauthorised promo codes, do not promise bonuses for clicking through, and do not create pages that imitate school websites.
How we write reviews
- Our own texts. Reviews, course and profession descriptions are written by the editorial team. We do not copy descriptions from school websites and do not publish press releases as reviews. Quotations from offer agreements and curricula are attributed to their source.
- Dated price checks. The price on a course card is the lowest full price when paid upfront as of the date we checked the school page; instalments are shown on a separate line. The check date is published on the course page. Schools change prices during promotions, so confirm the final amount on the school's site.
- Sources. Every statement about a course has a source: the course page, the offer agreement, the licence, the curriculum, trial access. The evidence level (A/B/C) is shown on the course page.
- Pros and cons. Every review lists both strengths and weaknesses. A review with no cons is a sign of insufficient checking, not of a perfect course.
- Facts versus opinion. Facts (price, duration, document) are kept separate from the editorial assessment and recommendations.
Corrections and updates
- Factual errors are corrected within five business days once confirmed against the primary source. Material corrections (price, document, duration, score) are recorded in the change log on the course page.
- Course cards are updated on a schedule at least once a quarter, and out of schedule whenever the programme or price changes.
- Outdated materials carry the date of the last check; articles that are no longer accurate are updated or unpublished.
- Anyone can report an error: a school, a student, a reader. The way to do so is on the Contacts page.
Advertising and labelling
Editorial materials (reviews, rankings, journal articles, uniformly formatted catalogue cards) are not advertising. Advertising on the site means dedicated promotional placements: banners, standalone promo blocks, highlighted offers. Such placements carry the Russian-language label "Advertising. <advertiser>. erid: <token>" as required by the Russian Advertising Act and are reported to an advertising data operator. The label is shown only when the advertiser details and token are available; without them the promotional block is not published.
Affiliate links carry the attributes rel="nofollow sponsored" and a caption stating that the link is an affiliate link and that the price for you does not change. See Affiliate Links for details.
Use of AI tools
We are open about how our texts are produced. The editorial team uses AI tools as an assistant at the draft stage: to structure collected data, prepare first versions of descriptions, translate into English and check style. Before publication every piece is reviewed by a human editor: facts are checked against primary sources, prices and dates are verified, and the course is assessed under the methodology. Compass Score is assigned by an editor, not by an algorithm. We do not publish generated text without review and do not use AI to write reviews or imitate user opinions.
Conflicts of interest
Members of the editorial team do not work for schools listed in the catalogue and receive no remuneration from them. If an author has a connection to a school (for example, studied there and received an alumni discount), this is disclosed in the text. Materials about the site's own affiliate programmes and business model are labelled as information about the service.
Editorial contacts
Questions for the editorial team, comments on reviews and suggestions on the methodology: the editorial e-mail address. The full list of addresses and response times is on the Contacts page.