Approved by FASPC 10/11/2018
Approved by Strategic Planning Council 11/06/2018
Website Privacy – SPC Approved on November 6, 2018
Introduction
Palomar College is committed to protecting your privacy and making it more efficient to interact with our website. We recognize your right to know what information is being collected about you and how that information is used, as well as our legal obligations to limit the collection and protect what we do collect. You do not have to give us personal information to visit our site.
Sometimes we need information to provide services that you request, and this commitment of privacy explains our online information practices.
This policy is consistent with the provisions of the Internet Security and Privacy Act, the Freedom of Information Law, and the Personal Privacy Protection Law. Palomar College complies with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) as it pertains to student records.
This Privacy Policy applies to the palomar.edu website and governs data collection and usage. By using the palomar.edu website, you consent to the data practices described in this statement.
Palomar College does not collect any personal information about you unless you provide that information voluntarily by sending an email or text message or completing a registration, an application, or other online forms.
Information Collected
The palomar.edu website collects personal information (first and last name, home or other physical address, email address, telephone number, or other identifiers that permit the physical or online contacting of an individual) only if specifically and knowingly provided by you. For purposes of this policy, “personal information” means any information concerning a natural person which, because of the name, number, symbol, mark, or another identifier, can be used to identify that person.
The palomar.edu website also collects anonymous demographic information for statistical purposes and the analyses of user behavior in order to measure interest in the various areas of our site.
When visiting palomar.edu, Palomar College automatically collects the following information about your visit:
- Internet domain and IP address
- Browser used, its version and operating system on which the browser is running
- Web page from which you hyperlinked to the current web page
- Date and time of the visit
- Pages that were visited and the amount of time spent on each page
None of the automatically collected information constitutes personal information by the Internet Privacy and Security Act. This automatically collected information is collected for statistical analysis and is used to determine how users are interacting with our website and to maintain or improve the quality of the website. The automatically collected information is not collected for commercial marketing purposes, and Palomar College will not sell or otherwise disclose the information collected for commercial marketing purposes.
Email And Text Message Information
During your visit to palomar.edu, you may send an email or a text message to Palomar College. Your email address or cell phone number (in the case of a text message) and the contents of your message will be collected. The information collected is not limited to text characters and may include audio, video, and graphic information formats included in the message. Your email address or cell phone number (in the case of a text message) and the information included in your message will be used to respond to you, to address issues you identify, to improve this website, or to forward your message to another Palomar College department for appropriate action. Your email address or cell phone number is not collected for commercial purposes, and Palomar College will not sell or otherwise disclose your email address or cell phone number for commercial purposes. Except for authorized law enforcement investigations or, as required by law, we do not share our email or text messages with any other organizations.
Please note that email and text messaging are not necessarily secure against interception. If your communication is very sensitive or includes information such as your bank account, payment card details or Social Security number, you should not send it using email or text messaging.
Online Submissions
During your visit to palomar.edu, you may complete a transaction such as an online application or an online information request form. The information collected by Palomar College, including personal information volunteered by you in completing the form, application or transaction, is used by Palomar College only for the purposes for which it was provided and will not be shared with another entity except as prescribed by law. Palomar College may provide or distribute certain lists and statistical reports of regulatory information as provided by law, but no personal information is sold or distributed for commercial purposes.
E-Commerce Precautions
Some of our web pages allow you to make donations, register and pay for classes, etc. In those instances, we will collect the information needed to fulfill your registration or acknowledge your contribution, just as though it had been made on paper. That information will be maintained and protected in accordance with the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. 552a, which means that it will be securedin transit to us and once received. Your contributions or payments are processed through a secure e-commerce solution.
Disclosure of Information
The collection of information through palomar.edu and the disclosure of that information are subject to the provisions of the Internet Security and Privacy Act. Palomar College will only collect personal information through palomar.edu or disclose personal information collected through palomar.edu if the user has consented to the collection or disclosure of such personal information. The voluntary disclosure of personal information to Palomar College by the user constitutes consent to the collection and disclosure of the information by Palomar College for the purposes for which the user disclosed the information to Palomar College.
However, Palomar College may collect or disclose personal information without consent if the collection or disclosure is:
- necessary to perform the statutory duties of Palomar College, or necessary for Palomar College to operate a program authorized by law, or authorized by state or federal statute or regulation;
- made pursuant to a court order or by law;
- for the purpose of validating the identity of the user; or
- of information to be used solely for statistical purposes that is in a form that cannot be used to identify any particular person.
Further, the disclosure of information, including personal information, collected through palomar.edu is subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Law, the Personal Privacy Protection Law and Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
Palomar College may disclose personal information to federal or state law enforcement authorities to enforce its rights against unauthorized access or attempted unauthorized access to Palomar College information technology assets.
Personal Information
Palomar College may use your personally identifiable information to inform you of services provided and processes requiring your attention. Palomar College may also contact you via surveys to conduct research about your opinion of current services or of potential new services.
Confidentiality
Palomar College is strongly committed to protecting personal information collected through palomar.edu against unauthorized access, use or disclosure. Palomar College has implemented procedures to safeguard the integrity of its information technology assets, including, but not limited to, authentication, authorization, monitoring, auditing, and encryption. These security procedures have been integrated into the design, implementation, and day-to-day operations of palomar.edu, as well as limited employee access to personal information collected through palomar.edu as part of our continuing commitment to the security of electronic content as well as the electronic transmission of information.
Palomar College secures your personal information from unauthorized access, use or disclosure. Palomar College secures the personally identifiable information you provide on computer servers in a controlled, secure environment, protected from unauthorized access, use or disclosure. When personal information (such as a credit card number) is transmitted to other websites, it is protected through the use of encryption, such as the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) protocol.
For website security purposes and to maintain the availability of palomar.edu for all users, Palomar College employs software to monitor traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information or otherwise damage palomar.edu.
Please keep in mind that if you directly disclose personally identifiable information or personally sensitive data through one of Palomar College’s social networking sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or Instagram, this information may be collected and used by others.
External Links
Palomar College encourages you to review the privacy policies of websites you choose to visit from links on palomar.edu. Palomar College is not responsible for the privacy policies or other content on websites outside of the Palomar College website
Cookies
Cookies are small pieces of information that are stored by the user’s browser on the hard drive of your computer. Palomar.edu utilizes temporary and long-lasting session cookies in certain portions of its website to manage your interaction activities, such as online orientation completion and to provide convenience or personalized features to save you time. You have the ability to accept or decline cookies via your browser preferences and have the option to decline. If you choose to decline cookies, you may not be able to fully experience the interactive features of this site.
Disclaimer
The information provided in this Privacy Policy should not be construed as giving business, legal, or other advice, or warranting as fail proof, the security of information provided through palomar.edu.
Limitation of Liability
Palomar College attempts to maintain the highest accuracy of content on its website. Any errors or omissions should be reported. Palomar College makes no claims, promises or guarantees about the absolute accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the content of this website and expressly disclaims liability for errors and omissions in the content of this website. No warranty of any kind, implied, expressed or statutory, including but not limited to the warranties of non- infringement of third party rights, title, merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and freedom from computer virus is given with respect to the contents of this website or its hyperlinks to other Internet resources. References or links on this website to any specific commercial products, processes or services, or the use of any trade, firm or corporation name are for the information and convenience of the public and do not constitute endorsement, recommendation or favoring by Palomar College, its employees or agents.
Contact Information
For questions regarding this Privacy Policy, please contact the Director, Communications, Marketing and Public Affairs by email or by regular mail at:
Palomar College
Attn: Director, Communications, Marketing and Public Affairs
1140 West Mission Road
San Marcos, CA 92069-1487
PublicAffairs@palomar.edu
If you believe that Palomar College has not adhered to this Privacy Policy, please contact the above. We will use commercially reasonable efforts to promptly determine and remedy the problem.
Changes to This Policy
This Privacy Policy is subject to change without notice. Palomar College will occasionally update this Privacy Policy as the conditions and website change. Palomar College encourages you to periodically review this Privacy Policy to be informed of how Palomar College is protecting your information.
Approved by FASPC 10/11/2018
Approved by Strategic Planning Council 11/06/2018