Skip to main content

Privacy Statement

Columbus State Community College (“Columbus State” or “the College”) is committed to safeguarding personal information for every member of the College community. This Privacy Statement has been adopted to address the collection, use, and dissemination of personal information by the College in accordance with applicable privacy laws, other College policies, and supplements any other privacy notices provided to you.  By using this website, you are consenting to our collection and use of information in accordance with this Privacy Statement.

General Statement


This policy applies to all information digitally collected by or submitted to the College. The College receives information via two primary methods:

    1. Automatically via websites
    2. Voluntarily provided by the user in order to receive information and/or services (via forms and email).

Consistent with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA), Columbus State websites and services are not directed to children under 13 years of age, and the College does not knowingly collect any personal information from those under 13 years of age. Younger visitors should check with parents or guardians before entering information on any website, and we encourage households to discuss the online sharing of personal information.

Information Collection

Automatic Collection

Official College websites and/or third-party technology may collect certain information automatically. This information includes but is not limited to:

    • User’s Internet Protocol (IP) address
    • Operating system
    • The time and date of the visit
    • Browser
    • The site from which the user visited
    • Cookie information (if applicable)

Technologies used for automatic data collection may include but not limited to:

A cookie is a small text file that you web browser places on the hard drive of your computer that helps enhance and personalize your experience. You may refuse to accept browser cookies by activating the appropriate setting on your browser. However, if you select this setting you may be unable to access certain parts of our website. Unless you have adjusted your browser setting so that it will refuse cookies, our system will issue cookies when you direct your browser to our website. When using cookies, we do not store personally identifiable information within the cookie. 

These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the website will not then work. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable information. 

Pages of our website and our e-mails may contain small electronic files known as web beacons (also referred to as clear gifs, pixels, tags, and single-pixel gifs) that permit the College to count users who have visited those pages or opened an email and for other related website statistics (for example, recording the popularity of certain website content and verifying system and server integrity).

Voluntary submission

In order to provide information and/or services, the College may request users to provide personal data, some of which may be personally identifiable information. Information such as but not limited to name, date of birth, email address, etc. can be collected via voluntary submission of an email or web form to a College entity.

Cookies, Data Processing, and Disclosures


Website information that is gathered automatically is utilized to improve the understanding of how College-provided websites are being leveraged. For example, some College websites use third-party analytics to determine how users navigate College sites. These analytic sites along with College websites may use cookies alone or in conjunction with web beacons or other tracking technologies for various purposes, including the evaluation of website use, reports on website activity, and other services. Users have the right to refuse the use of cookies by implementing technical configurations in their web browsers; however, functionalities of certain sites may be impacted if such configurations are implemented.

Information submitted to the College voluntarily in order to receive services and/or information will only be utilized to conduct official College business. The College may disseminate voluntarily submitted information to third-parties and offices/departments within the College to the extent necessary in order to provide the requested services and/or information. The College may also disseminate such information if required by applicable law, law-enforcement agencies or in response to a subpoena, court order, or legal processes including public record requests.

The College will not disclose any information submitted voluntarily for reasons other than mentioned above, without clear notice and the opportunity to opt-out or otherwise prohibit such uses. The College does not sell voluntarily submitted information to other entities unless a prior consent has been obtained.

All processing, storage, and disclosure of data is handled in accordance with the Family Educational Rights Privacy Act (“FERPA”) for student record data, and any other applicable privacy laws. Refer to the College Catalog for additional information on FERPA.  The College may keep certain personal data indefinitely for historical, research, statistical purposes, or as long as necessary to comply with applicable laws and obligations.

Marketing Communication Activities


College offices/departments may use your information to send you news and information about academic and alumni activities along with opportunities for you to be involved with the College. If we use your personal information to contact you, we will provide you with a method allowing you to opt-out of future communications.

Third-Parties


Within our website there are links to non-Columbus State computing services. When you link to third-party services, you leave the College website and no longer will be subject to our privacy statement. The College is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of non-Columbus State computing services, and such link is not intended to be an endorsement of the non-Columbus State computing service or its content.

Information Security


The College implements stringent security measures wherever possible to promote confidentiality, integrity, and availability of any information in the possession of Columbus State. College websites that allow users to submit information voluntarily utilize encryption to prevent third-parties from viewing the submitted data. Personal information voluntarily submitted via email cannot leverage encryption in most cases, and thus email is not a mechanism that the College recommends for submitting confidential and/or sensitive personal data.  Users that submit unsolicited confidential and/or personal information via email do so at their own risk.

Contact


If you have questions about this Privacy Statement, please contact us via email at news@cscc.edu.