Privacy and Cookie Policy
Last updated on July 1, 2020.
South University (South University, "we" or "our") is committed to protecting any personal information that we maintain about you. Consistent with our Data Privacy Principles, we want you to understand what kinds of information we may collect from you, how this information may be used, the steps we take to protect it, choices you have regarding our use and disclosure of personal information about you, and other information about our privacy practices. This Privacy Policy (this "Policy") applies to the online collection of information by our websites, webpages and mobile applications that link to or otherwise adopt this Policy.
This privacy policy is divided into sections for the convenience of the reader.
What types of information are collected through this site or mobile application?
We may collect a range of information from you if you visit our site or mobile application depending upon the features you use.
We may collect personal information, such as your name, address, telephone number, email address, credit card numbers, Social Security numbers or other identifiers that you may provide in the course of completing a form or transaction on our site or mobile application. Portions of our site may collect additional information from individuals using those features such as accepting resumes from job applicants or collecting application of financial aid information from students and applicants.
We may collect information about the browser and/or device that you are using to access our website or mobile application (such as the type of browser or device you are using, browser settings, and the device identification number). Device information may or may not be personally identifiable depending upon whether it is linked to the identity of the user.
We may automatically log information, such as a user's IP address, domain name, browser type, date and time of access, and other log file data. This information may be used to analyze trends or administer our websites and mobile applications. We may collect statistical or non-personally-identifiable information about our users, such as which pages are visited, how long a visitor stays on a particular page, the website from which a user came to our site, or similar such information. We also may collect aggregate information such as the total number of unique or return visitors to our site, using our application, or visiting a particular page in a given timeframe. We may use this information to measure the use of our sites and applications and to improve our content. We may use Google Analytics, a third party provider of analytics tools or a similar third party service to analyze information about visits to our website. For information about opting out of Google Analytics please visit: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.
Does your website use cookies or similar technologies?
Yes, we may utilize "cookies," web beacons and other similar technologies on our website. We may use first and/or third party "browser" or "HTTP" cookies, which are unique text files that may be used for data analysis, and enable our website to tailor information for the visitor. We may use browser cookies for purposes such as to personalize the user's experience on our site, to remember a user when the user registers for products or services, for fraud prevention, or to track visits to our websites. We also may use "web beacons" (also referred to as pixel tags, clear gifs or other terms) or similar technologies to collect information such as how long a visitor remains on a particular page. If you do not want us to deploy browser cookies to your device when you visit our websites, you may set the browser to reject cookies or to notify the user when a web site tries to place cookies in the browser program (see below). Rejecting cookies may affect your ability to use some of features offered by the website. If you use our website without setting your browser to block cookies, you consent to the placement of cookies on your device.
Third parties, including our service providers or marketing partners may collect information about a visitor to our site over time and/or across different websites when the visitor uses our website. This information often is aggregate data or individual information that is tied to a browser or device rather than specific identifiers such as the visitor's name and address, but some of this information might be considered to be personally identifiable under some federal or state laws.
What choices do I have about online tracking and the placement of cookies on my device?
Some Internet browsers have begun to offer what often is referred to as "do not track" mechanisms for browser users to automatically signal privacy preferences to websites that they visit. Internet browsers have only begun to include these features relatively recently and there is not yet a consensus about what steps a website should take when it receives a do-not-track signal from a site visitor's browser or what information collection or use restrictions should be applied when a do-not-track signal is received. As a result, our site(s) do not currently respond to do-not-track-signals. We are continuing to monitor do not track developments and may revisit the issue in the future. In the meantime, you can exercise other choices available to you, including limiting the placement of browser cookies on your device using your browser's cookie control features and other choices described in this Policy.
Internet Explorer
Safari
Safari Mobile (iPhones and iPads)
Firefox
Chrome
Information and opt-out choices for ads placed by Google are available at: www.google.com/settings/ads.
How is my information used?
We may use the information we collect through our site or mobile application for the following purposes:
To respond to requests for information or to facilitate transactions or communications that users of our sites or users of our mobile applications request;
To process requests and applications for prospective students;
To process registration, financial aid, academic and other interactions with our students;
To facilitate the educational experiences and career services offered to our students and alumni;
To improve and administer our websites and mobile applications;
To carry out our educational mission and facilitate the education of our students;
To better understand the needs of the users of our sites and mobile applications and create content that is relevant to the user;
For marketing and market research purposes;
To generate statistics and de-identified data;
To personalize content for the user;
To notify the user of any changes with our website or mobile application which may affect the user;
To enforce the terms of use for our website or mobile application;
For historical, statistical or business planning purposes;
To prevent fraud and investigate potential misconduct; or
To comply with law and legal process.
We do not share, sell or lease personal information about you except as set forth in this Policy.
What types of choices do I have about your collection and use of personal information about me?
You have a number of choices regarding our collection and use of information through our websites and mobile devices:
In cases where you are requested to affirmatively provide information, such as to complete a form, or an application, or a survey on our website, you may decline to do so. Please understand, however, that in some cases certain information is required to complete an application, form or survey, and if you decline to provide the information requested you may not be able to submit the application or request or to use certain functionalities of our websites or mobile applications.
If you would like restrict our placement of cookies on your device, please see the FAQ "What Choices Do I Have About the Placement of Cookies on My Device?" above.
If you prefer that we no longer contact you about potential educational opportunities at our school, please e-mail us at sumarketingcompliance@southuniversity.edu.
If you would prefer not to receive e-mail marketing messages from us, please use the opt-out instructions included in the email message to opt-out of additional communications.
You may be given additional choices in the context of particular preferences tools or functions that we make available through our website or mobile applications.
Can I access and request correction of personal information I provide through the website or mobile application?
Yes. If the information that you provide through our website is included in an educational record then we provide access to that information in accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), as applicable.
In the case of personal information that is not part of a student's educational records, it is our policy, with certain exceptions, to provide individuals with access to personal information that is maintained in South University’s files. In some cases, the website may allow you to log-in to directly access and/or correct information you have provided. In other cases, such as web forms that you may submit through the site, if you would like to obtain a copy of the information you provided you can contact us at sumarketingcompliance@southuniversity.edu. When you update information, we may keep a copy of the prior version for our records.
Exceptions to access and correction rights may include:
Where the burden or expense of providing access would be disproportionate to the risks to the individual's privacy in the case in question;
Where the rights of persons other than the individual would be violated; or
With respect to individual requests for the correction or deletion of information, in cases where we are otherwise legally required to retain the personal information.
We require that an individual provide reasonable validation of his or her identity before we provide access to personal information from our files. To request access to or correction of information please send an email to sumarketingcompliance@southuniversity.edu.
You may request that we delete information that you post on our websites, online services, and applications that is accessible to other users of the website, service or application such as comments, social media posts, or blog entries, either by using the functionality (if any) provided by the website, service, or application that you used to post the information or by sending an email to sumarketingcompliance@southuniversity.edu specifying the information that you are requesting that we remove and sufficient information about where you posted it so that we can locate it. Please note that a deletion request may not result in complete or comprehensive removal of the content from our website, service, or application to the extent we are permitted or required by law to retain that information. For example, information may not be removed if we need to maintain the information for legal compliance purposes or if you fail to follow the instructions above, such as by failing to provide sufficient information for us to process your request. Similarly, if information that you posted has been stored, republished or reposted by a third party, or you were compensated or consideration for providing the content, that information may not be subject to deletion.
How may personal information collected through this website or mobile application be disclosed?
We may disclose information with your consent or as otherwise necessary or appropriate to process a transaction that you may request.
We may disclose information that we collect through our websites or mobile applications with agents, affiliated businesses, and service providers providing services on our behalf.
We may disclose information, as applicable, to the U.S. Department of Education; state or provincial education agencies, to other regulators, or our accrediting organizations.
In the event that our company or some of our assets are sold or transferred or used as security or to the extent we engage in business negotiations with our business partners, the information collected on our websites or mobile applications, including this site, may be transferred or shared with third parties as part of that transaction or negotiation.
If we receive a request from law enforcement officials or judicial authorities to provide information on individuals, we may provide such information. In matters involving claims of personal or public safety or in litigation where the data is pertinent, we may use or disclose your personal information without a court order.
We may use information you submit to investigate security breaches, misconduct, or otherwise cooperate with authorities pursuant to a legal matter.
Do you take steps to safeguard information I provide through the site or mobile application?
We recognize that you may be concerned about the security of your personal information and we are committed to employing reasonable technology in order to protect the security of our website. Even with such technology, no website is 100% secure. We take reasonable measures that we believe are appropriate to protect your information from loss, misuse, alteration or destruction. We will ask any agents and service providers to whom we may transfer your information take comparable steps to protect that security.
If you use this site or mobile application, you are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of any user ID and password or other access credentials that you may be provided. You should notify us immediately if any user ID and password or other access credentials we may issue you are compromised.
What is "Refer-A-Friend"?
We may offer you opportunities to request that we send content from our websites or otherwise reach out to friends or family members that you believe may be interested in learning more about our programs. If you choose to make such a referral, which is voluntary, we may ask you for your name and contact information as well as contact information for the individual or individuals that you refer, such as their name, email address and/or phone number. When we contact your friend, we may identify you as the party that made the referral. This feature is only to be used to refer individuals with whom you have an existing relationship that you think would be interested in being contacted by us by phone or by email.
Does your site contain links to other websites or social media platforms?
Yes, our website may include links to other websites or links that facilitate your ability to post content to social media platforms. This Policy only applies to those of our websites that link to this Policy. Please be aware that sites we link to may collect information about you and operate according to their own privacy practices which may differ from this Policy. Similarly, if you post content to social media platforms, such as Facebook or Twitter, whether you do so manually or using a widget offered on our site, please remember that your social media postings will be made available in accordance with the social media site where you are posting the information and that you may be limited in your ability to control information once you have made it available to third parties by posting it. Remember to consult the privacy policy of any websites you may visit regarding their privacy practices.
If I followed a link to your site from another website, whose privacy policy controls?
The privacy policy posted on the website you were visiting, if any, would apply to any information collection that occurred on that site. Our privacy policy applies to your activity on our site.
If I am using the site from outside the United States will information collected through the site be transferred to the United States?
This site is designed primarily for users from the United States. By using this site, users from other countries consent to the transfer of any personal or other information collected to the United States and housed on servers in the United States and your information will be subject to use and disclosure in accordance with this Policy and applicable United States federal, state, and local law.
How do you comply with Children's Online Privacy Protection Act ("COPPA")?
COPPA regulates the collection of personal information online from children under the age of 13. This site is not intended or designed to attract users under the age of 13 or to collect personal information from such users. We do not collect personally identifiable data from any person we know to be under the age of 13 and those under 13 should not submit any personal information through this site. If we learn that we have inadvertently collected personal information from a child under the age of 13 we will remove the information from our files.
How will changes to this Policy be communicated?
If we make any material changes to this privacy policy we will change the "last updated" date so that you can quickly determine whether there were material changes since the last time you reviewed the policy.
Who can I contact with questions regarding this Policy?
If you have questions concerning our privacy practices, contact us at:
Marketing Compliance Department
South University
709 Mall Boulevard, Savannah, GA 31406
Phone: 1.866.629.2901