1. What information do we collect?

You may interact with HIGHER LEARNING in many ways, which will affect what personal information we collect and how we use it. The types of personal information that we collect depend on the extent to which you either provide personal information directly to HIGHER LEARNING, or you use or participate in HIGHER LEARNING’s programs, activities, events, or you are a consumer of HIGHER LEARNING’s goods or other services. In general, you will know what personal information you provide to HIGHER LEARNING because you or others acting on your behalf voluntarily provide it. To the extent a legal basis is required, our legal basis for collecting and using any personal information is either to carry out our legitimate interests as a private institution of higher education or the necessity to perform contractual or other obligations that we have toward you. The table below describes the ways you (referred to as a “data subject” in the table) may interact with HIGHER LEARNING, the personal information we collect, from whom we collect personal information, and the purposes for its collection:

Prospective Students, Applicants, Admitted and Enrolled Students, and Other Learners

Personal Information that We May Collect and Use

Name; contact details (address, phone, email); date and place of birth; demographic information (gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, languages spoken); philosophical or religious affiliation and beliefs; commitment to abide by HIGHER LEARNING policy; academic and employment performance and histories; criminal histories; identification numbers issued by the government, HIGHER LEARNING; accommodation and disability information; emergency contact information; parental, guardian, and other family information; citizenship and immigration status; credit card, bank account, tax, insurance, and additional financial information; health and well-being information; information contained in resumes, reference letters, or ecclesiastical endorsements; and other information from your interactions with HIGHER LEARNING, including through your applications, your academic performance, participation in student organizations, and our other student services.

The purpose for Collection and Use, and From Whom Personal Information Is Collected

We may collect and use personal information for (1) processing applications for admission, scholarships, or financial aid; (2) student enrollment or course registration; (3) processing financial transactions and conducting credit checks; (4) complying with legal obligations; (5) contacting you to provide information that may be of interest to you; (6) administering courses, programs, activities, events, or other services to you; (7) promoting your safety and welfare; and (8) complying with applicable law.

We may obtain your personal information from you or third parties who provide information about you, such as parents, references, associates, pastoral leaders, high school counselors, other educational institutions, organizations you are affiliated with, and testing, application, or background check services.

Alums and Donors

Personal Information that We May Collect and Use

Name; contact details (address, phone, email); date of birth; demographic information; educational and employment history; identification numbers issued by the government, photographs; partnerships with clubs and other organizations; personal interests and activities; family information; financial, donation, and tax information; and other information about your interactions with HIGHER LEARNING, including from when you were a student (see above), or from surveys or other alums and donor services.

The purpose for Collection and Use, and From Whom Personal Information Is Collected

We may collect and use personal information for (1) alum surveys and other outreach efforts; (2) administering programs, activities, events, and services to you; and (3) complying with applicable law.

Consumers of HIGHER LEARNING’s Goods or Services; Visitors to HIGHER LEARNING or its Websites; and Participants or Attendees in HIGHER LEARNING Programs, Events, and Activities.

Personal Information that We May Collect and Use

For consumers of our goods or services, we may collect names; contact details (address, phone, email); and credit card or other payment information. For those participating in or attending programs, events, or activities, we may also collect date of birth; demographic information; photographs and video and/or audio recordings; financial and insurance information; accommodation and disability information; family information; commitment to abide by HIGHER LEARNING policy; and emergency contact information. We may also collect parental, guardian, and other family information for youth programs. We may also collect physical or mental health information for health or counseling services. We may also collect physical characteristics and performance information for athletics and performing arts programs. In the course of visiting HIGHER LEARNING or its websites or other online services or participating in a program, event, activity, or other service, you may be asked to provide additional information, which will be used to administer or provide the program, event, activity, goods, or service to you, such as user settings, preferences, permissions, and notifications.

The purpose for Collection and Use, and From Whom Personal Information Is Collected

We may collect and use personal information for (1) administering or providing programs, events, activities, goods, or services to you; (2) contacting you about your participation in such programs, events, activities, or services; (3) contacting you to provide you information that may be of interest to you; (4) processing purchases or orders; (5) administering and improving HIGHER LEARNING’s websites and services; (6) promoting your safety and welfare; (7) complying with applicable law.

We may collect this personal information directly from you or those with whom you interact in connection with HIGHER LEARNING’s programs, events, activities, or sales.

Individuals Involved in Research or Studies

Personal Information that We May Collect and Use

We may collect information from or about you for research or studies. HIGHER LEARNING complies with applicable principles and guidelines concerning research, including the Belmont Report and the US “Common Rule.” If required by law or otherwise appropriate, we will provide you with a description of the research and the information collected about you in connection with the research.

The purpose for Collection and Use, and From Whom Personal Information Is Collected

We may collect and use personal information for (1) conducting research or studies involving you; or (2) analyzing, studying, publishing, or following up on research or studies in which you were involved.

We may obtain your personal information from you or third-party researchers or as part of research collaboration with federal, state, or local governmental authorities.

Passively Submitted Information

We also collect passively submitted information. When you visit any of our websites or use our online services, we may automatically collect information your web browser sends. This information may include but is not limited to your internet protocol (IP) address, operating system, browser information, date and time of access, any referring web page you were visiting before you came to our site, the information you search for on our sites, and other information collected by cookies, web beacons, or similar technologies. Cookies are files placed on your computer, which help evaluate usage patterns, recall user preferences, and tailor user content. Web beacons are objects embedded in a web page to monitor user behavior. You may take steps to browse our sites anonymously, or opt-out, by changing your browser settings. However, doing so may limit your ability to use certain features of our sites.

2. With whom do we share personal information?

We may share your information internally within HIGHER LEARNING to facilitate and manage the abovementioned purposes. Also, HIGHER LEARNING may provide your personal information to third-party vendors, contractors, service providers, and other agents who assist HIGHER LEARNING with its day-to-day operations (for example, payment processing, maintenance, security, data analysis, hosting, surveys, and so forth). In such instances, the third-party vendors, contractors, service providers, and other agents will be required to protect personal information from unauthorized disclosure, additional processing, and transfer (including for marketing purposes) in accordance with this Notice and applicable laws.

HIGHER LEARNING does not sell, rent, or lend your personal information to any third parties for their use in direct marketing, advertising, or promotion of their products or services. Nonetheless, HIGHER LEARNING may disclose personal information, subject to applicable law and in accordance with the privacy notices of those institutions. HIGHER LEARNING may also disclose your personal information as requested by you, in accordance with HIGHER LEARNING policy and applicable law.

We may access and disclose your personal information if we have a good-faith belief that doing so is required by subpoena or other judicial or administrative order or otherwise required by law. Additionally, we may disclose your personal information and additional information as required by law or to exercise or defend legal rights; to take precautions against liability; to protect the rights, property, or safety of any individual or the general public; to maintain and protect the security and integrity of our services or infrastructure; to protect you, others, ourselves, or our services from fraudulent, abusive, or unlawful uses; to investigate and defend ourselves against third-party allegations, demands, or claims; to assist government law enforcement agencies; for archiving purposes in the public interest, historical research, and statistical purposes.

3. What are your rights to your personal information?

We endeavor to maintain the integrity of your personal information and rely on you to ensure your personal information is complete, accurate, and up to date. For personal information submitted through an online account or registration, you may verify and correct—and remove, if legally required or appropriate—your personal information through your account or registration, if applicable. For all other personal information, you may contact us to exercise these and other applicable statutory rights, such as data portability, objection, restriction of processing, and erasure, which may be subject to limitations. You also have the right to complain to a supervisory authority. If you experience problems accessing, correcting, or updating your personal information, you may contact us as suggested below.

Make a privacy request

4. How long does Higher Learning retain personal information?

HIGHER LEARNING strives to retain collected personal information only for the period reasonably necessary to fulfill the purposes identified above and comply with US federal and state law. When personal information is no longer reasonably necessary to fulfill such purposes, we destroy such data unless there are proper historical reasons not to do so or legal requirements preventing us from doing so.

5. Where do we store personal information?

We may store your personal information in data centers located in the United States, cloud storage solutions, or on the premises of HIGHER LEARNING. To ensure the adequacy of protection of personal information we transfer or disclose to Affiliate Institutions, or our third-party vendors, contractors, and service providers, HIGHER LEARNING will impose appropriate contractual obligations on Affiliate Institutions and such third-party vendors, contractors, and service providers, as required by applicable law.

6. What security efforts are made to protect personal information?

HIGHER LEARNING implements appropriate technical and organizational security measures to protect your personal information, and we implement a level of security appropriate to the risks presented by the processing and the nature of the data to be protected. We regularly review our security procedures and consider appropriate new security technology and methods. While HIGHER LEARNING strives to protect your personal information, we cannot ensure or warrant the security of such information. Therefore, please use caution and best practices (e.g., strong passwords) when submitting personal information online.

7. How does HIGHER LEARNING protect children’s online privacy?

HIGHER LEARNING does not knowingly collect information from children under the age of 13 through our sites or online services without parental consent. Any of our sites or services that collect personal information of children under the age of 13 may do so only with the prior express and informed consent of the child’s parent or guardian and in compliance with applicable law. Minors (those under the age of 18) should ask their parents for permission before interacting with or sending any personal information to anyone over the internet, and we encourage parents to teach their children about safe internet use practices.

8. What happens if you post personal information for others to view?

HIGHER LEARNING’s websites or online services may provide chat rooms, forums, message boards, or news groups for their users. Any personal information disclosed in these areas may become public; therefore, you should exercise caution when deciding to disclose your personal information in such places. Also, HIGHER LEARNING may log and reference such information for the purposes described herein.

9. What about the privacy practices of third-party websites?

HIGHER LEARNING is not responsible for any third-party sites’ privacy practices or content, including those to which HIGHER LEARNING’s websites link and those that link to HIGHER LEARNING’s websites. For your protection, you should review the policies of other sites to ensure they meet your personal privacy expectations.

10. Who do you contact with questions or concerns about information privacy?

HIGHER LEARNING has a data protection officer who assists with the university’s privacy efforts and can help to answer your questions and respond to your concerns about online privacy or security issues. If you have these types of questions or concerns, you may submit them via email or mail to the following:

Email: Contact@higherlearningk12.com

11. What happens if this Notice changes?

We regularly review this Notice and may change, modify, add, or remove portions as needed. If we change this Notice in ways that affect how we use your personal information, we will provide such notice in a communication to you when you log into an online service or on this page. We also will update the most recent revision date at the top of this Notice. Please check this Notice from time to time to keep you updated on any changes.