RIVACY POLICY
This website (the “website”) is owned and made available by College Now Greater Cleveland (individually and collectively, “College Now,” “we,” “us,” or “our”). Your privacy is very important to us. Accordingly, we have developed this Privacy Policy in order for you to understand how we and our suppliers’ collect information through the website (“Collected Information”) and use, communicate, and disclose and make use of Collected Information. This Privacy Policy also describes your choices regarding the use of your Collected Information and how we communicate changes to this Privacy Policy.
By accessing or using the website, by accepting the website’s Terms of Use or by entering into any other agreement with College Now that governs access to or use of the website, you agree on behalf of yourself and any organization or company that you represent (together, “you”) that you have read and understand this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with this Privacy Policy, do not access or use the Website.
This Privacy Policy is incorporated into and made a part of our Terms of Use and any other agreement that references this Privacy Policy, if applicable, or governs access to or use of the Website.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Changes to this Privacy Policy
Information You Submit
Other Information Collected
How We Use and Share Collected Information
Security
Children
Third Party Websites
Contact Us
CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY
We reserve the right to update this Privacy Policy at any time. All updates will be effective immediately upon posting of the updated Privacy Policy on the website. Material changes will be clearly posted on the website or otherwise communicated to you.
INFORMATION YOU SUBMIT
Personal Information. You can visit the website without submitting your personal information to us, but you will be required to provide your personal information in order to sign up for an account on the website (where that option is available), to order or purchase products or services using the website (where that option is available), and to use certain other tools and features of the website. We will collect any personal information from or about you that you choose to provide to us, which may include, without limitation, your first and last name, physical address, telephone number, email address, and payment information. To sign up for an account on the website, where that option is available, you may be required or given the opportunity to provide additional types of information (as described below) or you might be redirected to a third party’s website. We encourage you to review that third party website’s privacy policy and terms and conditions, as such privacy policy and terms and conditions will govern any information you provide on such third party websites. Any such information that you choose to submit will be collected by College Now. We will use your personal information as described below in this Privacy Policy, including to set up and administer your account and to communicate with you. Additionally, if you provide a mobile or other telephone number to us, you consent to receiving text messages and telephone calls from us at that telephone number as described below, but only to the extent permitted by applicable law.
Registration and Logins. To sign up for an account, you must provide specific information, including without limitation, personal information, such as your first and last name, address, email address, and telephone number. Once you are registered for an account (where that option is available), when you login to your account, we will collect your login username, password, and email address (if applicable).
Donation & Payment Information. We request information from you when you fill out an order form or otherwise purchase products or services through the Website, including, for example where you submit a donation to College Now and where you reserve a booth at a College Now fair or event. To purchase products or services using the website, where that option is available, you must provide your contact information (e.g., name and shipping address) and the applicable payment information. All purchase made using the Website must be made by credit or debit card, or Venmo or PayPal (where those options are made available to you). College Now does not directly access, handle, or store credit or debit card information submitted through the website. To make a purchase using the website, you will need to provide your name and your credit or debit card type, number, expiration date, security code, and billing address. This information is used for billing purposes and to fill your orders. If we have trouble processing an order, we may use this information to contact you.
Job Applications & Mentorship Applications. If you submit a resume, job application, or related materials or other information to us, we may use that information to evaluate your qualifications and consider or respond to your inquiry or application, including for a job opening at College Now or to serve as a volunteer Mentor through College Now. Your submission of a resume, job application, or related information does not in any way require College Now to review that information or consider you for employment or for mentorship opportunities. To view career and mentorship opportunities at College Now or to submit a job application you may be redirected to an online career portal operated by a third party. We encourage you to review any terms and privacy policies posted on that portal.
Scholarships. To submit an application for a scholarship, you will be required to provide, for example, your contact information (e.g., your name, phone number, address, email address), as well as your tax and financial information, for example, your FAFSA records, and your student aid reports. Your submission of an application and related information does not in any way require College Now to review that information or consider you for a scholarship. To submit an application, you may be redirected to an online portal operated by a third party. We encourage you to review any terms and privacy policies posted on that portal.
Contact Form or Support. To contact us for more information or to request support via the website, you will need to provide your contact information (including, for example, your first and last name, your email address, telephone number, and physical address) as applicable, details of your question or request and the subject matter in which you are interested.
Marketing Communications. If you sign up or otherwise opt in to receive newsletters, updates, promotions, or other communications from us, you will need to provide your email address. We will use this information to send you College Now updates and promotional and other electronic communications. You may opt out of receiving updates and other emails from us at any time by following the unsubscribe instructions in the applicable email. We may use third party email providers to deliver these communications to you.
OTHER INFORMATION COLLECTED
As you navigate and use the website, certain information can be passively collected—that is, gathered without the user actively providing the information or being concurrently made aware of the collection of information—using various technologies. We passively collect a variety of types of information in a variety of ways, including:
IP Addresses and Related Data. The servers used to operate and provide the website may collect data pertaining to you and the equipment, software, and communication methods you use to access the Internet and the website, including Internet protocol (“IP”) addresses assigned to the computers and other devices from where you access the Internet, your Internet service provider (“ISP”), device ID numbers and unique identifiers, your media access control (“MAC”) address, your operating system, your computer screen resolution, your web browser type, the pages you access on the website, the websites you access before and after visiting the website, the length of time you spend on the website, date and time stamps, clickstream data, your approximate geographic location, performance statistics, and usage data. College Now may use this information to administer the website and its servers, to generate statistical information, to monitor and analyze website traffic and usage patterns, to monitor and help prevent fraud, to investigate complaints and violations of our policies, and to improve the website.
We may combine this information with other Collected Information (including personal information) and information obtained from third parties for security reasons and to protect our rights or the rights of others. The suppliers that we use to provide the website may collect information about your visits to the website and other websites. Some of this information may be collected using cookies and similar tracking technologies as explained below under “Cookies and Tracking Technologies.”
Analytics. The website may use third party analytics tools to collect and process data about your use of the website, including (where and if such tools are used) when you visit the website, URLs of the third party websites that you visit prior to visiting the website and when you visit those third party websites, and IP addresses assigned to the devices from where you access the Internet. If we engage analytics providers, they may set and read cookies to collect this data and your web browser will automatically send data collected by those cookies to our analytics providers (if applicable). If we engage analytics providers, they may use this data to provide us with reports that we will use to improve the website’s structure and content.
Our analytics providers might include Google Analytics. For more information, and where we have engaged and/or use such tools, on how Google uses this data, visit Google’s Privacy Policy and Google’s page on How Google uses data when you use our partners’ sites or apps. To prevent this data from being used by Google Analytics, follow the instructions to download and install the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on for each browser you use. Using the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on will not prevent us from using other analytics tools and will not prevent data from being sent to the website itself or to Google. For more information about how Google Analytics uses cookies to measure user interactions on websites, visit Google Analytics Cookie Usage on Websites. You may disable cookies as discussed below, but that may impact your use and enjoyment of the website.
Advertising Networks, Personalized Advertising, Remarketing, & Retargeting. From time to time the website may use or participate in advertising networks and related advertising services that are managed and provided by third party advertising servers, advertising agencies, technology vendors, and research firms. These services collect information about your visits to and interactions with the website and other third party websites and will use that information to target advertisements for goods and services and to display those advertisements on other websites. The information collected may be associated with your personal information.
Advertising networks often gather data about consumers who view advertisements to make inferences about a consumer’s interests and preferences, which enables their computers to deliver advertisements directly targeted to the consumer’s specific interests. This practice is often referred to as “online behavioral advertising.” For example, a third party advertising network might collect the type of web browser you use, the type of computer operating system you use, the domain name of a third party website you visit, whether or not you visit specific pages of the website and other third party websites, the location of your Internet service provider, the date and time of a visit to a third party website, and other interactions between you and a website.
We may utilize Google Ads. Through Google Ads, where and if such tools are used, Google uses your Internet searches, cookies, and similar identifiers (e.g., pixel tags) to collect information about your visits to the website and your interaction with our products and services to generate targeted advertisements to you on other websites that you visit across the Internet.
We may also enable and implement the following Google Analytics Advertising Features on the website: Remarketing with Analytics, Demographics and Interest reporting, Campaign Manager integration, Display & Video 360 integration, Google Display Network (“GDN”) Impression Reporting, and Segments. Remarketing with Analytics uses Google Analytics cookies to serve advertisements to you across the Internet based on your visits to the website. Demographics and Interest reporting uses a third party cookie to collect information about our website traffic by tracking users across websites and across time, which generates a report for us to better understand website users. Campaign Manager integration allow us to view, analyze, and create remarketing lists using our Campaign Manager data in Google Analytics. Display & Video 360 integration allows us to create remarketing lists in Google Analytics and have those lists available in Display & Video 360. GDN Impression Reporting allows us to measure the impact of unclicked GDN Display ad impressions on website behavior and conversions. Segments allows us to isolate and analyze subsets of website users by sorting our Google Analytics data.
To opt out of remarketing advertising provided through Google, to customize your ad preferences, or to limit Google’s collection or use this information, visit Google’s Safety Center and Google’s Ad Settings and follow Google’s personalized ad opt-out instructions. Opting out will not affect your use of the website.
To change your preferences with respect to certain online ads and to obtain more information about third party ad networks and online behavioral advertising, please visit the National Advertising Initiative Consumer opt-out page or the Digital Advertising Alliance Self-Regulatory Program. Please remember that changing your settings with individual web browsers or ad networks will not necessarily carry over to other browsers or ad networks. As a result, depending on the opt-outs you request, you may still see our ads from time to time. Your device may also include a feature (“Limit Ad Tracking” on iOS or “Opt Out of Interest-Based Ads” on Android) that allows you to opt out of having certain information collected through apps used for behavioral advertising purposes.
Social Media. The website may allow you to connect to and share information with social media platforms and we may be required to implement cookies, plug-ins, and APIs provided by those social media platforms in order to facilitate those communications and features. We may share information that you provide us or that we may collect about your use of the website with those platforms and that information will be subject to their privacy policies. We encourage you to review the privacy policy of any social media platform that you use in connection with the website. In addition, by choosing to use any third party social media platform or choosing to share content or communications with any social media platform, you allow us to share information with the designated social media platform. We cannot control any policies or terms of such third party platform. As a result, we cannot be responsible for any use or disclosure of your information or content by third party platforms, which you use at your own risk.
College Now is active on social media. You may have the opportunity to comment on those social media platforms regarding College Now and the products we offer and/or to submit or upload related photographs and other materials. College Now reserves the right to post on the website, other websites, and social media pages any comments, photographs, or content that you post on our social media pages or provide to us through social media.
Cookies and Tracking Technologies. We use “cookies” on the website. A cookie is a piece of data stored on a website visitor’s hard drive by the visitor’s web browser. We use cookies to help us improve your access to the website (for example, by remembering your contact and other information when you access or use the website), to identify repeat visitors to the website, to track how you access and use the website, to learn when and how users visit the website, to learn how popular website pages are and aren’t, to learn which search terms are used to find the website, to learn which websites direct you to the website, to help display certain information on the website, and to improve your enjoyment of the website.
The website may use both cookies that we implement, and cookies implemented by our suppliers and other third parties. “First party” cookies allow your browser to talk to the actual website that you are visiting, whereas “third party” cookies allow your browser to talk to third party websites, such as the source of an ad that appears on the website you are visiting or a third party analytics provider.
Most browsers automatically accept cookies. Browsers generally also allow users to manage cookies in the browser’s settings. For example, a browser may allow you to reject cookies from certain websites, reject certain types of cookies regardless of the website, reject or disable all cookies from all websites, and/or delete cookies stored previously. Some browsers also give you the option of being notified every time a cookie is sent to your browser by a website. You can disable or limit cookies but doing so may impact your use and enjoyment of the website and other websites. For example, the website may not be able to be personalized for you, may no longer capture or remember your preferences or other choices you have made on the website in the past, and may not remember your name or contact information.
Changing your cookie preferences in one browser will not necessarily carry over to other browsers, so you may need to adjust your preferences each time you get a new computer, install a new browser, upgrade an existing browser, or alter or delete a browser’s cookie file.
Our suppliers may use cookies and tracking technologies, such as pixel tags, to track website visitors across the Internet to understand how you get to the website and for the analytics purposes disclosed in this Privacy Policy. We do not have access or control over these cookies and this Privacy Policy does not cover the use of third party cookies.
The types of information collected by a cookie and the purposes for which that information is used depends on the type of cookie. By way of illustration, the types of cookies used, the types of information collected by those cookies, and the purposes for which that information are used are described below. We may combine information collected by cookies with other Collected Information.
- Operationally necessary cookies (also called essential cookies). These are cookies that are required for the operation of the website. For example, these cookies are required to identify irregular website behavior, prevent fraudulent activity, and improve security. They also allow users of the website to make use of its functions. Without these cookies, features and services you have requested will not be able to be provided.
- Functional cookies. These cookies allow us to offer you enhanced functionality when accessing or using the website. This may include to remember choices you make, for example, remembering your preferences or settings, remembering if you reacted to something on or through the website so that you are not asked to react to it again, remembering if you have used any feature of the website before, remembering your username or preferences, restricting the number of times you are shown a particular advertisement, and enabling social media components. If functional cookies are disabled, various functions of the website may be unavailable to you or may not work the way you want them to.
- Performance cookies (also called analytical cookies). These cookies assess the performance of the website, including as part of our analytic practices to help us understand how visitors use and interact with the website, for example, which pages on our websites users visit most often. These cookies also enable us to personalize content and remember your preferences. These cookies help us improve the way our websites work and provide a better, personalized user experience.
- Advertising or targeted cookies. These cookies record your visits to the website, the pages you visit on our websites, and the links you have clicked. They gather information about your browsing habits and remember that you have viewed a particular website. College Now and its third party advertising platforms or networks may use this information to make the website and its content more relevant to your interests (this is sometimes called “behavioral” or “targeted” advertising and is further discussed above). These cookies are also used to limit the number of times you see an advertisement and to help measure the effectiveness of advertising campaigns. To find out more about interest-based ads and your choices, please visit the Digital Advertising Alliance, the Network Advertising Initiative, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) Europe, http://www.optout.aboutads.info, and http://www.youronlinechoices.com.
A cookie can either be a “session” cookie or a “persistent” cookie. Session cookies exist only for so long as you are visiting the applicable website. Session cookies are typically deleted or removed when you exit or quit your browser application. Persistent cookies exist for a set period of time, for example, six months or one year. Each time you visit a website that has implemented a persistent cookie, that cookie will remain active until its predetermined expiration date. You can also manually delete persistent cookies as discussed above.
The website may also use the following types of tracking technologies: web beacons (also called clear GIFs), flash cookies, and pixels (also called pixel tags). Web beacons are tiny graphics with unique identifiers that function similar to how cookies function but, in contrast to cookies, web beacons are embedded invisibly on websites. Flash cookies collect and store information about your use of a website and are commonly used for advertisements and videos. Pixel tags can be placed on websites or within emails to track your interactions with those websites and when emails are opened.
How We Respond to Do Not Track Signals. Due to the automatic collection of data using cookies as described above, we do not honor “do not track” requests. For this reason, your selection of the “Do Not Track” option provided by your browser may not have any effect on our collection of information using cookies and other tracking technologies.
Embedded Content. The website incorporates content, including feeds, scripts embedded in the website’s code, and visible content (e.g., videos), provided by third parties. In some cases, those third parties collect data about how you interact with their content. For example, Google Maps.
Google Maps. Our website may include Google Maps features and content. Google Maps features and content is subject to the then-current versions of Google Maps/Google Earth Additional Terms of Service at https://maps.google.com/help/terms_maps.html and Google Privacy Policy at https://www.google.com/policies/privacy/.
Information from Other Sources. We may obtain data about website users from various third party companies and public sources, whether offline or online (such as publicly available social media profiles), and we may combine that data with Collected Information. This enhances our existing information about our users and customers and improves our ability to contact you and our marketing’s relevancy.
HOW WE USE AND SHARE COLLECTED INFORMATION
In addition to the uses and sharing described above, College Now and its suppliers may use and disclose Collected Information as described below:
Purpose Collected and Communication with You. We will use and share your personal information and other Collected Information for the purpose for which it was collected and as otherwise set forth in the “Information You Submit” and “Other Information Collected” sections above. For example, we will use Collected Information to process and communicate with you in connection with your requests for information, to administer your account for College Now business activities, to provide support to website users, and to provide you with information and communications that you request. If you provide us with your telephone number, we may call you in response to your questions or comments. We may also use Collected Information to notify you of changes made to the Website (e.g., changes to this Privacy Policy or to our Terms of Use).
Promotional Communications. We may use Collected Information to send you promotional communications about College Now and our services to the extent permitted by applicable law and in accordance with your preferences. In order to provide you with a personalized experience, these communications may be tailored to your preferences based on, for example, inferences we make using your visits to the website or the links you click on in our emails. We will only send you promotional or marketing email communications where you have opted-in or otherwise consented to or accepted such communications. You may opt out of receiving promotional communications from us at any time by following the unsubscribe instructions contained in the email, where applicable, or by contacting us using the contact information provided below under “Contact Us.” Note that, even if you opt out of receiving promotional communications from College Now, you may still receive administrative communications from us with respect to your use of the Website and our services.
Sharing with our Suppliers. We may disclose Collected Information to our suppliers and service providers as necessary for us to provide the website and our products and services to you, to engage in the use and sharing of Collected Information as permitted by this Privacy Policy, and as may be otherwise required or permitted by applicable law. These third parties include, without limitation, our website and software management and hosting suppliers, support service providers, cloud storage providers, data analytics providers, information technology security providers, marketing and public relations service providers, and email service suppliers. Our suppliers are authorized to and may use and disclose Collected Information as necessary for them to provide the applicable products and services to us and as provided by their own privacy policies.
Evaluation and Improvement of the Website and our Products and Services. We may use and disclose Collected Information to analyze, develop, and improve the website, content, materials, products, and services that we provide; to inform marketing and communication plans and strategies; to understand use demographics and preferences; to analyze the effectiveness of the website; and to evaluate user needs and customize website content and the user experience.
Text Messages. If you opt in or otherwise consent to receiving text messages (including SMS) on the website when prompted or provide your telephone number requesting us to contact you, we may send you confirmations or other transactional messages and communications. You can opt out of the receipt of such communications by texting STOP to the number from which you received such message. If you opt out of receiving marketing communications from us, please note that we may still send you communications regarding your account, or for any services you have requested or received from us. Message and data rates may apply.
Data Aggregation. To the extent permitted by applicable law, we may aggregate personal information, user-generated content, and other Collected Information and use that aggregate data for our business purposes. We may use aggregate data to understand website users’ needs and usage patterns, to determine what kinds of products and services we can provide, and to improve and enrich our products and services. We may provide aggregate information to our affiliates, suppliers, and other third parties for these purposes. We may also combine Collected Information with other information in our possession for purposes of using information as described in this Privacy Policy.
Lawful Processes, Security & Protection of Rights. We may use and share Collected Information as required or permitted in accordance with subpoenas, court orders, valid law enforcement requests, governmental agency requests, and other legal processes. We may use Collected Information and share it with third parties if we believe doing so is necessary or appropriate to protect our rights or the rights of others, including disclosing information as necessary to protect our operations, to enforce or bring legal action in the event of a violation of our agreements or policies, or to pursue remedies or limit damages that we may sustain.
Business Transactions. If College Now undergoes a change in control, acquisition, merger, reorganization, or asset sale (in whole or in part), we may transfer, sell, share, or otherwise disclose Collected Information to the subsequent owner(s) or successor(s) of those transactions. We may also disclose Collected Information in connection with the evaluation of those transactions. Those owner(s), successor(s), and other recipients, as applicable, will be bound by this Privacy Policy as it applies to the information disclosed. Also, if College Now or any of its assets are acquired or if College Now goes out of business, enters bankruptcy, or goes through some other change in control or reorganization, Collected Information may be one of the assets transferred to or acquired by a third party.
With Your Consent. With your consent, we may use and share your personal information and other Collected Information in ways not specifically described in this Privacy Policy.
Retention. College Now will retain personal information for as long as it is needed for or otherwise serves the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy, subject to applicable law.
SECURITY
Personal data you provide to us should be relevant to the purposes for which it is to be used, and, to the extent necessary for those purposes, should be accurate, complete, and up to date. We value your trust in providing us your information; however, no method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage is 100% secure and reliable. We cannot guarantee the security of Collected Information.
CHILDREN
The website is not directed at children under 13 years of age. College Now does not knowingly collect or use information from children under 13 through the website.
THIRD PARTY WEBSITES
The website may link to, or be linked to, websites, or services not maintained or controlled by College Now. College Now is not responsible for the privacy policies or practices of any third parties or any third party websites, applications, or services. This Privacy Policy does not apply to any third party websites, applications, or services or to any personal or other information that you may provide to third parties. We encourage you to read the privacy policy for each website, application, and service that you visit or use.
CONTACT US
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or our collection, use, or disclosure of information, please contact us via telephone at 216-241-5587, via US mail at 1500 West 3rd Street, Suite 125, Cleveland, OH 44113, or via email at [email protected].
