Lewis and Clark Community College

Privacy

Lewis & Clark Community College Web Privacy Policy

L&C is committed to ensuring the privacy and accuracy of your confidential information. We do not actively share personal information gathered from our Web servers. However, because L&C is a public institution, some information collected from the L&C Web site, including the summary server log information, e-mails sent to the Web site, and information collected from Web-based forms, may be subject to the Illinois Public Information Act. This means that while we do not actively share information, in some cases we may be compelled by law to release information gathered from our Web servers.

As part of our commitment to maintain the privacy of our Web users, L&C has developed this privacy statement. The statement has two purposes:

To educate users about privacy issues
To inform users about specific privacy policies and guidelines employed at Lewis & Clark Community College.

L&C also complies with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), which prohibits the release of education records without student permission. For more details on FERPA, currently enrolled students should see the Student Policies and Consumer Information page. Although FERPA regulations apply only to L&C students, we are equally committed to protecting the privacy of all visitors to our Web site.

The L&C web site contains links to external Web sites. L&C is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of the external Web sites we link to.

Information We Gather

Our Web servers generate temporary logs that contain the following information:

Internet address of computer being used
Web pages requested
Date and Time

The data is used in aggregate by system administrators and Web content managers for administrative and technical purposes, such as, to tune the Web site for its efficiency and is not ordinarily associated with specific individuals. Raw data from the Web server logs is only shared with the content manager of each Web site and disclosed only in connection with legal process as described in this policy..

Summary reports produced from the logs help Web publishers determine what pages are most popular. For example, if the aggregate reports show a particular Web page is very popular, we use this information to customize the content of that page and make it easier to find.

Third-party content

Some pages within the lc.edu domain may contain content that is served from external third parties. For example, an lc.edu Web site might include a graphic logo or a script from a third party. Third party content in lc.edu is not limited to graphics, but this is the most frequent use. L&C does not transmit any information to these third parties.

Cookies

Cookies are small pieces of data stored by the Web browser. Cookies are often used to remember information about preferences and pages you have visited. For example, when you visit some sites on the Web you might see a "Welcome Back" message. The first time you visited the site a cookie was probably set on your computer; when you return, the cookie is read again. You can refuse to accept cookies, can disable cookies, and remove cookies from your hard drive. In Mozilla Firefox, choose Tools and Options and click on the Cookies tab to manage your cookie settings, in Internet Explorer select Tools and Internet Options. L&C Web servers do not use cookies.

Security and Accuracy of Confidential Information

L&C does its best to ensure that the personal information we have about you is accurate. Users with an L&C ID can check and update personal information such as their address and e-mail address at BlazerNet.

Although no computer system is 100% secure, L&C has deployed extensive reasonable security measures to protect against the loss, misuse, or alteration of the information under our control.

E-commerce

Several sites within L&C enable you to pay for products or services on-line with a credit card. Unless otherwise noted, these transactions are encrypted. It is L&C's policy that confidential information you enter in the transaction is used and disclosed only for the purposes described in that transaction (which may include disclosing the information to service providers and third parties to complete the transaction), unless an additional use is specifically stated on that site.

Sharing of Information

L&C does, when upon explicit requested by users, share information with other parties and gather information from other private data providers. For example, L&C receives test scores from testing agencies and will send transcripts to other schools. This is done only at the request of users (persons to whom the information applies). Unless specifically required under public information requests filed under the Illinois Public Information Act, it is against L&C policy to release confidential information gathered.

Consistent with FERPA, we do not release personal student information, other than public directory information, to other parties unless we receive explicit written authorization to do so. Examples of directory information include first and last name, address, and date of birth. Enrolled students can restrict release of their directory information by contacting the Office of the Enrollment Services.

Public Forums

L&C makes some public chat rooms, forums, message boards, and news groups available to its users. L&C does not ordinarily log public chat sessions, however, any information that is disclosed in these areas becomes public information and you should therefore exercise caution when deciding to disclose your confidential information in such places. Academic chat sessions and discussion forums, such as those in WebCT, may be logged. However, these educational records are protected from disclosure by FERPA.

On-line Surveys

At any time there are numerous on-line surveys being conducted by L&C. It is L&C's policy that confidential information gathered in these on-line surveys is used only for the purposes indicated in the survey. Unless otherwise noted on the specified survey, your answers are confidential and individual responses will not be shared with other parties unless required by the Illinois Public Information Act. Aggregate data from surveys may be shared with external third parties.

Open Records Requests

Except for educational records governed by FERPA, all information collected from the L&C Web site, including the summary server log information, e-mails sent to the Web site, and information collected from Web-based forms, may be subject to the Illinois Public Information Act.

Illinois Public Information Act

The Illinois Public Information Act, with a few exceptions, gives you the right to be informed about the information that L&C collects about you. It also gives you the right to request a copy of that information, and to have L&C correct any of that information that is wrong. You may request to receive and review any of that information, or request corrections to it, by contacting the Office of the Enrollment Services.

Policies for Users of the Site Under Age 13

The site is not intended for use by individuals under 13 years of age. L&C does not knowingly collect or maintain personal information from children under the age of 13 at our site.

Disclosure of Information

L&C may preserve and has the right to disclose any information about you or your use of our site without your prior permission if L&C has a good faith belief that such action is necessary to: (a) protect and defend the rights, property or safety of L&C or its employees, affiliates, other users of the site, or the public; (b) enforce the Terms of Use for the site; or (c) respond to claims that any content violates the rights of third parties or is otherwise unlawful. We may also disclose information as we deem necessary to satisfy any applicable law, regulation, legal process or governmental request.

International Users

All information that you submit through the Site is collected, stored, and processed in the United States. If you are located outside of the United States, and use this Site, you consent to the collection, use and transfer of your personal information to the United States for processing and use in as described in this Privacy Policy.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy is subject to change. The Web is an evolving medium. If we need to change our privacy practices at some point in the future, we'll post the new Privacy Policy promptly.

Questions

If you have questions or complaints about this privacy statement or you believe that your personal information has been released without your consent, contact Gary Ayres at 618-468-3000 or email gayres@lc.edu.