Privacy Policy

Academic Programs Abroad (APA) is pleased to provide information to all of its students, parents, faculty, staff, alumni, and other visitors about its online privacy policy. Please be assured that APA uses its best efforts to protect the privacy of visitors to this web site. This Privacy Policy (“Policy”) describes how we collect, use, and disclose information through the websites, software, applications, newsletter, online services that link or post to this Policy and are operated by APA (collectively, the “Services”).

This Privacy Policy sets out the basis on which we collect and use personal information about you through your use of the Website and the Services.  This Privacy Policy describes in detail who is responsible for the personal information that we collect about you, what personal information we collect, how we will use such personal information, who we may disclose it to and your rights and choices in relation to your personal information. In this Privacy Policy where we use the words “personal information” we use these words to describe information that is about you and which identifies you.

1. Types of Information We Collect and How It Is Used

1.1. APA only gathers personal information, such as, first and last names, street addresses and email addresses, when voluntarily submitted by you. Personal information will be collected from you only in order to distribute information you request. The circumstances in which users may provide information include, without limitation, when they register for the Services, access various content or features, sign up to receive emails or other communications, use community features, distribute information you request, process student applications, matriculate accepted students, maintain transcript files, manage the alumni network, perform demographic analysis, use a feature embedded in the Company’s application that permits participants to communicate with other participants through social media, or directly contact us with questions or feedback.  With your permission, we will use personal information collected from you to send you information, such as the APA online newsletter. If you do not elect to receive such material, we will not send it to you.

1.2. In addition, information that users may provide also includes:

• Contact information, such as first and last name, e-mail address, postal address, and telephone number;
• The users demographic information, such as age, and gender;
• User name, password, and answers for password reminders;
• Search queries;
• Postal code and Country of residence;
• Communications preferences;
• Correspondence and other information that you provide;
• Billing information, including credit card information, when you purchase Services.

1.3. We also may collect certain information automatically when users use the Services, including:

• Usage data that shows how users use and interact with the Services;
• Persistent identifiers, such as APA device identification numbers and your Internet Protocol (IP) address, which is the number automatically assigned to your computer whenever you access the Internet and that can sometimes be used to derive your general geographic area;
• Information collected through cookies, web beacons, and similar technologies; and
• Information about your interactions with e-mail messages, such as the links clicked on and whether the messages were opened or forwarded.

1.4. We also may obtain additional data, or enhance, update, or add to our existing records with information we acquire from third-party sources, such as data aggregators and third party promotional partners. When users access third-party services, such as Facebook or Twitter, through the Services to share information about the Services with others, we may collect information from these third-party services.

2. Use of Information

2.1. We may use information that we collect through the Services for a variety of purposes, including to:

• Provide you with the products, promotions, services, newsletters, and information you request;
• Respond to correspondence that we receive from you;
• Contact you via email and otherwise about products, services, and events that we think might be of interest to you;
• Send you transactional or administrative communications;
• Maintain or administer the Services, perform business analyses, or for other internal purposes to improve the quality of our business, the Services, and other products and services we offer;
• enrolling a student at a partner institution and registering a student for courses
• providing meals and housing for students
• Customize and personalize your use of the Services to better meet your needs; and
• As otherwise described to you at the point of collection or pursuant to your consent.

3. Sharing of Information.

We are committed to maintaining your trust, and we want you to understand when and with whom we may share the information we collect.

3.1. Affiliates and Subsidiaries. We may share your information with our subsidiaries, and other affiliated entities for a variety of purposes, including business, operational, and marketing purposes.

3.2. Service Providers. We may share your information with the following third parties:

• Home institution
• Host city institutional partners
• Host city housing partners
• Service providers that perform certain functions or services on our behalf (such as to host the Services, manage databases, process payment information, perform analyses, or send communications for us);
• Vendors APA employs in connection with marketing and advertising campaigns.

3.3. Other Parties When Required by Law or as Necessary to Protect the Services.  We may disclose your information to third parties in order to protect the legal rights, safety, and security of APA, our affiliates, subsidiaries, business partners, and the users of our Services; enforce our Terms of Use; respond to and resolve claims or complaints; prevent fraud or for risk management purposes; and comply with or respond to law enforcement or legal process or a request for cooperation by a government or other entity, whether or not legally required.

3.4. In Connection with a Transfer of Assets. If we sell all or part of our business, or make a sale or transfer of assets, or are otherwise involved in a merger or business transfer, or in the unlikely event of bankruptcy, a business reorganization, or similar event, we may transfer your information as part of such transaction.

3.5. Other Parties with Your Express or Implied Consent. We may share information with third parties when you consent to such sharing, including when you post information to a user profile or a public area of the Services, such as a chat room, forum, blog, or other community tool. When users choose to access third-party services, such as Facebook or Twitter, through the Services, these third-party services may be able to collect information and notify connections on the third-party services about the user’s use of the Services, in accordance with their own privacy policies. Users also consent to the disclosure of information when they use password-protected parts of the Services to transfer content to cloud storage, social media, or other recipients.

3.6. Aggregate Information.  We may disclose to third parties information that does not identify individual users, such as aggregate website usage data or demographic reports.

4. Data Security.

We take reasonable security precautions to protect the personal information that we collect and you provide to us.  We use industry-accepted tools, including technology protocols, to protect against the loss, misuse, and unauthorized alteration of the information we collect.  We help to protect your information by working with our vendors who provide a secure and safe environment for the use of any credit card.  Please remember that the safety and security of your information also depends on you.  Where we have given you (or you have chosen) a login ID or password to access certain of our Services or areas of the Website, you are responsible for keeping such ID and/or password confidential.  We ask that you not share such information with anyone or allow anyone to sign in using your credentials.

Unfortunately, the transmission of information via the internet is not completely secure. Although we will do our best to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee the security of your personal information transmitted to the Website and any transmission is at your own risk.  Once we have received your personal information, we will use strict procedures and security features to try to prevent unauthorized access.

5. Children’s Privacy.

We do not knowingly collect information from minors. To use the Website, you must be the age of legal majority in your place of residence. By using the Website, you hereby represent that you are at least the age of legal majority in your place of residence. We do not use an application or other mechanism to determine the age of users of the Website.   We will use commercially reasonable efforts to delete information associated with a minor as soon as practicable if we learn that a minor has submitted information to us.

6. Privacy Policy Updates.

We reserve the right to modify this Privacy Policy at any time by posting revisions here. Any changes will not be retroactively applied and will not alter how we handle previously collected information. Your continued use of the Services after any modification to the Privacy Policy constitutes your acceptance of the new terms and conditions.

7. Links to Third Party Sites and Services.

The Services may contain links to other websites or online services that are operated and maintained by third parties and that are not under the control of or maintained by APA. Such links do not constitute an endorsement by APA of those other websites, the content displayed therein, or the persons or entities associated therewith. This Privacy Policy does not apply to such third-party content or services. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of these third parties before using their websites or services. We are not responsible for the policies and practices of other companies.

8. International Data Transfers.

By using the Services, you consent to the collection, storage, processing, and transfer of your information in and to the United States, or other countries and territories. While some of these countries may not offer the same level of privacy protection as your own, APA commits to uphold the privacy protections as explained in this Policy.

9. California Residents.

It is our policy not to share your personal information with third parties for their direct marketing purposes.  However, in the event that this policy changes, you will first be given the opportunity to opt out of such sharing. If you wish to learn more about our policy, please contact us using the information provided below.

Some web browsers may transmit “do-not-track” signals to the websites with which the user communicates. Because of differences in how web browsers incorporate and activate this feature, it is not always clear whether users intend for these signals to be transmitted, or whether they even are aware of them. Because there currently is no industry standard concerning what, if anything, websites should do when they receive such signals, APA currently does not take action in response to these signals. If and when a final standard is established and accepted, we will reassess how to respond to these signals.

10. Access to Information.

APA provides you with the ability to review and correct certain information that you have provided to us. If you wish to access, update, or delete your information, you may do so by logging in to an account management section on the Service. These areas are usually marked clearly as “My Account,” “Your Account,” “Edit Profile,” “Settings,” or similar names, and may offer a variety of options that allow you to update information, delete accounts or profiles.

11. Communications Preferences.

You may choose to receive promotional emails, newsletters, and similar communications from us. You may opt out of receiving commercial emails from us by clicking on the opt-out or “unsubscribe” link included in the commercial e-mails you receive. Please note that opt-out requests may take up to five (5) business days to be effective. Your opt-out request will not apply to messages that you request or that are not commercial in nature. For example, we may contact you concerning any purchases you have made with us, even if you opt out of receiving unsolicited commercial email messages.

12. Data Retention.

We only retain your information for as long as it is necessary for the purposes for which it was collected. You need to be aware, however, that Transcript records are held on file permanently. Student information including application, housing information, recommendation letters, and other related records will be kept on file for five (5) years.

13. Your Rights.

The following is a summary of the data protection rights available you.  The rights may only apply in certain circumstances and are subject to certain exemptions.  Please see the table below for a summary of your rights.  You can exercise these rights using the contact details at the end of this Privacy Policy.

You have the right to request that your personal information is destroyed at any time by contacting APA.

14. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or to otherwise exercise any of your rights under this privacy policy, you may contact our Data Protection Officer at:

Academic Programs Abroad

Box #17218
24 Camp Avenue
Stamford, CT 06907 USA

Tel: +1 (203) 883-8200
Email: usa@apaparis.com

By accessing and using our Services, you are agreeing to the terms of this Privacy Policy AND OUR Cookie which is listed below. Please read this Cookie Policy and our Privacy Policy (above) carefully so you know what we are doing with your information. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO EITHER THE PRIVACY POLICY OR THIS COOKIE POLICY (BELOW) YOU MAY NOT USE THE APA SERVICES.

APA’s Cookie Policy

Effective: August 5, 2018

This Cookie Policy applies to all websites, connected products, mobile apps and services provided to you by Academic Programs Abroad (“APA”, “we”, “our” or “us”) that post a direct link to APA’s Privacy Policy (the “Services”).

By accessing and using our Services, you are agreeing to the terms of this Cookie Policy and our Privacy Policy. Please read this Cookie Policy and our Privacy Policy (above) carefully so you know what we are doing with your information. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO EITHER THE PRIVACY POLICY OR THIS COOKIE POLICY YOU MAY NOT USE THE APA SERVICES.

Cookies

APA may use cookies and web beacons on certain areas of our Services. Cookies are small text files that we may store on your computer or device to remember certain things about your use of our Services. This Cookie Policy describes the categories of cookies we use, the purposes for which we use them and how you can change your preferences.

We use the following types of cookies on our Services:

• Strictly Necessary Cookies. These types of cookies enable you to receive information or services from our Services.
• Performance Cookies. Performance cookies enable us to analyze the performance and design of our Services and detect errors. For example, this type of cookie allows us to recognize repeat visitors to our website and show which section of the website are accessed most frequently and how much time visitors spend on each page.
• Functional Cookies. These cookies allow us to enhance and personalize your experience. For example, we may use these to identify the content you previously viewed on an APA website, or the device profile name you created when registering on our website, web-connected application or any web-connected devices.
• Advertising Cookies. We, or a service provider operating on our behalf, may place targeted advertising cookies on your computer so we can show you APA banner ads when you visit other, third party websites. We may use these cookies or web beacons to collect non-personal, anonymous information from you while you visit our websites or other websites participating in the same network (if any). Our targeted advertising cookies collect anonymous information; however, if you have a registered account with us, the information collected by us using our targeted advertising cookies may be associated with your registered account. This information may be used to display advertisements about goods and services more likely to be of interest to you when you visit those other websites.

Flash Cookies

We may also use local shared objects, otherwise known as flash cookies. Flash cookies are similar to the cookies discussed above in that they are stored on your computer and can be used to store certain information about your activities and preferences or to display content, such as videos. However, these objects are stored in different parts of your computer from ordinary browser cookies.

Web Beacons

Our Services and e-mail communications may contain electronic images known as web beacons, which generally work in conjunction with cookies. We may use web beacons to bring together information we collect about you.  The following are examples of how we may use web beacons:

• Count the number of people visiting our websites or using our APA Services;
• Identify which pages visitors have viewed and for how long;
• Establish interest levels for particular items or aspects of our Websites or Services; or

When used in an e-mail, web beacons can tell us:

• The time the e-mail was opened,
• If and how many times it was forwarded,
• What links customers click on from within the e-mail message.

Disabling/Enabling Cookies on Your Browser

Most web browsers allow you to modify your settings to block cookies entirely, alert you every time they are being sent or allow their use by only those websites you approve. You can also delete cookies that are currently stored on your computer’s hard drive. To do this, look for the cookie control settings in your web browser (usually under Tools, Options/Internet Options, Privacy/Security tab) and then make your desired selections. To learn more about cookies and how to enable/disable them go to www.aboutcookies.org.

If you choose to disable cookies, certain features of the Services may not be available or work properly and you may inadvertently delete the cookie that enables you to opt-out of ads served by network advertisers on our behalf.

Disabling Flash Cookies

Cookie management tools provided by your browser will not remove Flash cookies.

Please note that if you disable Flash cookies some of our Services will not function properly and you may not have access to many features of our Services.

Thank you for taking the time to read our Cookie Policy.