Website Privacy Policy
Scope
This Website Privacy Policy applies to all pages on Whitman College's websites other than those, such as my.whitman.edu and cleo.whitman.edu, that are used exclusively by our current students and employees. Sites governed by this privacy policy include www.whitman.edu, athletics.whitman.edu, blogs.whitman.edu, bookstore.whitman.edu, calendar.whitman.edu, connect.whitman.edu, and engage.whitman.edu.
Purpose
Whitman College created this policy as part of our commitment to maintaining the privacy of everyone that uses our websites. The policy has two purposes:
- To inform you about our privacy guidelines.
- To help you understand what information Whitman College collects when you visit our websites, and how we use and share that information.
How Whitman College Collects Information
Whitman College collects information from you when you enter information into inquiry or donation forms, make a purchase, subscribe to a newsletter, respond to a survey, or complete any other forms on our websites.
Whitman College also places tracking codes from third-party vendors such as Google Analytics and Slate's Ping on many of its websites. These tracking codes allow us to use cookies—small files that are placed on your device through your web browser—to capture and remember your browsing behavior on our websites, including how you were referred to the site, the operating system of your device, what browser you used, which pages you viewed, the date and times you visited, and your device's IP address. We may also allow third parties to place cookies on your device for targeted advertising purposes.
You can disable cookies, remove cookies from your hard drive, and refuse to accept cookies through your browser settings. You can also prevent Google Analytics from using your website browsing information by installing this browser add-on.
How Whitman College Uses the Information It Collects
Whitman College uses demographic information gathered through Google Analytics, including its Demographics & Interests reports, to gain a deeper understanding of who are visitors are, what they are interested in, and how they are using our websites.
In addition, as you browse Whitman College's websites, advertising cookies may be placed on your computer so that we can understand what you are interested in. This allows our display advertising partners to present you with targeted advertising on other sites based on your previous interactions with our websites. You can visit this page to opt out of targeted advertising.
We may also use the information we collect from you to:
- Process your transactions or requests
- Understand your interest in Whitman College as part of our admission process
- Send you emails related to your interest in Whitman College
- Administer surveys and other site features
- Compile aggregate data based on site traffic and site interaction so we can better understand how our site is being used and what we can do to improve it
- Track our advertising on third-party websites
Who We Share Information With
Whitman College uses our websites for business purposes and is committed to ensuring the privacy of personal information.
Whitman College will not sell, trade, or otherwise transfer your personally identifiable information to outside parties without giving you notice in advance. This excludes parties who assist us in operating our websites, conducting our business, or providing services to you, as long as they agree to keep your information confidential. We may also release your information when we believe the release is required to comply with the law, enforce our site policies, protect ours or others' rights, property or safety, or if you agree to the release.
Non-personally identifiable information may be provided to other parties for marketing, advertising, or other uses.
SMS Messaging Consent
No mobile information will be shared with third parties/affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes. All other categories exclude text messaging originator opt-in data and consent; this information will not be shared with any third parties.
Whitman College shares the phone numbers of current students and employees with Everbridge, a third-party platform used for emergency communications. Current students and employees may opt-in to receive emergency communications as SMS messages from Everbridge.
How We Protect Your Information
Unless a particular form explicitly states otherwise, any personally identifiable information you provide to us through a form on our website is contained behind secured networks and will be accessible only by a limited number of people with special access rights to such systems who are required to keep the information confidential. In addition, all sensitive information you provide to us, including credit card or other financial information, is encrypted via Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology.
All financial transactions on our websites are processed through gateway providers and are not stored or processed on our servers. If a data privacy breach does occur, Whitman College will notify you by email, mail or phone within a reasonable time period.
Rules for Individuals under Thirteen Years of Age
Whitman College is committed to complying fully with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act. Accordingly, any user of our websites that is under the age of thirteen may not provide Whitman College with personal information, and Whitman College will not use any such information in its database or other data collection activities. Users under the age of thirteen and their parents or guardians are cautioned that the collection of personal information volunteered by unauthorized children online or by e-mail will be treated the same as information that was given to Whitman College by an adult until we become aware that the user is under the age of thirteen, and that such information may be used at noted above.
Additional Information
Whitman College protects the privacy of the educational records of our current and past students in compliance with FERPA (the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act).
This privacy policy will be linked from the home page of Whitman College's main website at www.whitman.edu.
If you have questions about this policy or believe that your personal information has been released without consent, please send an email to iso@whitman.edu.