The Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education, found at https://podnetwork.org/ (the “Website”) is governed by the following privacy policy (“Privacy Policy”).

We respect your privacy and are committed to protecting it. The purpose of this Privacy Policy is to inform you what personally identifiable information we may collect and how it may be used. This statement only applies to this Website.

What information do we collect and how is it used?

Information You Voluntarily Submit to the Website: We may collect personal information from you such as your name, contact information, email address, and affiliated organization. For example, you may voluntarily submit information to the Website by subscribing to a newsletter or submitting a contact form.

Demographic Information (optional)
Your demographic information is optional; you are not required to fill in any of these fields when you submit your membership, contact forms, or subscription choices. Your demographic information will not be shared with any outside entity. It will only be shared internally, with the Diversity Committee and other POD Network Committees, to help the POD Network achieve its commitment to inclusivity.

Information We Collect from Others: We may receive information about you from other sources. You may link your Google or other accounts to your member profile. If you choose to link other accounts to your user profile, we will receive your name, email address and other information associated with that account.

Automatically-Collected Information: We automatically collect certain information about you and the device with which you access the Website. For example, when you use the Website, we will log your IP address, operating system type, browser type, referring website, pages you viewed, and the dates/times when you accessed the Website. We may also collect information about actions you take when using the Website, such as links clicked.

Cookies: We may log information using cookies, which are small data files stored on your browser by the Website. We may use both session cookies, which expire when you close your browser, and persistent cookies, which stay on your browser until deleted, to provide you with a more personalized experience on the Website.

How your information may be used

We may use the information collected in the following ways:

  • To operate and maintain the Website;
  • To create your account, identify you as a user of the Website, and customize the Website for your account;
  • To send you promotional information, such as newsletters. Each email promotion will provide information on how to opt-out of future mailings;
  • To send you administrative communications, such as administrative emails, confirmation emails, technical notices, updates on policies, or security alerts;
  • To respond to your comments or inquiries;
  • To provide you with user support;
  • To protect, investigate, and deter against unauthorized or illegal activity.

Third-party use of personal information

We may share your information with third parties when you explicitly authorize us to share your information. We occasionally allow approved third-party entities (publishers, universities, and consultants) to contact you vial email or postal mail about products or services related to higher education development. You may opt-out of such communications by following the following link: https://podnetwork.org/my-account/. You may change these settings at any time.

Additionally, the Website may use third-party service providers to service various aspects of the Website. Each third-party service provider’s use of your personal information is dictated by their respective privacy policies.

The Website currently uses the following third-party service providers:

Google Analytics – this service tracks Website usage and provides information such as referring websites and user actions on the Website. Google Analytics may capture your IP address, but no other personal information is captured by Google Analytics.

Anonymous data

From time to time, we may use anonymous data, which does not identify you alone, or when combined with data from other parties. This type of anonymous data may be provided to other parties for marketing, advertising, or other uses. Examples of this anonymous data may include analytics or information collected from cookies.

Publicly visible information

The Website has a members-only area available after the login. If you leave a comment or post on any discussion board, certain information may be publicly visible. Your email address will never be available publicly.

Cookies

The Website uses cookies to store visitors’ preferences, record user-specific information on what pages users access or visit, customize Website content based on visitors’ browser type or other information that the visitor sends. Cookies may also be used by third-party services, such as Google Analytics, as described herein. Users may, at any time, prevent the setting of cookies, by the Website, by using a corresponding setting of your internet browser and may permanently deny the setting of cookies. Furthermore, already set cookies may be deleted at any time via an Internet browser or other software programs. This is possible in all popular Internet browsers. However, if users deactivate the setting of cookies in your Internet browser, not all functions of our Website may be entirely usable.

Rights related to your personal information

Opt-out – You may opt-out of future email communications by following the unsubscribe links in our emails. You may also notify us at [email protected] to be removed from our mailing list, or go to the following link to opt-out: https://podnetwork.org/my-account/. You may change these settings at any time.

Sensitive personal information

At no time should you submit sensitive personal information to the Website. This includes your social security number, information regarding race or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious beliefs, health information, criminal background, or trade union memberships. If you elect to submit such information to us, it will be subject to this Privacy Policy.

Contact information

At any time, please contact us at [email protected] for questions related to this Privacy Policy.

Last updated: July 25, 2018.