Website Privacy Statement

Originally Issued: November 18, 2013
Reviewed: May 11, 2022

Athens State University is committed to protecting your privacy. The University respects your privacy and collects no personally identifiable information unless you choose to provide such information to us, such as your name, address, or email address, or by supplying personal information when filling out a form, web form, or University survey. However, if you choose to provide this information, it is used only for University purposes in responding appropriately. Unless required by law, we will not otherwise share, sell or distribute any personal information you provide to us without your consent.

What we collect:
The University analyzes its Web server log files to collect summary information about visitors to its website. The University uses IP addresses to analyze trends and gather broad demographic information for aggregate use. Since IP addresses are not linked to personally identifiable information, this does not result in the identification of your personal email address or other personal information. This information is analyzed to generate summary statistics for purposes such as guiding web design considerations, determining successful website segments, and determining problem areas. Unless we are tracking down a technical problem or suspect either fraudulent behavior or illegal conduct, specific user sessions are not traced.

What we do with the information we collect:
Since Athens State University is a public institution, some information collected from the University’s website may be subject to Alabama Open Records laws, or in some instances, the University may be required by law to release information gathered from web servers.

At any time, there may be numerous online surveys being conducted on the University website related to rating services or collecting other information related to user opinions. Confidential information gathered in these online surveys is used only for the research purpose indicated in the survey. Aggregate data from surveys may be shared with external third parties.

We may use your information in the following ways:

  • To authenticate access to certain features of our websites.
  • To contact you to respond to inquiries or to provide notices to you regarding your use of our websites or the provision of our services.
  • To provide services, and products, process payment and authenticate access (where required).
  • To analyze the performance or the appropriateness of products or services.
  • To comply with legal and regulatory requirements (including responding to court orders, and subpoenas and preventing crime). These special circumstances may require us to disclose personal information.
  • To contact you if your actions violate your agreement with us (if any).
  • To fix errors and analyze trends.
  • To study how anonymous users interact with our websites and services.

Who has access to this information?
The information you provide to us will be held on computers and may be accessed by or given to our staff and to third parties, including contractors and companies associated with Athens State, for the purposes set out in this Privacy Statement, i.e. to provide you with products or services, or as otherwise agreed with you.

You acknowledge that it may be necessary for your information to be processed by such parties and that it may be transferred to someone who provides a service to us, and you consent to such processing and transfer.

Some pages on this website contain links to external websites. The University is not responsible for the privacy practices of such other sites. We make every effort to notify users when links take them to external sites. We strongly encourage users to be aware when they leave our site and to be knowledgeable of the privacy policies of any external website that may collect personally identifiable information.

Athens State University also complies with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), which prohibits the release of educational records without student permission. Additional information on FERPA can be found in the Athens State Privacy of Student Records policy.

How do we protect the information we collect?
Athens State is very concerned about protecting the confidentiality of your personal information. We have security measures, including administrative, physical, and electronic measures, to protect against the loss, exposure, misuse, or alteration of information that we have collected from you in the use of the services.

How to contact us?
Questions regarding this privacy statement may be directed to the Office of University Advancement. General inquiries about your personal information, content, or problems with the University website can be directed to communications@athens.edu.