Why a web privacy notice?
The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) Web Privacy Notice was developed to comply with the State Agency Web Site Act (Public Act 093-117) in addition to serving as an effective means of offering transparency and building trust with visitors regarding their privacy when visiting the SIUE website.
SIUE also has a Supplemental Privacy Notice that applies to the provision of personal information by individuals who are located in the European Economic Area when the information is provided. The Supplemental Notice explains how SIUE meets its obligations under the European Union General Data Protection Regulation with respect to such information.
General Protection Regulation (GDPR) Supplemental Privacy Notice
Who is affected and where does this notice apply?
This privacy notice affects all visitors to the SIUE website. The SIUE website consists of several servers. Some servers hosted by the University may adopt different privacy notices as their specific needs require. If another University web server/site has a privacy notice that differs from this notice, then that notice must be approved by the campus Chief Information Officer or equivalent administrator responsible for that domain, and it must be posted on the site/page that has adopted the different notice. A link to each respective privacy notice can be found in the footer of any site/page. Sites cannot adopt a privacy notice that in any way supersedes federal or state laws or regulations or University or campus policies.
Information SIUE Collects
SIUE’s websites, services, interactive applications, email messages and advertisements may use “cookies” and other technologies such as pixel tags and web beacons. These technologies help SIUE better understand user behavior, which parts of our websites people have visited, and facilitate and measure the effectiveness of advertisements and web searches. SIUE treats information collected by cookies and other technologies as non‑personal information. However, to the extent that Internet Protocol (IP) addresses or similar identifiers are considered personal information by local law, SIUE also treats these identifiers as personal information. Similarly, to the extent that non-personal information is combined with personal information, SIUE treats the combined information as personal information for the purposes of this Web Privacy Notice.
Non-Personally Identifiable Information
SIUE collects data in a form that does not, on its own, permit direct association with any specific individual. SIUE reserves the right to collect, use, transfer and disclose non-personal information for any purpose. The following are some examples of non-personal information that SIUE collects and how SIUE may use it:
Server Log Information
University web servers automatically gather the following information. SIUE may use this information to analyze trends, to create statistics for determining technical design specifications and to identify system performance or problem areas.
- browser type
- operating system
- IP address
- domain name used by the visitor
Google Analytics
SIUE uses a tool called “Google Analytics” to collect information about use of this site. Google Analytics collects information such as how often users visit this site, what pages they visit when they do so, and what other sites they used prior to coming to this site. The sole purpose of the information SIUE gets from Google Analytics is to improve this site. Google Analytics collects only the IP address assigned to each unique visitor on the date they visit this site, rather than a name or other identifying information. SIUE does not combine the information collected through Google Analytics with personally identifiable information. Although Google Analytics plants a permanent cookie on the web browser to identify you as a unique user the next time you visit this site, the cookie cannot be used by anyone but Google. Google’s ability to use and share information collected by Google Analytics about site visits is restricted by the Google Analytics Terms of Use and the Google Privacy Policy. Google Analytics can be prevented from recognizing all return visits to any website by disabling cookies on the browser.
Opt-out: Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on
Online Advertising
Third-party vendors use cookies to serve ads based on someone’s past visits or interests. This could be in the form of an advertisement on a search engine results page or a site in the Google Display Network including YouTube. SIUE may utilize general demographics and geographical location data to reach prospective students. This allows SIUE to reach individuals who previously visited our website, and match the right people with the right ad/message. Our goal is to provide the most relevant information to siue.edu visitors and provide them the best overall user experience. The following are some of the services used for online advertising purposes:
Google Adwords
Opt-out: Google Ad opt-out instructions or Network Advertising Initiative opt-out page
Personally Identifiable Information
Personal information is data that can be used to identify or contact a single person.
Third‑Party Sites and Services
SIUE websites may incorporate or contain links to third-party websites, products and services. Our services may also use or offer services from third parties − for example, a third-party customer relationship management (CRM) software. Information collected by third parties, which may include such things as contact details, is governed by their privacy practices. SIUE encourages you to learn about the privacy practices of those third parties.
Website forms/requests
Personal information that is provided by online means, such as a response to an inquiry or a request for information, is used only for purposes necessary to serve the specific requests. This may involve redirecting the inquiry or comment to another person or department better suited to meeting your needs, or through a third-party system administered by the University to help streamline communication/management. Personal information will only be shared to provide or improve our services and advertising; it will not be shared with third parties for their own marketing purposes. SIUE may facilitate the merging of personally-identifiable information with non-personally identifiable information collected for the purpose of enhancing the online user experience. The user may opt-out by clicking the 'unsubscribe' link provided in the corresponding email/digital communication. SIUE collectively includes a multitude of digital communication systems so unsubscribing will only take the user out of that respective system.
How Long SIUE Keeps Information
SIUE reserves the right to retain all information provided for as long as the information is pertinent.
Security of Information
Please note that electronic communication, particularly email, is not necessarily secure against interception. Please do not send sensitive data (e.g., Social Security, bank account, or credit card numbers) by email or web form unless necessary.
To prevent unauthorized access, maintain data accuracy, and ensure the correct use of information, the University has put into place appropriate physical, electronic and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information SIUE collects online. Personal information will only be released when it is authorized by law; is permitted under University policies; or is clearly stated in a website that information may be shared, and the user indicates consent by providing the information. The University strongly encourages University web administrators to handle the login process through a secure connection, so the user name and password are encrypted between the University web browser and the University web server.
Changes/Questions
If you have any questions or concerns about SIUE’s Web Privacy Notice please contact SIUE.
This notice was last updated October 19, 2020.
