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Privacy Policy

UW–Madison’s Division of Continuing Studies adheres to the UW–Madison Privacy Notice. For tools and activities specific to the Division, we also follow the standards outlined in the Continuing Studies Privacy Policy.

Continuing Studies Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect about you and how we use it. The terms “we” and “us” refer to The University of Wisconsin–Madison Division of Continuing Studies and our websites, including this website (the Website). The term “University” refers to the University of Wisconsin–Madison as a whole. By using the Website, you are accepting the terms of this Privacy Policy.

To help us assess our content and navigational features, and to develop ways to improve them, we may collect overall usage data. Occasionally we may use a commercial service to collect data about Website usage. We collect information that you volunteer such as your name, email address, postal address, phone number, and other information necessary to process your request. We never sell or share the information you provide to parties beyond the University. Please contact us if you have any questions or concerns.

Use of Cookies and Other Technologies

We automatically collect and store certain nonpersonal information in the course of your use of the Website. This information may include your browser type, domain names, IP address, unique device identifier, search criteria used, content viewed, and the emails and phone numbers that you contact through the Website, the pages you view, access times and referring website addresses. This information is used by us to analyze and track user behavior, personalize your experience, provide statistics regarding usage of the Website, and display relevant advertising. We may use “cookies” and similar technology in connection with your use of the Website. A cookie is a small text file that is placed on your hard drive. Cookies contain information—including personal information—that can later be read by a web server in the domain that issued the cookie to you. Cookies may reside on your computer, in emails we send you, and on our web pages. You have the ability to accept or decline cookies. Most Web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer. If you choose to decline cookies, you may not be able to fully experience the interactive features of the Website. In some cases, our third-party service providers may also use cookies, web beacons, and other technologies on our sites.

In addition to cookies, we may use other technologies, including single-pixel gifs (also known as web beacons) on our websites and in promotional email messages or newsletters. Web beacons allow us to measure the actions of a user opening the page that contained the web beacon. We use web beacons to assist us in determining how many users have visited certain pages or opened messages or newsletters, improve user experience, and manage site content. When you click on a link on a page with a web beacon, we may record your response to customize our offerings to you. We may use this information to tailor advertising to you on social media, including, but not limited to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ and YouTube.

The Division of Continuing Studies occasionally uses Online Behavioral Advertising (OBA), sometimes called “interest-based advertising.” OBA uses information collected across multiple websites that you visit—including this site—to predict your preferences or infer interests and to show you ads that are more likely to be of interest to you, including advertisements for the University of Wisconsin–Madison Division of Continuing Studies. Learn more about how you can opt out of third-party use of OBA cookies.

Google Analytics

The Division of Continuing Studies may also use Google Analytics to collect site usage data and to analyze overall usage of the site. Google Analytics uses cookies in your web-browsing software to track user sessions so that it can collect data about how users view and navigate the site. The data collected never includes names, usernames, or email addresses. Individual IP addresses are collected, but they are not associated with individual users other than as noted above. You may prevent Google Analytics from collecting data by turning off cookies in the preferences settings in your browser. For more information on Google Analytics, please visit Google’s website.

Oracle Eloqua

We also use Oracle Eloqua to help us recruit learners through some marketing campaigns. The Eloqua tracking cookie is offered by a range of University websites, which enables the University to measure website usage across the University. In addition to anonymous tracking, and only if you choose to directly submit your personal information on certain University web forms, we will then also track your use of University websites in combination with personal information that you have shared with the University via other sources. This combination of information will be shared only with appropriate, authorized University staff.

What We Do with Your Information

We are committed to protecting your privacy. Under no circumstances do we rent, trade, or share your personal information with any other company for their marketing purposes without your consent. We use your personal information for internal purposes such as processing and keeping you informed.

Direct Marketing

Where we have your express or implied consent, or where we are otherwise permitted by law, we may periodically send you email about services, events, and learning opportunities at the Division of Continuing Studies, or other announcements we think you might find interesting. We may send this information by mail, email, SMS and telephone. If you do not wish to receive such emails in the future, contact us, or please click the “unsubscribe” link on any promotional email, SMS, or other commercial message you receive from us.

It is not our intent to collect personal data from children under the age of 13. We request that children under the age of 13 not submit personal data to us through our websites.

How We Protect Your Personal Data

When you use our Website, we use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) technology to encrypt the transfer of all information between your computer and our servers, including to any third-party servers we contract with as described above. If you choose to submit personally identifiable information to the Oracle Eloqua service described above, that information is furthermore encrypted at all times during storage in Eloqua.

Other Websites

The Division of Continuing Studies website contains links to other independently run websites within the University of Wisconsin–Madison network and to some sites outside the “wisc.edu” domain. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of such websites.

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