Privacy Policy

Effective Date: September 1, 2009

Thank you for visiting Christian Theological Seminary’s web site at www.cts.edu (the "Web Site"). This Online Privacy Statement (the "Privacy Policy") only applies to information collected online at www.cts.edu. This Privacy Policy describes the information that CTS collects on the Web Site from visitors, as well as how that information is used.

Your privacy is important to us. To better protect your privacy, we provide this notice explaining our online information practices and the choices you can make about the way your information is collected and used. To make this notice easy to find, we provide a link to the Privacy Policy on our homepage and at every point where personally identifiable information may be requested. For more information regarding privacy and to help you determine where to get further assistance, students, faculty, staff, and other users in the Christian Theological Seminary (CTS) community are directed to the CTS Internet and Computer Usage Policies. (Note: insert links)
Information Collected Online:

1. Non-Personally Identifiable Information.

Christian Theological Seminary collects a variety of information from visitors to its Web Site. This data is not personally identifiable and is collected automatically via the use of cookies (see the Cookies section below) and other standard web technology. Automatically-collected information may include: the operating system on your computer, the type of web browser you are using, your IP address, and the links you followed to enter and leave the Web Site. Non-personally identifiable information is used to help CTS improve its site by enabling us to discover and address the needs of our site visitors. This includes making our Web Site accessible to the wide variety of Web browsers and operating systems used to access the Web Site.

2. Personally Identifiable Information.

Personally identifiable information is collected when visitors to the Web Site apply for classes online, request information from CTS, register for an event, request a transcript, update their personal information, make a donation, request information from departments, access other online services such as the library, bookstore or email services, or when visitors contact CTS. Categories of personally identifiable information collected online may include: name, address, phone number, email address, fax number, social security number, date of birth, gender, marital status, spouse's name, race/ethnicity, citizenship information, enrollment information, previous educational information, employment information, emergency contact information, credit card information, recipient's name, address, phone number, and email address, account information, and any other information visitors to the Web Site choose to provide.
Privacy of Children:

We are committed to protecting the privacy of children. The Web Site is not intended to or designed to attract children under the age of 13. We do not collect personally identifiable information from any person we actually know is a child under the age of 13.
Personal Health Information:

The Web Site is not intended to or designed to solicit personal health information. We do not collect personal health information.
How We Use Information Collected Online:

CTS uses non-personally identifiable information collected online to help us better design our Web Site so that it continues to meet visitor needs. Personally identifiable information collected through the site by means of visitor submission is used for the purpose of responding to said submission. This includes activities such as evaluating visitor applications and responding to requests for information about CTS. CTS does not share personal information with third parties, apart from vendors who must utilize the information to perform necessary duties (e.g. credit card authorization).  CTS may disclose personally identifiable information based on a good-faith belief that such disclosure is necessary to conform to or comply with the law or that such disclosure is necessary to protect Web Site visitors or the general public.
Security of Information:

Financial transactions submitted through the Web Site are encrypted using the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol. (Note: need to confirm the encryption)

Cookies:

Cookies are pieces of information stored by your web browser on behalf of a web site and returned to the Web Site on request. The Web Site may use cookies for two purposes: to carry data about a visitors current session at the Web Site from one web page to the next, and to identify a visitor to the Web Site between visits. If visitors prefer not to receive cookies they can be turned off in the browser. The browser may also be configured to prompt the user before automatically accepting a new cookie. Some pages may not function properly if cookies are turned off. Unless otherwise notified on this Web Site, CTS will not store data within cookies for any other purpose.

Retention/Access to Personal Information:

We retain personally identifiable information for as long as the information is relevant to our business purposes or until you request that we remove the data. At your request, we will use reasonable efforts to provide you with access to your personal information and to revise, update or replace information that you inform us is in error. Please contact us to request access.
Linking:

Within the Web Site there are links to non-CTS web sites. When a visitor follows a link to a third-party web site, the visitor leaves the CTS Web Site and will no longer will be subject to our Privacy Policy. CTS is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of non-CTS web sites, and such links are not intended to be an endorsement of those sites or their content.
International Visitors:

If a user visits this Web Site from a location outside the United States, the Web Site connection will be routed through servers located in the United States. Any information provided by international visitors will be processed and maintained on our Web server and other systems located within the United States.

Policy Changes:

The information contained in this Privacy Policy explains the Internet privacy policy and practices that CTS has adopted for its official Web pages. This Privacy Policy shall not be construed as a contractual promise. CTS reserves the right to amend this policy at any time. Should there be a material change to our information collection and use practices, it will be applied only to information collected from that point forward. In such an instance, CTS will update this Privacy Policy.
Opt-Out:

You can opt-out of use of this Web Site or unsubscribe from receiving emails from us by sending your request to our Privacy Contact, Chris Varnau at (317) 931-2316 or cvarnau@cts.edu with the subject line "unsubscribe" or by following the instructions on any e-mails that you receive from us.

Questions/Contact Us:

If you have questions about the Web Site, the collection of information that occurs on the Web Site, or this Privacy Policy, please contact the Christian Theological Seminary Help Desk at (317) 931-2385 . You may also send an email to helpdesk@cts.edu .