Privacy Policy

Last Updated: September 21, 2020 

The University of Southern California (“USC”) is committed to delivering information services that recognize and respect users’ privacy concerns. This Privacy Notice is intended to inform you of our general policies and practices regarding our collection, use, and disclosure of the information that you submit to us and that we collect from you during your use of this website.

By accessing or using this website, you acknowledge you have read, understood, and agree to our collection, storage, use, and disclosure of your personal information as described in this Privacy Policy.

Personal Information We Collect

Personal information is any kind of information that allows us to identify you, directly or indirectly, such as your name, contact details, or address. We may collect and process the following personal information about you:

  • Identifiers, such as your name, address, email address, username, and telephone numbers;
  • Demographic information, such as your age and gender;
  • Internet or other electronic network activity information, such as your internet protocol (IP) address, login data, unique device identifiers, browser type and version, time zone setting and location, browser plug-in types and versions, operating system and platform, mobile device carrier and other technology on the devices you use to access the Site; as well as usage information, such as information about how you use the Site and our products and services, referring/exit web pages, date/time stamps, error logs, and the frequency of your use of the Site; and

We also collect, use, and share deidentified information such as statistical or demographic data, which we may use for any purpose. This information could be derived from your personal information but will not reveal your identity directly or indirectly. For example, we may aggregate your usage information to calculate the percentage of users accessing a specific Site feature. However, if we combine or connect information with your personal information so that it can identify you directly or indirectly, we will treat the combined information as personal information, which will be used only as allowed by this Policy.

How We Collect Your Personal Information

We collect personal information from you via the following:

1. Personal Information You Provide to Us

  • Forms you complete (or which are completed by your authorized representatives on your behalf) and other information you enter directly in the Site; and
  • Your correspondence and interactions with us, including by letter, email, and telephone.

2. Information Collected Automatically

We may automatically collect certain information about the devices you use to access the Site, as well as information on how you interact with the Site, through web server logs as well as cookies and other similar tracking technologies. Information gathered through cookies and web server logs may include information such as the date and time of visits to the Site, the pages viewed, time spent at the Site, and the websites visited just before and just after the Site.

a) Cookies and other data collection technologies

We may collect information about your use of the Site through cookies and other similar tracking technologies. “Cookies” are a feature of web browser software that allows web servers to recognize the computer used to access a website. They are small text files that are stored by a user’s web browser on the user’s hard drive. Cookies can help identify what information a user accesses on one website to simplify subsequent interactions with that site by the same user or to use the information to streamline the user’s transactions on related websites. A number of cookies we use last only for the duration of your web session and expire when you close your browser. Other cookies last longer and are used to recognize your computer when you return to the Site.

We use cookies to manage your login session, help you move between screens in the Site in a smooth and secure manner, and to gather information about the browsing activities of users of the Site in order to continually improve it and better serve the needs of its users.

You can change your browser settings to notify you of the cookies being set or updated, and to block cookies. Please note that if you have turned off all cookies, some features of the Site may not be available to you or otherwise function as intended.

We also may include tracking pixels and web beacons in email messages, newsletters, and other electronic communication. They help us to determine whether a message has been opened and to analyze and personalize our interactions with you. Instructions on how to unsubscribe are included in each email.

We may use the following categories of cookies on the Site:

  • Essential cookies: These cookies are necessary to provide you with the services available through our Site and to use its some of its features. Without these cookies, the use of the Site is impacted and certain functions might not be available.
  • Performance, functionality, and customization cookies: These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources and see how visitors move around the Site. They also enable the Site to provide enhanced functionality and personalization. This information is used only for internal purposes in managing the Site and improving its functionality. If you do not allow these cookies, we will not be able to monitor the performance of the Site, and some of its services may not function properly.
  • Analytics cookies: These cookies collect information that helps us understand how you and other visitors access the Site, how much time you spend there, and which pages you visit. We use this information to improve our services, and to customize the Site and our services for you. The functionality of the Site is not impacted by the rejection of such cookies. We may use third party analytics providers such as Google Analytics to collect and analyze usage of the Site. You can prevent Google Analytics from using your information by downloading and installing the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on (https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout).
  • Targeting cookies: These cookies record your visit to the Site, the pages you have visited and the links you have followed. They recognize you as a previous visitor and track your activity on the Site as well as other websites you visit. The functionality of the Site is not impacted by the rejection of such cookies.

b) Cookie management

Most web browsers automatically accept cookies. You can, however, change your browser to prevent this or to notify you each time a cookie is set. To learn more about how to manage cookies on different types of browsers, you can visit the website www.allaboutcookies.org.

c) “Do Not Track” Browser Settings

We do not currently use technology that recognizes “do not track” signals from your web browser.

How We Use Your Personal Information

We will use your personal information only when doing so is consistent with applicable law and only for the following purposes:

  • To identify and respond to inquiries and feedback;
  • To process requests and provide services;
    • May include personalization, discounts, and other incentives;
  • For internal marketing and research purposes; and
  • Where necessary for the establishment, exercise, or defense of legal claims.

How We Protect Your Personal Information

We take precautions to maintain the confidentiality, integrity, and security of your personal information, including the adoption of certain physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards and procedures designed to maintain and secure your personal information from inappropriate disclosure in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. However, no security measures are perfect, and we cannot assure you that personal information that we collect will never be accessed or used in in an unauthorized way.

We restrict access to personal information to those employees and agents of USC who need to know that information in order to provide USC’s services. We may disclose such information to our service providers (including financial, technical, marketing, and professional service providers and consultants). We require such third-party service providers to protect the confidentiality of your personal information and to use the information only for purposes for which it is disclosed to them.

When We Disclose Your Personal Information

We do not sell personal information. USC may disclose personal information where it may be required or permitted by law, rule, or regulation. We may also disclose personal information to the following parties:

  • if you request or authorize it;
  • if the information is provided to help complete a transaction for you;
  • if the information is provided to comply with the law, applicable regulations, governmental and quasi-governmental requests, court orders or subpoenas, to enforce our Terms of Use or other agreements, or to protect our rights, property or safety or the rights, property or safety of our users or others (e.g., to a consumer reporting agency for fraud protection etc.);
  • if the information is provided to our agents, outside vendors or service providers to perform functions on our behalf (e.g., analyzing data, providing marketing assistance, providing customer service, processing orders, etc.); or
  • as otherwise described in this Privacy Policy or in a more specific privacy policy associated with a particular department, unit or function.

Retention of Your Personal Information

We will retain your personal information only for as long as we are legally required or permitted to do so. When deciding how long to retain your personal information, we take into account our legal and regulatory obligations, the amount, nature, and sensitivity of the personal information, the potential risk of harm from unauthorized use or disclosure of your personal information, the purposes for which we process your personal information described above and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means. We may also retain your personal information to investigate or defend against potential legal claims in accordance with the limitation periods of countries where legal action may be brought.

Children’s Privacy

While the majority of our services are not intended for users under the age of 16, there may be instances where Personal Information is provided to us with consent, only through a Parent or Legal Guardian. We do not accept Personal Information from anyone directly under the age of 16. We also do not knowingly collect Personal Information for children under the age of 13. In the event that we have inadvertently collected Personal Information for children under the age of 13, we will remove their information as soon as possible.

Notice Specific to Persons Within the European Union (EU) and European Economic Area (EEA)

If you are located in the European Union, you may also have additional rights with respect to your Information, such as: (i) data access and portability; (ii) data correction (including the ability to update your personal data); (iii) data deletion (including the right to have USC delete your personal information, except information we are required to retain, by contacting us); and (iv) withdrawal of consent or objection to processing (including, in limited circumstances, the right to ask USC to stop processing your personal data, with some exceptions, by contacting us). You may also be able to file a complaint with the appropriate supervisory authority in the European Union.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy periodically, without prior notice, so please review it frequently. If we decide to change our Privacy Policy, we will post the updated Privacy Policy in the Site, so that you are aware of the kinds of personal information we collect, use, share, and otherwise process. If we make material changes to this Privacy Policy, we will notify you on this website, in our Site, update the effective date above, and provide you with notice as required by applicable law.

Contact Us

If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy, please contact us at compliance@usc.edu.