The University of Montevallo respects your privacy and collects no personally identifiable information about you unless you affirmatively choose to make such information available to us. UM does not actively share personal information about website visitors. Any personal information, including mobile data, that is collected by UM is protected and used for the primary purpose of providing you with opportunities to engage with UM. It is not shared with third-party vendors. However, some personal information, including mobile data, collected from prospective students may be shared with our third-party partners for recruitment purposes. Personal information provided by visitors, such as e-mail addresses or information submitted via online forms, is used by to assist individual visitors as necessary. This assistance may involve redirecting an inquiry or comment to another UM employee or unit better suited to provide resolution.
The University analyzes its web server log files to collect summary information about visitors to its website. The University also subscribes to Google Analytics, which uses cookies to collect anonymous traffic data. This information is analyzed by UM and by Google Analytics to generate summary statistics for purposes such as guiding design considerations, determining successful site segments, and determining problem areas. However, because the University of Montevallo is a public institution, some information collected from the University of Montevallo’s website may be subject to the Alabama Open Records Act, or in some instances the University may be compelled by law to release information gathered from University of Montevallo web servers. Some web servers at the University of Montevallo may adopt different privacy statements as their specific needs require that differ from this statement.
The University of Montevallo is a research institution. At any time there are numerous online surveys being conducted on the University of Montevallo website. Confidential information gathered in these online surveys is used only for the research purpose indicated in the survey. Unless otherwise noted on the specified survey, your answers are confidential and individual responses will not be shared with other parties unless required by law. Aggregate data from surveys may be shared with external third parties.
The University of Montevallo also complies with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (“FERPA”), which prohibits the release of educational records without student permission. For more details on FERPA, currently enrolled students should consult the University of Montevallo Bulletin, Student Handbook or the Registrar’s Office webpage.
What Information We Collect and How We Use It
UM webservers, like all webservers, collect information such as the IP address of the visitor’s computer, the operating system, browser software used, access times, and pages visited. This data is used statistically and in aggregate to monitor webserver performance, network security and to help manage the site and improve service. In addition, UM’s site uses technologies of third-party vendors to help the university recognize a visitor’s device and understand how the visitor uses our site(s) so that we can improve our services to reflect your interests and offer visitors advertisements about the services that are likely to be of interest. Specifically, these partners collect information about your activity on our site(s) to enable us to:
- measure and analyze traffic and browsing activity on our site(s);
- show advertisements for UM services on third-party sites;
- measure and analyze the performance of our advertising campaigns. We may share data, such as hashed email derived from emails or other online identifiers collected on our site(s) with our advertising partners. This allows our partners to recognize and deliver ads across devices and browsers. Some of our webpages may link to external websites not owned or controlled by the University. The University is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of such websites.
Cookies
A cookie is a small file placed onto a visitor’s device that enables features and functionality. The information contained in a cookie typically includes information collected automatically by the webserver and/or information provided voluntarily by the user. To disable or delete cookies for this site or all sites, a visitor can use the following guides:
- Microsoft Edge: http://support.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/deletecookies-in-microsoft-edge-63947406-40ac-c3b8-57b9-2a946a29ae09
- Chrome: http://support.google.com/chrome/answer/95647?hl=en
- Safari: http://support.apple.com/kb/PH17191?locale=en_GB
- Firefox: http://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/block-websites-storing-cookies-sitedata-firefox
Published April 2022
Amended January 2024
