document: title: privacy policy
text: Disclaimer

The information provided on this website is not official U.S. Government information and does not represent the views or positions of the U.S. Agency for International Development or the U.S. Government.

Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy ("Policy") covers the treatment of all personal information that the Institute of International Education, Inc. ("IIE") collects when you visit its websites (the "Website"). At IIE, we understand that privacy is a very important issue for visitors to the Website. By using or accessing the Website, you signify your consent to this Policy. We reserve the right, in our sole discretion, to modify this Policy at any time by posting such changes here. Your continued use of the Website following the posting of any changes to this Policy indicates your acceptance of such changes. If you do not agree to this Policy you are not authorized to access or otherwise use the Website.

Information Collection and Use; Security of Your Information

Like all website owners, IIE receives and records non-personally identifiable information from your browser in the Website server logs. Whenever you request a page through your browser, the navigation and clickstream data, such as IP address, browser (and version), operating system, date, time, and the site from which you came are stored in a log file. IIE uses software programs to create summaries from these statistics for such purposes as evaluating content worth, Website and system administration, and anonymous user analysis. This non-personally identifiable information cannot be used to identify specific individuals.

Aside from this standard tracking data, the only other personal information we collect about you is such personally identifiable data ("Personal Information") as you knowingly and voluntarily provide to us on the Website. Personal Information can include your name, birth date, gender, email address, physical address and telephone number and/or other personal information you may provide. IIE is the sole owner of any information collected on the Website. We may share your Personal Information with our technical consultants, third party auditors and other third parties who make the Website available, enhance its functionality or provide associated services. We will not sell, market, share, rent or otherwise distribute this information to others in ways different from what is disclosed in this Policy. Except as otherwise expressly permitted herein, we will only release Personal Information to another person or company with your consent or to the extent required by law. Please note that we do reserve the right to transfer your Personal Information and other information to our successors in business and purchasers of Website assets. If you do not want to provide us with your Personal Information, you are not required to, however, while you may still access the Website, certain services may not be available to you. By providing your Personal Information to us via the Website, you consent to receive information and updates from us, our representatives or our authorized third party providers. You may contact us at siteinfo@iie.org at any time regarding your Personal Information and to request corrections to such information.

Keeping your Personal Information secure is a top priority for IIE. Personal information is private and confidential; accordingly, the information provided is stored in a secure location, is accessible only by designated employees who are trained in the proper handling of such information, and is used only for the purpose for which the information is collected.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, while we undertake reasonable efforts to prevent unauthorized Internet access to user data retained in our servers, due to the inherent open nature of the Internet, we cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information you transmit to us or any information provided online, and you do so at your own risk. You agree that we are not liable for disclosures of your Personal Information due to errors in transmission or unauthorized acts of third parties. Internet users must accept all risks associated with any data transmission, including the risk that their Personal Information may be intercepted in transit.

Bulletin Boards and Chat Areas

You should be aware that Personal Information which you voluntarily include and transmit online may be viewed and used by others. Users of the Website are solely responsible for the content of messages they post online, including on public forums. These forums include, but are not limited to, on and offsite chat rooms, bulletin boards, blogs or other publicly accessible forums which may be viewed and used by anyone with access to such forums. Users should be aware that when they voluntarily disclose Personal Information within a public forum that user information may be collected and used by others. The Website is unable to control such uses of your Personal Information, and by using such services you assume the risk that the Personal Information provided by you may be viewed and used by third parties.

External Links

The Website may contain links to other third party websites. Unless we expressly state otherwise, IIE makes no representations whatsoever concerning the content of those websites. The fact that IIE has provided a link to a site is not an endorsement, authorization, sponsorship, or affiliation with respect to such site, its owners, or its providers. There are risks associated with using any information, software, or products found on the Internet, and IIE cautions you to make sure that you understand these risks before retrieving, using, relying upon, or purchasing anything via the Internet. In addition, we encourage users who leave the Website to read the privacy statements of other websites that collect personally identifiable information. These other websites may collect or solicit personal data or send their own cookies to your computer. Please be aware that IIE is not responsible for the privacy practices of other websites. This Policy applies to all webpages under our domains and not to any webpages not under our domains, regardless of any hyperlinks from a webpage under our domains to a webpage not under our domains. Please check the privacy statements of these other websites for more information about their policies on collection and use of personal information.

Note to Parents and Children

IIE is concerned about the protection of online privacy for all Website users. We are particularly respectful of the privacy of our young users. We encourage parents to monitor their children's use of the Internet and to help us protect their privacy by instructing them never to provide Personal Information on the Website or any other without permission. We will never attempt to extract unnecessary information from our users, regardless of age. Further, except in rare circumstances, the Website is not intended for users under the age of 18, and we have no intention of collecting Personal Information from children (i.e., individuals under the age of 13). Where appropriate, we take reasonable measures to inform children not to submit such information to our Website or in response to advertisements. If a child has provided us with Personal Information, we will use all reasonable efforts to delete such information from our database. If you know or suspect that your child who is under the age of 13 has provided us with Personal Information, you should contact us immediately if you would like the information submitted by your child deleted from our records.

Change to This Privacy Policy; Right to Opt-out

IIE may amend this Policy from time to time. If we make any significant changes in the way we use your Personal Information, we will alert you by posting a prominent notice on our site. You have the option, at any time, to remove your Personal Information from our servers completely. All unsubscribe or opt-out requests should be sent to us at siteinfo@iie.org, and we will process your request within a reasonable time after receipt. However, we are not responsible for removing your Personal Information from the lists of any third party who has previously been provided your information in accordance with this Policy. Please note that there might be a brief delay between when you submit your request to “opt-out” and when it is processed and reflected in our systems; accordingly, you may continue to receive communications from us for a limited time after you unsubscribe. We apologize for any inconvenience and appreciate your patience.

Governing Law

The laws of the State of New York shall govern this Policy regardless of your location. You hereby expressly consent to exclusive jurisdiction and venue in the federal and state courts located in New York, New York, for all matters or disputes arising out of or relating to this Policy or your access or use of the Website.

Communications

By providing your email address to us, you expressly consent to receive emails from us. We may use email to communicate with you, to send information that you have requested or to send information about other products or services developed or provided by us, provided that, we will not give your email address to another party to promote their products or services directly to you.

Any communication or material you transmit to us by email or otherwise, including any data, questions, comments, suggestions or the like, is, and will be treated as, non-confidential and nonproprietary. Except to the extent expressly covered by this Policy, anything you transmit or post may be used by us for any purpose, including but not limited to, reproduction, disclosure, transmission, publication, broadcast and posting. Furthermore, you expressly agree that we are free to use any ideas, concepts, know-how or techniques contained in any communication you send to us without compensation and for any purpose whatsoever, including but not limited to, developing, manufacturing and marketing products and services using such information.

Questions or Suggestions

It is important to us at IIE to hear what visitors and users of the Website have to say about our services or our policies. If you have any questions, concerns or complaints about this Policy or want to let us know what you think about our services, please contact us using the following information:

IIE.org Site Manager  
Institute of International Education, Inc.  
809 United Nations Plaza  
New York, NY 10017-3580 USA

Fax: +1 212.984.5358  
E-mail: siteinfo@iie.org

Effective Date: This policy is effective and was last updated on January 1, 2010.