Excel Education Systems, Inc. Digital Courseware Privacy Policy
Excel Education Systems values students, parents, and educational partners who utilize the EES platform for online learning. Safety and privacy are important to us, so we have adopted the following policies to cover the use of EES products and services. The following Privacy Policy applies to the corporate website and any other related public or private website provided by Excel Education Systems, including ExcelEd.com, ExcelHighSchool.com, NorthgateAcadmey.com, WashingtonTech.Edu, LearnStage.com, and TraintheBrain.com.
We encourage you to read our privacy policy and EES’s terms of use for important information on the use of EES services and how Excel Education Systems protects customer and student information.
HOW INFORMATION IS COLLECTED AND USED.
Information about Education Providers: We request certain information when an education provider partners with Excel Education Systems. We communicate with administrators and education professionals via online chat, Zoom, or email. Information collected will include student name, address, date of birth, email, phone number, as well as education provider name, education provider email address and or account name, password, phone number, and information relating to the education provider’s information system. EES may also gather information provided by an education provider if the education provider sends a message, posts content to our website or through our service, or responds to an email or survey. When an education partner has enrolled users with Excel Education Systems digital courses or instructional services, we will keep records of activities related to the service. This information allows EES to maintain, and improve the features and functionality of the service, analyze service offerings and functionality, and communicate with our education providers and website visitors.
Student Information: When students enroll in EES courses, Excel will have access to personally identifiable information about students (student Data) through the courses used by students. EES treats student data with confidentiality and only uses data to provide digital courses and other services on the education provider’s behalf. The education provider may provide students’ access EES courses when authorized by the education provider, often at a school facility or from a student’s personal computer. The education provider is responsible for providing students with login credentials and obtaining parental consent, as required before students are permitted to access the EES learning platform. Students (or parents or legal guardians of students) retain ownership and control of student data provided or accessed through EES’s course, and title to such data never passes to EES. Excel Education Systems has access to student data as requested by the education provider and only for the purposes of providing the students with the ability to use the EES courseware and related services. EES will not use student data for any purposes other than those authorized pursuant to EES’s contract with the education provider.
Students or parents should direct questions about the education provider’s use of technology service providers like EES to their School administrator. If a student contacts EES with a question about our service, we will collect personal information from that student as necessary to respond to the student’s request and direct the student to contact the education provider, and we will then delete or anonymize the personal data of the student after providing our response.
Automatically Collected Information: In some instances, EES may send a small text file containing a string of alphanumeric characters, known as “cookies”, to your computer that uniquely identifies your browser and lets you log in faster and enhance your navigation through EES’s website and platform. A cookie may also convey information to us about how you use the service (e.g., the pages you view, the links you click, and other actions you take on the service) and allow us to track student usage of the service over time. In addition, EES may collect log file information from your browser or device each time you access the EES platform or digital courses. The data collected using cookies is anonymous and may include information such as your Internet Protocol (“IP”) address, web request, browser type, number of clicks, and how you interact with links on the EES LMS, pages viewed, and other information. The information allows for accurate reporting and improvement of the EES digital courses. In addition, EES may collect analytics data, or use third-party analytics tools, to help measure traffic and usage trends for the service. EES never sells student data for any reason and does not allow third-party advertisers to collect information about the users of our service. Furthermore, EES never shares such information with outside third parties unless expressly authorized to do so by the education provider, student, or parent.
EES may use automatically-collected information to (1) remember information so a user will not have to re-enter it during subsequent visits; (2) provide custom, personalized content and information; (3) to provide and monitor the effectiveness of service; (4) monitor aggregate metrics such as a total number of visitors, traffic, and usage on our website and service; (5) diagnose or fix technology problems; and (6) help users efficiently access information after signing in.
Excel Education Systems is committed to the highest standards concerning how we protect student information and privacy. Student information is used for educational purposes at the discretion of the education provider.
- HOW WE SHARE YOUR INFORMATION
Excel Education Systems shares personal information in a few limited circumstances, as described below. EES never rents or sells information for marketing purposes.
In limited circumstances, EES may share information with others as follows:
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- We may share information with technology service providers (e.g., web hosting and analytics services), but strictly for performing their work for us.
- We may share information with law enforcement or other third parties when compelled to do so by court order or another legal process, to comply with statutes or regulations, to enforce our terms of use, or if we believe in good faith that the disclosure is necessary to protect the rights, property or personal safety of our users.
- In the event of a change of control: If we sell, divest or transfer our business, we will not share personal information of our customers (including student information) unless the new owner intends to maintain and provide the service as a going concern, and provided that the new owner has agreed to data privacy standards no less stringent than our own.
- How student information is shared: In addition to the actions described above, EES may facilitate sharing student information with third parties, though only when instructed and authorized to do so on behalf of the education provider. Some elements of our service enable education providers to interact with parents, students, teachers, and third-party applications to benefit the student’s education. EES does not facilitate the sharing of any student information with third parties on the EES LMS except on behalf of the education provider after the education provider has authorized a third party or application to access student information through the service. This privacy policy applies to the EES online courses and not to other services or third-party applications which may have their own privacy policies. We believe it is the education provider’s responsibility to carefully read the privacy practices of each third-party application before agreeing to engage with the application through the service.
We store data in the United States of America, and we take strong measures to keep information safe and secure.
- HOW WE STORE AND PROTECT YOUR INFORMATION
Storage and processing: Any information collected through the EES LMS is stored and processed in the United States of America. If you use our service outside of the United States of America, you consent to have your data transferred to the United States of America.
Comprehensive Information Security Program: Excel Education Systems takes actions designed to ensure the security and confidentiality of student information and maintains strict administrative, technical, and physical procedures to protect data stored in our servers, which are in the United States of America. Access to information is limited (through user/password credentials) to those employees who require it to perform their job functions. We use industry-standard secure socket layer (SSL) encryption technology to safeguard the account registration process and sign-up information. Other security safeguards include but are not limited to data encryption, firewalls, and physical access controls to facilities and files.
In addition, whenever EES vendors or consultants may be given access to the EES LMS, we require all vendors and consultants to adhere to the same strict standards above and meet all other customer-imposed requirements for the protection of student information.
In the event of any unauthorized release, disclosure, or acquisition of student information, EES maintains policies and procedures for identifying and mitigating data security breaches. EES will conduct an investigation to determine the nature and scope of any unauthorized release, disclosure, or acquisition, and Excel Education Systems will promptly notify education provider officials, affected students, parents, and or legal guardians of unauthorized access to student information to the fullest extent required by applicable law.
- YOUR CHOICES ABOUT YOUR INFORMATION
Account information and settings: If you have any questions about reviewing or modifying account information, contact us directly by emailing or calling Excel Education Systems’ customer service department at support@exceled.com or 800-620-3844.
Access to Student Data: education providers are responsible for providing access to and controlling student information. Students/parents should contact your education provider directly if you have any questions about reviewing, modifying, or deleting personal information from the EES learning platform.
How long we keep User Content: Following termination or deactivation of an educational provider or student account, EES may retain profile information and content for a commercially reasonable time for backup, archival, or audit purposes, but all student information associated with the school will be deleted promptly. We may maintain anonymized or aggregated data, including usage data, for analytics purposes.
We do not collect any information from students without consent.
- COMPLIANCE WITH STATE AND FEDERAL LAWS.
Excel Education Systems is committed to compliance with all state and federal laws and regulations governing student data privacy, including the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (“FERPA”), the California Student Online Personal Information Protections Act (“SOPIPA”), the Connecticut Student Data Privacy laws (C.G.S. §§ 10-234aa through 10-234dd), and other similar state laws.
- CHILDREN’S PRIVACY
EES does not knowingly collect any information from children under the age of thirteen (13) unless and until the educational provider has obtained appropriate parental consent for the student to use the service. Because EES collects and uses student information at the direction of and under the control of an education provider, EES relies on each educational provider to supply appropriate notice to parents of the education provider’s use of third-party service providers such as EES digital courseware, and for the education provider to provide consent, if necessary, and authorization for Excel Education Systems to collect student information, as permitted by the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”). Please contact us at Legal@ExcelEdy.com if you believe we have inadvertently collected personal information of a child under thirteen (13) without proper consent so that we may delete such information as soon as possible.
- OTHER WEBSITES AND SERVICES
We are not responsible for the practices employed by websites, applications, or services linked to or from our service. Therefore, we recommend that the education provider review the privacy policies of other applications before authorizing a third party to access data through the EES service.
- EXCEL EDUCATION SYSTEKS’S CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER
To ensure continued compliance and respond to particular questions or concerns regarding Excel’s privacy policy, EES has designated the Director of Technology for the company to serve as Chief Privacy Officer. Excel’s legal department can be reached at 800-620-3844, or by email at Legal@ExcelEd.com.
- CHANGES TO OUR PRIVACY POLICY
Excel Education Systems may modify or update this privacy policy from time to time. If we change the policy in a material manner, EES will provide at least thirty days’ notice to the education providers, so you have sufficient time to evaluate the change in practice. You can always opt out by deactivating your account before the changes take effect.
Your California Privacy Rights
This section provides additional details about the personal information we collect about California consumers and the rights afforded to them under the California Consumer Privacy Act ( “CCPA”).
Excel Education Systems collects and shares personal information for the business and commercial purposes described in Section 1 above (“HOW INFORMATION IS COLLECTED AND USED”). Details about the personal information we have collected over the last 12 months can also be found in Section 1. EES does not sell (as such term is defined in the CCPA) the personal information we collect, and we will not sell it without first providing the option for you to opt-out. However, we do use third-party cookies for our advertising purposes.
Subject to certain limitations, the CCPA provides California consumers the right to request more details about the categories or specific personal information we collect, including how we use and disclose this information, how to delete their personal information, and how to opt-out of any “sales” of this information. The CCPA also protects consumers from discrimination for exercising these rights.
Pursuant to rights under the CCPA, California consumers may submit a request to Excel Education Systems at privacy@ExcelEd.com. We will verify your request using the information associated with your account, including your email address. In addition, a government identification may be required. Consumers may also designate an authorized agent to exercise these rights on their behalf.