Privacy Statement: 9.05

ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES

PURPOSE

This procedure establishes guidelines concerning Hillsborough Community College’s (HCC) use of personal information collected on HCC computer systems, including the public website, WebAdvisor, MyHCC, and others; and outlines HCC’s privacy statement concerning use of this information.

PROCEDURE

1. PRIVACY STATEMENT—HCC values individual privacy and actively seeks to preserve the privacy rights of faculty, staff, students and those individuals who share information with the College. This privacy statement applies only to the information collected by web addresses in the hccfl.edu domain or by other systems controlled by HCC, hereafter referred to as HCC and to information collected by or submitted to official HCC web pages. As a general rule, HCC does not track individual visitor profiles. However, HCC does analyze traffic and access information for resource management and site planning purposes. HCC reserves the right to log data to investigate resource management or security concerns.

   HCC does not collect personal information when someone visits our website unless the user affirmatively chooses to make such information available to the College. Any information submitted and provided will only be shared with authorized HCC staff and faculty unless the College is required to do so by state or federal law.

2. LOG FILES—HCC’s website gathers certain information automatically and stores it in log files. This information may include sites visited, date and time of visit, internet protocol (IP) addresses, browser type, referring/exit pages, operating system, date/time stamp, and clickstream data. This information will be used to analyze trends in order to improve the content of the Web site, administer the site, and to track the user’s movements around the site. This information does not identify individual users, therefore personal e-mail addresses or other personal information are not captured.
3. COOKIES—A cookie is a small text file that is stored on a user’s computer for record-keeping purposes. These pieces of information are stored by a web browser on behalf of a website and returned to the website on request. The site may use cookies to carry data about a current session and to identify a user between site visits. HCC uses session ID cookies to make it easier to navigate the website and to verify proper access to secure areas once the user has successfully logged into those areas. A session ID cookie expires and is deleted when the user closes the browser. Users should log off public computers when their sessions are completed.

   Rejecting cookies still allows the user access to HCC’s website but access to some areas will be limited or denied. HCC requires the use of cookies to access all computing resources. Unless noted, HCC does not use cookies to track someone’s movement among websites and does not exchange cookies with other entities.

4. PROTECTING YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION—The HCC website uses industry-standard Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption on all web pages where personal information is required. When entering personal information, the College strongly recommends the use of an SSL-enabled web browser. To make a financial transaction on the College’s website, the user should ensure that the transaction is secure as indicated by the icon in the shape of a lock appearing on your screen. This will protect the confidentiality of personal and credit card information while it is transmitted across the Internet.

   When using the HCC website, a user may choose to provide information to help with their individual needs (i.e. sending an email to request information). Personally identifiable information provided to HCC will be used only for the purpose indicated. HCC does not sell, exchange or distribute personally identifiable information received without consent, except to the extent required by law. HCC reserves the right to work with third-party vendors, to host this information for HCC purposes and in accordance with this privacy procedure. Each web page requesting information at HCC discloses the purposes of that information.

5. NETWORK TRAFFIC LOG—HCC uses software programs that monitor network traffic, identify unauthorized access or access to non-public information, detect computer viruses and other software that might damage College computers and the network, and also monitor the performance of the College network. In the course of monitoring, these programs may detect email headers, addresses from networks and other information. Information from these activities are used for the purpose of maintaining security and performance of College networks and computer systems. Personally identifiable information is not released without consent unless required by law.
6. LINKS TO OTHER SITES—HCC websites and subsites provide links to worldwide websites and resources, which HCC does not control or endorse. HCC is not responsible for their content, delivery of services or availability and these external sites are not bound by HCC’s privacy policies and procedure. HCC is not responsible for the privacy practices of such other sites. Users should read the privacy statements of each and every website that collects personal identifiable information.
7. CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY STATEMENT—HCC reserves the right to amend the College’s privacy statement at any time without prior notice. The College will post those changes to this privacy statement on the College’s website, as well as other places deemed appropriate.
8. FLORIDA PUBLIC RECORDS LAWS—HCC’s privacy statement and public records are governed by applicable state and federal laws. Pursuant to Florida Public Records Laws, certain records are subject to inspection and disclosure to the public. There is no legal requirement for a user to provide any information at HCC’s website but the website will only work with routing and essential technical information. All email addresses are public records, so if an email is sent to the College, the College may be required to release it in response to a public records request.
9. DATA SECURITY—HCC is dedicated to preventing unauthorized data access, maintaining data accuracy and ensuring appropriate use of information. HCC’s goal is to have appropriate physical, electronic and managerial safeguards in place to secure information collected online.
10. DISTANCE EDUCATION STATEMENT OF PRIVACY—HCC is committed to protecting student privacy while using technology to provide a safe online experience. HCC will not disclose student personal information except as may be required to do so by state or federal law. Student records, including academic and financial records, are protected by FERPA and will not be released without the prior written consent of a student, except as permitted by applicable state and/or federal law. MyHCC provides learning experiences and tracks usage. Cookies may be used to uniquely identify a user and to track individual preferences and other information about a web user. HCC will not use cookies to run programs or deliver viruses to a user’s computer. MyHCC may install cookies on a student’s computer. HCC suggests all students review the privacy and security policies of these websites. A student may decline to accept cookies but this may prevent someone from fully experiencing the interactive features of MyHCC or other websites. HCC and MyHCC product providers secure student’s personal information from unauthorized access, use or disclosure and secures personally identifiable information provided on servers in a controlled environment protected from unauthorized access, use or disclosure. HCC, however, cannot guarantee that student submissions on the HCC website, any content on HCC servers or any transmissions on an HCC server will be secured completely. All students enrolled at HCC receive individual secure login and passcodes (student ID) to the learning management system. Students are responsible for keeping their student ID number confidential and for notifying HCC if it is stolen or otherwise misused.

HISTORY:

Adopted: 3/26/13