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Privacy Statement

Effective as of May 14, 2021

PURPOSE OF PRIVACY STATEMENT

Because Northwestern University (“Northwestern,” “we,” “our,” or “us”) respects the privacy of your personal information, we have prepared this Privacy Statement to assist you in understanding the personal information that is collected when you access and use Northwestern’s Sitters & Tutors Network (https://sitters-tutors.northwestern.edu/) and the content and features offered through such online network (the “Network”), how that information is used and shared, and how it is safeguarded.

This Privacy Statement is part of our Terms of Use, which sets out the terms governing your use of the Network and can be found at https://sitters-tutors.northwestern.edu/terms (the “Terms”). Terms used, but not otherwise defined, in this Privacy Statement (such as, but not limited to, “Materials”) have the same meaning assigned to such terms in our Terms. By accessing or using the Network, you are agreeing to and accepting the Terms and this Privacy Statement. From time to time, we may change, update, add, or remove provisions of this Privacy Statement by posting modifications to this Privacy Statement to the Network. Unless otherwise specified by us, all modifications shall be effective upon posting. Therefore, you are encouraged to check this Privacy Statement frequently. The last update date of this Privacy Statement is posted at the top of the statement. By using the Network after such changes become effective, you agree to be bound by such changes to this Privacy Statement. If you do not agree to the Terms or this Privacy Statement, or any change to the Terms or this Privacy Statement, you should immediately stop accessing and using the Network.

WHAT PERSONAL INFORMATION DOES THE NETWORK COLLECT?

Through your use of the Network, we may collect information about you from which you can be identified (“personal information”), including information you submit to us through the Network (including job title, major/minor, and zip code), log data (information such as your computer, Internet Protocol address, Network pages that you visit and the amount of time spent on those pages, actions you take on the Network and other statistics), and your Northwestern NetID and password, which will allow us to verify your identity and eligibility to access and use the Network by linking to other information about you that Northwestern already maintains, such as information contained in Northwestern’s existing directories, including your first and last name, email address, and phone number.

HOW DO WE USE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION?

We use the personal information we collect through the Network to make the Network and the Materials available to you and other users of the Network. We may also use the personal information we collect to communicate with you about the Network or to inform you of any changes to the Network, to maintain and improve the Network, to protect our legal rights and the rights of others, to efficiently maintain Northwestern operations, and to comply with applicable law.

WHO DO WE SHARE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION WITH?

Personal information collected through the Network will not be shared with individuals or entities outside of the Northwestern community except for limited circumstances:

  • To third party licensors, service providers, agents, contractors, or business partners: We may share your personal information with our third party licensors, service providers, agents, contractors, or business partners in connection with services that these individuals or entities perform for, or in collaboration with Northwestern, such as technical support for the Network, including the hosting of the Network and information collected through the Network.
  • As required by law or to protect our rights and interests or for the protection of others: We may disclose personal information to comply with applicable laws and regulations, such as to respond to a subpoena or similar legal process, to prevent fraud, to protect against misuse of the Network, and to establish, exercise or defend our rights and interests or to protect the rights or safety of the public.
  • To other third parties with your consent: We may share your personal information to any other person or entity where you consent to the disclosure.

Except as described in this Privacy Statement, the personal information collected through the Network will only be accessible to Northwestern employees on a need-to-know basis to facilitate the uses and purposes mentioned herein. Where your personal information is shared with third parties, we will seek to share the minimum amount necessary.

OUR USE OF COOKIES AND OTHER TRACKING TECHNOLOGIES

Cookies are small text files placed on your computer by websites that you visit. These text files can be read by these websites to help identify you or to retain settings that improve your user experience. Like most other websites, we use cookies and similar technologies on the Network to help us improve performance and usage of the Network, and to help us monitor and prevent unauthorized usage of the Network. You can use the settings within your browser to control the cookies that are set on your computer or mobile device. However, please be aware if you set your browser to reject or block cookies, all or parts of our Network may not be functional or accessible to you.

CONSENT TO COOKIES AND SIMILAR TECHNOLOGIES

If you choose to use the Network without blocking or disabling cookies or opting out of these technologies, you will indicate your consent to our use of these cookies and other technologies and to our use (in accordance with this Privacy Statement) of any personal information that we collect using these technologies. If you do not consent to the use of these technologies, please be sure to block or disable them using your browser settings, or the settings on your mobile device.

RETAINING YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

We will only keep your personal information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal or reporting requirements. We may also keep your personal information if legally required or to fulfill a legitimate interest.

THIRD PARTY WEBSITES AND CONTENT

The Network may contain links to other websites, services, content, or offers which are owned, operated or maintained by third parties. If you click on a third party link, you will be directed to that third website or service. The fact that we link to a website or service is not an endorsement, authorization, or representation of our affiliation with that third party, nor is it an endorsement of their privacy or information security policies or practices. We do not have control over third party websites and services and we do not have control over their privacy policies and terms of use. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for policies of third party websites; please check these policies before you submit any personal information to third party websites.

SECURITY

We maintain commercially reasonable security measures to protect the personal information we collect and store from loss, misuse, destruction, or unauthorized access. However, no security measure or modality of data transmission over the Internet is 100% secure. Although we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee absolute security.

CHILDREN’S INFORMATION

The Network is solely intended to be used by active members of the University community (i.e., current students, faculty and staff) to post information regarding their need for or availability to provide sitter and tutor services to other active members of the University community. We do not intend to collect and we will not knowingly collect or solicit personal information online through the Network from children under the age of 13.

HOW TO CONTACT US

To contact us for questions or concerns about this Privacy Statement or our practices related to the Network, please contact us at sittersandtutors@northwestern.edu.