Policy Statement
YORK UNIVERSITY IS COMMITTED TO PROTECTING YOUR PRIVACY IN ACCORDANCE WITH THIS PRIVACY POLICY, WHICH APPLIES TO THE YORK UNIVERSITY WEBSITE, ITS RELATED WEBSITES AND TO ANY COMMUNICATION SERVICES AND CONTENT THEREIN (“WEBSITE”), AND GOVERNS COLLECTION OF PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION THROUGH THE WEBSITE.
 
PLEASE READ THIS PRIVACY POLICY CAREFULLY. BY USING THE WEBSITE YOU GIVE YOUR CONSENT TO YORK UNIVERSITY’S DATA PRACTICES AND UNDERSTAND THAT ALL PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION THAT YOU SUBMIT MAY BE PROCESSED BY YORK UNIVERSITY IN THE MANNER AND FOR THE PURPOSES DESCRIBED HEREIN.
 
IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS SET FORTH HEREIN DO NOT USE THE WEBSITE.
 
Collection of Personal Information
If you wish to apply for admission to York University (“YORK”, the “University”), the YORK Website offers you the opportunity to submit personally identifiable information. “Personally identifiable information” refers to data that allows York University to identify you, such as your name, gender, mailing address, telephone number, date and country of birth, government-issued identification number, e-mail address, etc.
 
If you submit personally identifiable information through any of YORK’s Communications Services (as described in the University’s Terms of Use), that information may be collected and used by others.
 
Use of Personal Information
By submitting your personally identifiable information to the Website, you understand and agree that YORK may collect, use, transfer, and disclose your personally identifiable information as described in this privacy policy. Such use may involve transfer of personally identifiable information to servers located outside the country from which you access the Website.
 
Collection and Use of Non-Personal Information
York University also automatically collects non-personal information about your computer hardware and software for the purpose of improving the administration and content of the Website, facilitating use of the University’s Website by its users and to properly diagnose server problems and other issues.
 
York University may contract with third party providers to assist in better understanding visitors to the YORK Website. Third party providers are prohibited from using any information they collect on behalf of YORK for any purpose other than helping the University conduct and improve its services to you.
 
Information Sharing
York University does not sell, rent or lease your personally identifiable information to third parties. Personally identifiable information collected in connection with applications for admission is, however, collected by a third-party service provider that hosts the YORK Website, and that information is released to application reviewers who may include University employees, contractors, volunteers and other parties. These individuals are prohibited from using your personally identifiable information except in connection with YORK services and any other products and/or services you have requested, and they are required to maintain the confidentiality of your information.
 
The YORK Website will disclose your personally identifiable information, without notice, if:
(i) required to do so by law,
(ii) York University becomes involved in a merger, acquisition, or any form of sale of some or all of its assets,or
(iii) in the good faith belief that such action is necessary to:
(a) conform to the edicts of the law or comply with legal process served on York University;
(b) protect or defend the rights, system, network or property of York University;
(c) protect the personal safety of users of the York University Website, or the public; or
(d) prevent a crime or protect national security.
 
York University requires opt-in consent (meaning, your express permission) for the sharing of any sensitive personally identifiable information, such as confidential medical information, race or ethnicity, political or religious beliefs, and sexuality.
 
Security of your Personal Information
York University maintains reasonable measures to protect your personally identifiable information from unauthorized access, use or disclosure. The University stores the personally identifiable information you provide on computer servers in a controlled environment that has implemented protections against unauthorized access, use or disclosure. YORK has implemented procedures to safeguard the integrity of its information technology assets, including, but not limited to, authentication, monitoring, auditing, and encryption. These security procedures have been integrated into the design, implementation, and day-to-day operations of the YORK Website as part of York University’s continuing commitment to the security of electronic content as well as the electronic transmission of information.
 
For website security purposes and to maintain the availability of the YORK Website for all users, the University employs software to monitor traffic and identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information or otherwise damage the YORK Website. When personally identifiable information (such as a credit card number) is transmitted to other websites, it is protected through the use of encryption, such as the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) protocol.
 
York University, however, cannot guarantee that unauthorized third parties will never be able to defeat the measures described in this section or use your personally identifiable information for improper purposes. Nothing in this Privacy Policy or in the University’s Terms of Use shall be deemed a guarantee, contract, or warranty of any kind, whether express or implied, regarding the security of your personally identifiable information.
 
Educational Records
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974 was designed to protect the privacy of educational records, establish the rights of students to inspect and review their educational records, and provide guidelines for the correction of inaccurate or misleading information through informal and formal hearings. While FERPA does not apply to York University since it is not a federally-funded institution, the University nonetheless strives to meet the Act’s provisions to the greatest extent possible.
 
York University will not disclose a student’s educational record without obtaining the student’s prior written consent, except in certain instances where a student’s educational record may be disclosed (i) to other school officials, including teachers with a legitimate educational interest and contractors, consultants, volunteers, or other parties to whom YORK has outsourced institutional services or functions; (ii) to parents of a dependent student, as defined in section 152 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; (iii) to accrediting organizations; (iv) in compliance with a judicial order or lawfully issued subpoena ; or (v) for any other reason permitted under 34 CFR § 99.31.
 
York University depends on the accuracy of the records submitted by its students. False information on an application, or any other act to intentionally mislead or misinform instructional personnel or administrators, is grounds for disciplinary action, including dismissal from the University. Students seeking access or amendment of their educational records should contact the University at info@yorkuniversity.us.
 
Updating your Data
Upon receipt of your written request and sufficient data to permit York University to identify your personal information, the University will make reasonable efforts to disclose to you the information it holds about you. YORK will also make reasonable efforts to correct, amend or delete any personal information that is inaccurate and notify any third party recipients of the necessary changes. YORK may decline to process requests that are unreasonably repetitive or systematic, require disproportionate technical effort, jeopardize the privacy of others, are extremely impractical, or for which access is not otherwise required by local law.
 
Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act
Although neither this website nor any of York University’s services are intended for children under 13 years of age, the University complies with The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (“COPPA”) and does not knowingly collect any personal information online from children under the age of 13.
 
Use of Cookies
The YORK Website may use “cookies” to help you personalize your online experience. A cookie is a small data file that is placed on your hard disk by a web page server. The purpose of a cookie is to tell the web server that you have returned to a specific page. For example, if you personalize YORK website pages, or apply for admission to YORK, a cookie helps the University recall your specific information on subsequent visits. This simplifies the process of recording your personal information, such as your name, mailing address and so on. When you return to the YORK Website, the information you previously provided can be retrieved, so you can more easily use the YORK features.
 
Cookies cannot be used to run programs or deliver viruses to your computer. Cookies are uniquely assigned to you, and can only be read by a web server in the domain that issued the cookie to you.
One of the primary purposes of cookies is to provide a convenience feature to save you time.
 
By using the YORK Website, its related websites and other services you hereby agree to the foregoing use of cookies. Note that most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser settings to decline cookies if you prefer. If you choose to decline cookies, you may not be able to fully experience the interactive features of the YORK Website.
 
The Docebo Learning Platform
All York University courses, classroom discussions, assignments, testing, the academic advising messages system, and student and faculty forums are conducted through Docebo, a SAAS learning platform. There is a seamless transition from YORK’s main website to the University’s Learning platform.
 
No one outside the YORK community is permitted to access the YORK Learning Platform. However, the YORK Learning platform administrators have access to nearly everything in the system and certain private information is also accessible by other YORK students, faculty and staff:
1. YORK student profile. Every YORK student has a student profile in Docebo, which contains their first and last name, email address (optional), profile picture (optional) and description (optional). This information is visible to classmates for each course in which a student is enrolled, and to all students, faculty and staff. YORK profile pages are NOT available to the general public.
2. YORK discussion forums. Since YORK is based on the peer-learning model, the University makes great use of discussion forums in its courses. Anything posted in a discussion forum is visible to the instructor and to all students enrolled in that course. For large classes that are divided into groups, only members of your group can see your posts, which includes your full name and profile picture if you have chosen to upload it to the system.
3. YORK peer-assessed assignments. All assignments assessed by other students in a particular course are submitted directed to the instructor. Only instructors and administrators will be able to see the assignment and who has evaluated your assignment.
 
Third Party Websites, Cookies and Privacy Policies
Certain pages of the YORK Website may contain links to websites that are not controlled by York University. Third-party cookies may be set by websites such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google Plus and other social media outlets for which YORK may implement plugins.
 
Third-party cookies are not governed by this Privacy Policy.  York University does not control and is not responsible for the Privacy Policies or other content on websites other than the YORK Website, including websites linked to from the YORK Website, or for the use of personally identifiable information that you may submit to any of those websites. York University encourages you to review the Privacy Policies of those websites directly so that you can understand how those websites collect, use and share your information.
 
Changes to this Policy
This Privacy Policy may be updated from time to time.  Modifications will be denoted by the “last updated” notice at the top of this page.  Your submission of personally identifiable information to the YORK Website following the posting of any changes to this Privacy Policy constitutes acceptance of those changes.  York University encourages you to periodically review this Privacy Policy to be informed of its policies respecting your personally identifiable information.  By continuing to access the YORK Website after notice of modifications have been published, you signify your agreement to be bound by the updated terms.
 
Compliance with this Policy
York University regularly reviews its compliance with this policy.  If you have any questions regarding this Privacy Policy, or believe that York University has not adhered to any of its terms, please contact the University at info@yorkuniversity.us.