Full Privacy Policy

Azusa Pacific University collects and uses your personal information to respond to your requests for information, products, and services. Unless we have your consent, your personal information submitted online will only be used or shared for purposes related to your request.

Azusa Pacific University will use this information to contact you regarding information as you requested and send information about degree programs, scholarships, opportunities, events, and admission through email, direct mail, SMS/texting, and digital platforms. Data and message rates may apply. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of any email or by contacting [email protected].

Information You Provide

Azusa Pacific University collects personal information when you:

• Request information about degree programs on our Information Request Forms. We use this information to provide you with program information via mail, phone, and email. Your personal information is used to answer your questions and to contact you regarding your interest in our programs. It is not shared with outside parties.
• Apply to become a student using our online applications. This personal information is collected and provided securely to our Admissions offices. Azusa Pacific University keeps the information you provide confidential and uses it only for purposes related to your request. Upon your acceptance as a student at Azusa Pacific University, the official Student Records Policy governs the use and release of student information.
• Register for events (such as Homecoming or Welcome Weekend) using online registration. Information such as name, email address, phone number, and physical address may be requested. If you pay for event registration online, we may also collect a valid credit card number, expiration date and billing address, which we will use for the purpose of the single transaction only. We may share this information with banks and other entities in the financial system that process credit card transactions, however, it will only be used to fulfill your request.
• Order and pay for products online at our online Campus Store. Information such as name, email address, phone number, and physical address may be requested. If you purchase one of our products, we may also collect a valid credit card number, expiration date and billing address, which we will use for the purpose of the single transaction only.
• Contact Azusa Pacific University using online forms with a question or suggestion in which we collect your name, email address and any comments you have. If your question identifies you as a potential student, we may use your contact information to inquire about your continued interest in our programs. For all other inquiries, we only use your information to respond to and/or resolve your question or concern.
• Register for a member account in order to join our online alumni community. Some alumni are automatically registered for a member account (using name and email address). As part of this community, you can choose to share as much or as little of your personal information as you’d like. At all times, you will be given the opportunity to opt out of membership in the community, and at all times you may choose which information, if any, you wish to make available to others in the community. All memberships are screened by the Office of Alumni Engagement, and the ability to search available community information is only provided to registered members. This online community is provided by iModules, an online community service. iModules is obligated to keep information you provide to them confidential and to use the customer information we share only to provide online community services. Visit iModules’ security information page to learn more about how your information is protected.

Optional Information

When accessing Azusa Pacific University websites, we may give you the ability to submit optional information, such as gender, when you plan to attend, and how you heard about Azusa Pacific University. Optional fields are NOT marked with a red asterisk (*), as is the case with required fields. Optional information is requested to help us better understand our clients, customers, and Web visitors. If you have requested that we send you additional information regarding Azusa Pacific University products, services, and events, we may also use the optional information to fulfill this request.

Technical Information

When visitors use our website, Azusa Pacific University may collect technical information that does not by itself identify a specific individual. This information (sometimes referred to as “non-personally identifiable information”) may include which pages visitors view on our website, which browser they use to view our website and terms they use to search our website. This technical data is aggregated to provide an overview of the browsing patterns of large groups of unidentified visitors and is used to measure and improve the effectiveness of the Azusa Pacific University website. We do not combine this technical data with the personal information we collect on our website.

Cookies

A “cookie” is a small amount of data that a website may send to your browser and that your browser may then store on your computer and send back to the website on subsequent visits. We sometimes use cookies to simulate a continuous connection; cookies let us “remember” information about your preferences to allow you to move within our website without reintroducing yourself. For example, on our Campus Store website, cookies are used to keep track of what you have selected to purchase as you click through the website. We also use cookies to gather information about how certain types of users navigate our website. For example, we track which pages visitors typically use to enter the website, and where they go from those entry pages. This helps us improve our content by tracking which pages of our website are most useful to our visitors. We do NOT, however, use cookies to track the navigational habits of identified visitors. We never tie any personal information you provide to us with the navigational information gathered using cookies. Furthermore, we do NOT allow advertisers to set cookies via Azusa Pacific University websites.

Most browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually refuse cookies, or selectively accept cookies, by adjusting the preferences in your browser. If you turn cookies off, there may be some features of our website that will not be available to you and some pages may not display properly. You can find information about how you can adjust your cookie settings at the following websites:

• Microsoft Internet Explorer
• Safari
• Firefox
• Chrome

Web Beacons

Yes: The Azusa Pacific University website uses electronic images known as Web beacons, or clear GIFs to monitor the activity on our website.

Spyware

The Azusa Pacific University website does NOT use spyware in any form.

Third-Party Advertisers

Yes: We use third-party advertising companies to serve ads when you visit our website. These companies may use information (not including your name, address, email address, or telephone number) about your visits to this and other websites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services of interest to you. Learn more about this practice and your choices about not having this information.

Yes: When you visit and view a page at Azusa Pacific University’s website, that request is logged on our servers with information including the IP Address of the computer that requested the page. Azusa Pacific University uses this data in an effort to constantly improve the value of materials on the website. From time to time, Azusa Pacific University may break down overall usage statistics according to multiple users’ domain names, browser types, or IP Addresses by reading information from the “user agent” string (information sent to websites by every user’s browser). We do NOT, however, track the navigational habits of identified visitors. We never tie any personal information you provide to us with navigational information.

No: Azusa Pacific University does not allow third-party advertisers or ad servers to post banners on our website.

Yes: We use your personal information to fulfill your requests. For example, to respond to your questions, to provide you with information about our programs, to process your registration for events, or to allow you to make purchases through this website. We will not use your information for purposes unrelated to your request.

Azusa Pacific University does NOT sell, rent, loan, trade or lease personal information such as membership data, application information, or email lists to any third party. We treat all information you provide as confidential. Occasionally, we may contract with other companies to provide services on our behalf such as processing event registration, but these companies are required to keep your information confidential and to use it only to fulfill your request.

From time to time, we may be required to provide personal information in response to a valid court order, subpoena, government investigation, or as otherwise required by law. We reserve the right to report to law enforcement agencies any activities that we, in good faith, believe to be unlawful. We may release certain personal information when we believe that such release is reasonably necessary to protect the rights, property, and safety of others and ourselves.

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

Azusa Pacific University is bound by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, better known as the Buckley Amendment or FERPA. This act generally provides that students have the right to access their educational records, and with limited exceptions, educational institutions cannot release educational records to non-school employees without consent of the student. In the event of conflict with Azusa Pacific University’s online privacy policy, FERPA will govern.

The university’s registrar maintains copies of the official Azusa Pacific University Student Records Policy, which contains detailed information and procedures with regard to a student’s rights under FERPA. Students may obtain a copy of that written policy upon request to the Student Services Center: Registrar, Azusa Pacific University, PO Box 7000, Azusa, CA 91702-7000.

Any student alleging failure of the university to comply with FERPA may file a complaint with the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act Office (FERPA), United States Department of Education, 4511 Switzer Building, 330 C Street SW, Washington, DC 20201.

Azusa Pacific University uses a variety of safeguards to protect your sensitive information from loss, misuse, alteration, or destruction. For example, whenever you send us sensitive information, we redirect you to a secured server to prevent unauthorized parties from viewing any information transmitted to or from Azusa Pacific University during your session at our website. We also only provide access to your personal information to Azusa Pacific University employees and other authorized parties on a “need to know” basis.

For the purposes of this policy, sensitive information is defined to be the combination of name, home address, birth date, and any additional information. Social security number, credit card number, and driver’s license number are always considered to be sensitive information, regardless of the other information submitted. For the purposes of this policy, name and email address in combination are not considered to be sensitive.

Please be careful whenever sending sensitive information to Azusa Pacific University via email. Email is not necessarily a secure means of transferring information.

Yes: Azusa Pacific University will not use or share the personal information we collect on the website in ways unrelated to the purpose for which you provided the information without first obtaining your consent (opt-in).

If we collect your information and you are not presented with a choice, it indicates that the information you submit will only be used for purposes related to your request. If you do opt in online to marketing or recruitment communications from Azusa Pacific University, you can opt out at any time. If you wish to opt out of receiving communications from us, contact us at [email protected] and provide your full name, phone number, and a description of the communications you wish to opt out from. We may need to contact you for further information to process your request. Once your request has been received, we will use every reasonable means to ensure that you do not receive the communications you have asked to opt out from in the future (excluding any mailings in process before your request was received).

Some individuals may have placed themselves on mailing lists maintained by specific departments or offices of the university. The opt-out process outlined here does not automatically remove your name from these decentralized mailing lists. You may need to contact specific departments or offices on campus to remove yourself from their independently maintained lists. Visit the schools and departments page for a list of APU’s academic areas.

Azusa Pacific University maintains and updates personal information about current students, alumni, faculty, staff, and prospective students who inquire about our programs. Information that you supply for other purposes (such as event registrations, Campus Store purchases, and through email forms) is not maintained after it is used to fulfill your request.

Various departments and offices on campus maintain records of information on the people they serve. If you wish to alter information that is being maintained about you, the following contact information should help you do so:

• For all current and prospective undergraduate, graduate, and professional students:
  Student Services Center – (626) 815-2020
• For alumni, donors, parents, and friends:
  Division of University Advancement – (626) 815-5333
• For faculty and staff:
  Office of Human Resources – (626) 815-4533
• For a list of current academic areas, visit the schools and departments page.

Yes: Azusa Pacific University provides a mechanism by which you may send us any concerns or complaints regarding our information practices or policies.

Those who wish to be removed from mailing lists should first go through the opt-out process by contacting [email protected]. For more information about this process, see the opt-out section of this policy. If this process does not adequately remove the name, please contact the specific departments or offices on campus that would reasonably be expected to maintain your name in their databases. For more information about this process, see the alter/update section of this policy. If you have additional questions or concerns about this privacy policy or the practices of our websites, contact [email protected] in the Office of the General Counsel.

If there are changes or additions to this Privacy Policy, we will post those changes here so that you will always know what information we collect online, how we use it, and what choices you have.

Last revision date: September 6, 2018
September 6, 2018: Information relating to the GDPR.
September 28, 2012: Information relating to cookies, web beacons, and online tracking was updated.
Original Effective Date: June 30, 2006

Visit the contact information page for a summary of the contact information outlined in this policy and the circumstances under which it should be used.