Website & E-mail Privacy Statement
Baylor University’s Privacy Policy
Baylor is committed to respecting your privacy and to protecting the confidentiality of the information you provide to Baylor through interaction with its technology systems and partners. Baylor will use commercially reasonable means to achieve this commitment while balancing applicable legal requirements, individual rights, ethical considerations, academic freedom and business necessity. In furtherance of this commitment, Baylor will strive to be transparent about the information it collects, the intended use of that information, with whom the information may be shared, and how your use will be affected if you choose not to provide information. This commitment to transparency enables you to may make informed decisions about your online interactions and maintain control over your private information.
Protecting your privacy and confidentiality is a shared responsibility, but it ultimately begins with the choices you make. If you choose not to share information, your privacy and confidentiality necessarily cannot be compromised. You should inform yourself about these choices before choosing to proceed.
Platforms
Baylor, its affiliated organizations (including the Baylor Bear Foundation, the Baylor “B” Association, and the Baylor Alumni Network) and third-party technology partners maintain and provide a wide array of websites, web servers, applications and other technology-enabled communication platforms, which includes social media accounts operated by Baylor or third parties on behalf of the university (collectively “Websites”). Baylor also distributes to faculty, staff, alumni, friends, prospective students and others e-mail messages that are often linked to one or more of Baylor's websites. This statement expresses Baylor's approach to privacy regarding these platforms.
Student Education Records
Baylor complies with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), which generally prohibits the release of student educational records without student permission.
Information Collection and Usage
When using Baylor Websites, you may choose to provide information via web forms, e-mail or other electronic means. Additionally, information may be collected passively through logging or targeting technologies (see the Analytics section below). Personally-identifiable information collected through use of Baylor operated-technologies or partners will be used only for Baylor-related purposes. This may include marketing, enrollment decisions and development for Baylor University. It is not Baylor’s practice to sell data to outside parties.
Requests for information and information submitted via forms on Websites will be directed to appropriate staff and may be recorded to help us improve our site to better respond to similar requests.
Baylor may use this information in any investigation of a potential violation of law or Baylor policies and procedures, and may provide such information to appropriate authorities as required by federal, state or local law.
eCommerce
Some Websites enable you to pay for products or services online with a credit card or other electronic payment mechanism. Unless otherwise noted, these transactions are encrypted. The financial information you provide to Baylor will be kept confidential and used only for the purposes described in that transaction, unless an additional use is specifically stated on that site. Data provided specifically to facilitate credit card or other electronic business transactions are retained only for a reasonable time to effect the transaction. Baylor makes commercially reasonable efforts to comply with federal, state and local laws as well as PCI (Payment Card Industry) standards.
Server Logs and E-mail Tracking
Baylor servers and Websites generally log activity usage of our Websites. Such logging includes, but is not limited to:
- Hostname - The hostname and/or IP address of the user/client requesting access.
- HTTP header, "user-agent" - The user-agent information includes the type of browser, its version, and the operating system it is running on.
- HTTP header, "referrer" - The referrer specifies the page from which the client accessed the current page.
- System date - The date and time of the user/client request.
- Full request - The exact request the user/client made.
- Status - The status code the server returned to the user/client.
- UserID - BearID or other authentication ID. Only recorded if a user is logged in to one of Baylor's systems. Anonymous use is recorded with a dash.
- Content length - The content length, in bytes, of the document sent to the user/client.
- Method - The request method used.
- Universal Resource Identifier (URI) - The location of a resource on the server.
- Query string of the URI - Anything after the question mark in a URI.
- Protocol - The transport protocol and version used.
- E-mail address - In some cases, the e-mail address of the intended recipient of an e-mail may be logged when a link is accessed inside of an e-mail.
Log Usage
Baylor regularly uses analysis and reporting tools to evaluate web server logs and e-mail tracking to understand the usage and effectiveness of our Websites and e-mail communications and to investigate system errors and bugs. Baylor may use log information in any investigation of a potential violation of Baylor policies and procedures or as required by federal, state or local law.
Cookies
Baylor University may use "cookies," which are strings of code which may be delivered to your computer while using Baylor Websites. These cookies allow Baylor to track your interaction with its Websites. Baylor may use those cookies to collect information about your visit to our Websites including date and time, your browser type and version, your operating system, and other similar information. You may turn off cookies by following the instructions for your browser, but if you block cookies, it may be more difficult (and maybe even impossible) to use some services.
Analytics and Collection and Use by Third-parties
Baylor uses multiple data analytics technologies and information services, including Google Analytics and social media tools to analyze traffic to and engagement with our Websites. Baylor uses analytics data to understand visitors’ interests so we can improve our Websites and users’ experience. Analytics data is also used for marketing, engagement, recruitment and development activities.
Baylor University works with third-party vendors, such as Google and Facebook, who may use cookies, beacons (pixels) or other technologies to serve ads or deliver content on other websites based on your visits to our Websites and other sites on the Internet and to provide analytics services. These third parties may automatically collect information about your visits to this and other websites, your IP address, your ISP, the browser you use, pages viewed, time spent on pages, links clicked, and anything you might share on a social media site including your profile, “likes”, “comments” and conversion information. This data about you may be cross-matched with Baylor internal databases and publicly-available databases to assess, among other things, your interest in and capacity to purchase Baylor goods and services or to make philanthropic gifts.
Third-party vendors and services often have their own privacy policies and statements. Further, third-parties may provide mechanisms to manage their collection and use of your information. This statement does not apply to and Baylor University is not responsible for these third parties. We encourage you to check the privacy policies of advertisers and ad services to learn more about their practices.
Baylor Websites and e-mails may provide links to non-Baylor websites. Baylor is not responsible for the content, privacy policies or practices on those sites.
Exceptions
All Baylor Websites conform to this privacy statement unless an alternative privacy statement is explicitly provided on that site.
Changes
If there are any changes to this Privacy Statement, Baylor University will post them on the website. Any changes will be effective as of the date we post on the website.
Related Policy
Last updated February 24, 2024