Privacy policy
We at Education Minnesota are committed to respecting the privacy of those who visit our website. Therefore, we have developed this policy to address your questions and provide you with information about our practices.
Does this site automatically collect any information about me?
In general, you can visit our site without providing personally identifiable information (name, address, phone number, etc.). We do collect some pieces of anonymous information from all visitors; this is information that cannot be connected to a specific individual.
What type of anonymous information is collected?
For example, we will collect the visitor’s Internet Protocol address (a numeric address used to identify servers), referral data (i.e., the address of the last Uniform Resource Locator a user visited prior to clicking through to the Education Minnesota website), browser and platform type (e.g., an Internet Explorer browser on a PC platform), and time and date of access.
Why does Education Minnesota collect this information?
This data is collected to assist us in making improvements to the website, administering the website, and diagnosing any problems with the server. The data also allows us to see which parts of the site users are visiting. This allows us to determine what we need to change on the site.
Is there a risk that the anonymous information could become personally identifiable information?
The IP address and domain name reveal nothing personal about you, only the address from which you have accessed our site. We use this data in an aggregate form for evaluation purposes; we do not collect or evaluate this information for individuals.
Will Education Minnesota also request personally identifiable information?
Education Minnesota may request some personal information to determine what additional information or resources we can provide to assist you.
Will giving this information be mandatory?
No. Providing this information will always be voluntary. However, the more information you provide us, the more customized and valuable the information can be that we provide you.
How will this information be collected?
Initially during the member registration process, we will request information such as your name and postal address to verify membership. In the future, we may request more specific information from you (like your occupation, grade level or subjects you teach or work with, your phone number, gender, birth date, email address, etc.,) to provide you with customized information that is relevant to you. We will include a link to our Privacy Policy in all places where we request personal information.
If you contact Education Minnesota through the website via email, we may keep a record of that correspondence. We will only use the information provided to respond to the email.
The website might also contain surveys or polls on the home page and possibly additional surveys or polls throughout the site. Again, the results of these will not be maintained as individual data about you. They are simply offered to collect interesting information in aggregate form.
What are cookies?
Cookies are an important tool used to help website administrators make the site as useful as possible to you. The use of cookies is now an industry standard, and you will find them used on most major websites. A cookie is a small text file that uses a unique identification number. Cookies are sent from a website to your browser; they are maintained on your computer to facilitate your next visit to the site. The site then has the ability to identify your browser and track your browser’s activities on our site, making your visit run more smoothly. This unique number identifies only your browser, not you personally, to the network computer whenever you visit the site. A cookie will not let a site know any personally identifiable information about you, such as your real name and address. Because cookies are only text files, they cannot run on your computer, search your computer for other information or transmit any information to others.
How does Education Minnesota use cookies?
Education Minnesota is not interested in collecting data on any one individual user and does not use cookies for this purpose. The coding in the cookies Education Minnesota sets lets us know that you are using a particular computer but nothing more. Our site only uses cookies to improve our service to you when you return to our site.
To help serve you better, Education Minnesota uses cookies to:
- Help us remember who you are through your browser settings so that Education Minnesota can offer and provide customized information. Cookies also allow us to save the password you enter on our site and your browser preferences to streamline and smoothen your subsequent visits to our site.
- Monitor use patterns. Without cookies, it would be almost impossible for Education Minnesota to know that certain types of information are more or less popular. This information helps us to better understand what information we should develop and what information we should remove so that we can change and update the content and services appropriately.
You should know that while Education Minnesota does not require you to accept cookies, certain parts of the site will not function properly if you set your browser to not accept cookies.
Can I choose not to have cookies added to my computer?
Most browsers are initially set up to accept cookies. If you prefer, you can reset your browser either to notify you when you have received a cookie, or to refuse to accept cookies. As noted above if your computer is set to refuse cookies, certain parts of the Education Minnesota website will not function properly for you.
Will anyone else receive the information collected by Education Minnesota?
When you provide any information to Education Minnesota (either anonymous or personal), that information will not be shared with outside entities, websites, agencies, etc., other than organizations we affiliate or partner with such as the National Education Association, American Federation of Teachers, the AFL-CIO, etc.
Education Minnesota may occasionally use the information to contact you for your views on changes or enhancements to our website.
Education Minnesota may be required by law enforcement or judicial authorities to provide information on individual users to the appropriate governmental authorities.
All above categories exclude text-messaging originator opt-in data and consent; this information will not be shared with any third party.
How can I access, edit or delete my personal information?
Education Minnesota provides its registered users the ability to access and edit the personal information in their user profiles. Currently, to access and edit your personal information, log in with your username and password, then click on the “My Information” link in the right column and follow the directions.
What is the opt-out policy for the Education Minnesota website?
Education Minnesota offers you the ability to opt out of receiving information on website updates and new services. This is done at the point of initial collection of information and during the editing or updating process. The instructions to opt out are the same as the instructions listed above for editing user information profiles. Additionally, all direct email communications have easy-to-follow unsubscribe instructions at the bottom.
What kinds of security procedures are in place to protect against the loss, misuse or alteration of personal information?
Education Minnesota has security measures in place to protect against the loss, misuse and alteration of your user data under our control. Only authorized employees have access to the information you provide us and they are governed by strict rules for maintaining privacy. While we cannot guarantee that loss, misuse or alteration to data will not occur, we make every effort to prevent such occurrences. When a user submits personal information, it is kept on a private server not accessible from the Internet. We use secure online forms on our site. This means that when you submit information through forms on our site your information will be protected during transmission. All the information received is then stored securely offline. This prevents any improper use of your information.
Do I have any responsibilities for security?
You are ultimately responsible for the security of your username and password. Please take care when using and storing them and do not divulge them to anyone. You should log out of your browser at the end of each computer session to ensure that others cannot access your personal information and correspondence, especially if you share a computer with someone else or are using a computer in a public place like a library or Internet cafe.
Some areas of our sites might make use of chat rooms, forums, message boards and/or newsgroups that are open to other members and, in some cases, the public. Please remember that any information that you disclose in these areas becomes public information; you should exercise judgment when deciding whether to disclose your personal information.
If you have any questions or concerns about the security of our website, please email us.
Are the websites Education Minnesota provides links to covered by this same privacy policy?
Please note that our site contains links to other sites that have their own privacy policies that may differ from that of Education Minnesota. These third-party sites may also issue their own cookies and may collect personally identifiable information about you. Our privacy policy does not guarantee that these third-party sites follow our privacy guidelines for their data collection practices. Education Minnesota does not assume any liability for third-party actions. We encourage you to read the privacy statements of any third-party website you visit.
This policy may be updated from time to time so please check back periodically.
|If you have any questions regarding this privacy policy, please email us.
