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Privacy Notice

Information Technology Services Policies & Procedures

General College Domestic Privacy Notice

Tulsa Community College operates web sites (the "web sites") for the benefit of our users. We are aware that you, our users, care about how personal information is used, and we appreciate your trust that we will use it carefully and sensibly.

By visiting our web sites, you are accepting the policies and practices contained within this Notice.

Personal Information Gathered

The information we obtain from visitors helps us create better online experiences for our users. This is what we may gather from you:

Information Provided

We receive, and may store, any information you provide on our web sites or give us in any other way. You can choose not to provide certain information, but as a result, you may not be able to take advantage of certain services or features. We may use information collected during current browsing sessions to provide you with a more customized experience in the future. We may also use this information to improve our web sites and better communicate with you.

Automatic Information

We receive, and may store, certain types of information when you interact with our web sites. For example, we may store your computer's Internet address, information about your Web Browser, URLs of referring web sites, and your site navigation histories.

Email Communications

We may use any email address you provide to communicate directly with you. To help us communicate more effectively with you through email messages, we may receive a confirmation when you open messages from us if your computer supports such capabilities. We require that all Email Addresses provided to us be valid; otherwise, we may disregard them. We allow you to subscribe to various newsletters and mailing lists throughout the site. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, please follow the “unsubscribe” instructions located in the email.

Financial Aid Information

The information you provide on the FAFSA and documents submitted to the TCC Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships are used to determine eligibility for federal student financial aid. All information submitted for the purpose of securing financial aid is protected under TCC policy, the Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), and the Gramm-Leach Bliley Act of 1999 (GLB). Under these provisions, TCC ensures the privacy and safeguarding of all financial aid information.

Information From Other Sources

We may receive and store information about you from other sources and add it to our customer databases. All information supplied to us through our web sites becomes the property of Tulsa Community College.

Tracking Technologies and Google Analytics

We use a tool called “Google Analytics” to collect information about the use of this site. Google Analytics collects information such as how often users visit this site, what pages they visit when they do so, and what other sites they used prior to coming to this site. It also collects data about visitor demographics and interest categories. It is statistical data. This statistical data does not identify any personal details whatsoever. We use the information we get from Google Analytics to improve this site.

Although Google Analytics places a cookie on your web browser to identify you as a unique user the next time you visit this site, the cookie cannot be used by anyone but Google. In addition, the cookie cannot give access to your computer or any information stored on your computer. Google’s ability to use and share information collected by Google Analytics about your visits to this site is restricted by the Google Analytics Terms of Use and the Google Privacy Policy. You can prevent Google Analytics from recognizing you on return visits to this site by disabling cookies on your browser. This may prevent you from taking full advantage of the website.

Remarketing

We use remarketing services to advertise on third-party websites to previous visitors to our website. Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve tailored ads based on someone’s past visits to the tulsacc.edu website. It could mean that we advertise to previous visitors who haven’t completed a task on our site. This could be in the form of an ad on the Google search results page, or a site in the advertiser's network. This allows us to market our products and services to those who have shown interest in the college. As always we respect your privacy and are not collecting any identifiable information through the use of Google’s or any other 3rd party remarketing system. You can set preferences for how Google advertises to you using the Google Ad Preferences page. You can also opt-out of any third-party vendor's use of cookies by visiting the Network Advertising Initiative opt-out page.

Sharing Information

We may release personal information when we believe that a release is appropriate to comply with the law; enforce or apply agreements; or protect rights, property, or the safety of any party. This includes exchanging information with other organizations for fraud protection and credit risk reduction.

Use of College Web Sites

If you choose to visit our web sites, your visit and any dispute over privacy is subject to this Notice and our Terms of Use.

This Privacy Notice and the Terms of Use of our web sites may be updated regularly. You should check our sites frequently to see recent changes. Unless stated to the contrary, our current Privacy Notice applies to all information that we have about you.

If you have any questions regarding your orders, this Privacy Notice, or the Terms and Conditions under which govern your use of our web sites, please contact the TCC web team at webteam@tulsacc.edu.

European Union General Data Protection Regulation Privacy Notice

Purpose

The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) is a data privacy law that applies to personal information collected in or from the European Union and European Economic Area. Tulsa Community College (“TCC”) is committed to safeguarding the privacy of personal information, including compliance with the GDPR. This Privacy Notice outlines the collection, use, and disclosure of personal information provided to the College by prospective students, students, employee applicants, employees, alumni, and research subjects. When information is submitted to TCC, or you use the College's websites and other services, you consent to the collection, use, and disclosure of that information as described in this Privacy Notice.

Scope

TCC by and through its academic and administrative units and programs owns, controls, operates and/or maintains websites under a number of domains (collectively, “TCC Web”). This Notice applies to all domains within the TCC Web.

Exceptions

The TCC Web consists of multiple Web servers. Some servers hosted by TCC may adopt different privacy statements as their specific needs require. If a TCC department has a privacy statement that is different from this statement, that policy does not in any way supersede federal or state regulations.

The TCC Web contains links to hundreds of external websites. The College is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of the external websites we link to.

Information Gathered by TCC

TCC Web servers generate logs that may contain the following information:

  • Internet address (IP address) of the computer being used
  • Web pages requested
  • Referring Web page
  • Browser used
  • Date and Time
  • Other web data, collectively known as “web headers” or “HTTP headers”
  • UIN (unique person identifier for TCC ID-based services only)
  • User/client hostname - The hostname (or IP address if DNS is disabled) 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
  • 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

The data is used in aggregate by IT custodians to tune the Web site for its efficiency and is not ordinarily associated with specific individuals. Raw data from the Web server logs is only shared with the custodian of each Web site. Summary reports produced from the logs help Web publishers determine what Web browsers and pages are most popular. For example, if the aggregate reports show a particular Web page is very popular, publishers might use this information to customize the content of that page and make it easier to find.

Third-Party Content

Some pages within the tulsacc.edu domain may contain content that is served from external third parties. For example, a tulsacc.edu Web site might include a graphic logo or a script from a third party. Third-party content in tulsacc.edu is not limited to graphics, but this is the most frequent use. Examples of these third parties include social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Flickr, etc. TCC does not transmit any information to these third parties as part of such requests. However, when you visit tulsacc.edu pages that contain third-party content, information such as your IP address, date, browser, and requested page are transmitted from your computer to that third party. TCC is not responsible for the privacy practices of these external third parties.

Cookies

Cookies are small pieces of data stored by the Web browser. Cookies are often used to remember information about preferences and pages you have visited. For example, when you visit some sites on the Web you might see a "Welcome Back" message. The first time you visited the site a cookie was probably set on your computer; when you return, the cookie is read again. You can configure your Web browser to refuse to accept cookies, disable cookies, and remove cookies from your hard drive as needed. TCC Web servers use cookies in the centralized authentication system that utilizes Shibboleth or Active Directory Federated Services (ADFS). These cookies are used so you will not have to repeatedly enter user names and passwords when you go to different parts of the Web site. You are normally required to enter a TCC ID or email address when you request data about yourself or to ensure that you are a member of the College community. For example, prospective students who want to check their admission status, or employees who want to look at their paystubs, must enter their TCC ID so the system knows who is requesting the data. This login process uses Transport Layer Security (TLS) so the user name and password are encrypted between the Web browser and our Web server.

Web Analytics

Some TCC websites use Web Analytics Services provided by various vendors like Google, Inc. Such vendors use cookies to collect information such as URLs, Internet domain and host names, browser software, and the date and time that the site is visited. This information is used to monitor the effectiveness of the website and to consider potential improvements to the website. The information is non-personal and is transmitted to and stored by vendors on their servers. TCC does not share any specific information about a particular user. Please visit the following pages for more information on Google Analytics' terms of use and Google's privacy practices. To opt-out of Google’s data collection, read more about the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on.

Sharing Information

TCC does not share your personal information with third parties except:

  • As required/permitted by law;
  • As necessary to protect College interests;
  • With service providers acting on TCC’s behalf who have agreed to protect the confidentiality of the data; and/or
  • As necessary to further TCC research efforts pursuant to approvals from appropriate data stewards and the IRB.

Legal Notice

Notwithstanding any language to the contrary, nothing contained herein constitutes nor is intended to constitute an offer, inducement, promise, or contract of any kind. The data contained herein is for informational purposes only and is not represented to be error-free. Any links to non-TCC information are provided as a courtesy. They are not intended to nor do they constitute an endorsement by TCC of the linked materials.

College Use of information

In General

TCC uses Information and Sensitive Information to conduct general demographic and statistical research to improve College programs. Sensitive Information is collected, processed and shared internally and externally, as necessary, applicable and appropriate, to identify appropriate support services or activities, provide reasonable accommodations, enforce College policies or comply with applicable laws. Finally, Information and Sensitive Information may be shared by TCC with third parties who have entered into contracts with the College to perform functions on behalf of the College, subject to the obligation of confidentiality and safeguarding from unauthorized disclosure.

Employee Applicants

TCC collects and processes Information and Sensitive Information from individuals who are applying to TCC for employment only as necessary in the exercise of the College's legitimate interests, functions and responsibilities as a public research higher education institution and employer under Oklahoma and federal laws. TCC will use the details you provide on your application form, together with the supporting documents requested, and additional details provided by any references. Information and Sensitive Information is collected from applicants and shared with internal and external parties to identify you; process your application; verify information, employment suitability and eligibility; communicate with you; regulatory reporting; auditing; and other related College processes and functions.

Student Applicants and Students

TCC collects and processes Information and Sensitive Information from individuals who are applying for admission to TCC or are admitted students only as necessary in the exercise of the College's legitimate interests, functions and responsibilities as a public research higher education institution. Information is collected from students and shared with internal and external parties to register or enroll persons in the College, provide and administer housing to students, manage a student account, provide academic advising, develop and deliver education programs, track academic progress, analyze and improve education programs, recruitment, regulatory reporting, auditing, communicating, maintenance of accreditation, and other related College processes and functions.

Employees

TCC collects and processes Information and Sensitive Information from employees only as necessary in the exercise of the College's legitimate interests, functions and responsibilities as a public research higher education institution and employer under Oklahoma and federal laws. The College will keep a record of the details employees provided on their application form, any supporting documents requested and additional details provided by any references and recorded following any interview process. We will maintain various administrative and financial records about their employment at TCC and their use of the academic and non-academic facilities and services that TCC offers. Information and Sensitive Information is collected to assess suitability for a particular role or task; to support in the implementation of any accommodations; where relevant, to monitor, evaluate and support research and commercialization activity; to administer remuneration, payroll, pension and other standard employment functions; to administer HR-related processes, including those relating to performance/absence management, disciplinary issues and complaints/grievances; to provide access to facilities, services and staff benefits, and where appropriate to monitor the use of such in accordance with College policies; for communications; to support training, health, safety, welfare and religious requirements; to compile statistics and conduct surveys and research for internal and statutory reporting purposes; to fulfill and monitor TCC responsibilities under equal access, right to work and public safety legislation; and to enable us to contact others in the event of an emergency.

Research Subjects

TCC also collects and processes Information and Sensitive Information from individuals who are research subjects in the exercise of scientific, historical research, or statistical purposes.

Retirees, Alumni, and Supporters

TCC collects and processes Information and Sensitive Information from individuals who are TCC alumni, its past, current and future supporters, whether donors, volunteers, participants in TCC membership groups, or attendees at TCC events only as necessary in the exercise of the College's legitimate interests, functions and responsibilities as a public research higher education institution under Oklahoma and federal laws. Information and Sensitive Information is collected and shared with internal and external parties for communication purposes, surveys, providing services, solicitations, research, internal record keeping, and administrative purposes.

Definitions

Sensitive Information: For purposes of this Privacy Notice sensitive information is defined as race, ethnic origin, religious or philosophical beliefs, health data, and sexual orientation.

Information: For purposes of this Privacy Notice information is defined as any other information concerning a natural person that is created by or provided to TCC from or concerning prospective students, students, employee applicants, employees, and research subjects.

Third-Party Use of Sensitive Information

In general, TCC may disclose your Sensitive Information and other information as follows:

  • Archiving: TCC may share your Information and Sensitive Information for archiving purposes in the public interest, and for historical research, and statistical purposes.
  • Consent: TCC may disclose Sensitive Information and other Information if we have your consent to do so.
  • Emergency Circumstances: TCC may share your Information, and Sensitive Information when necessary to protect your interests and you are physically or legally incapable of providing consent.
  • Employment Necessity: TCC may share your Sensitive Information when necessary for administering employment or social security benefits in accordance with applicable law, subject to the imposition of appropriate safeguards to prevent further unauthorized disclosure.
  • Legal Obligation: TCC may share your Information and Sensitive Information when the disclosure is required or permitted by international, federal, and state laws and regulations.
  • Performance of a Contract: TCC may share your Information when necessary to administer a contract you have with the College.
  • Public Information: TCC may share your Information and Sensitive Information if you have manifestly made it public.
  • Service Providers: TCC uses third parties who have entered into a contract with the College to support the administration of College operations and policies. In such cases, TCC shares your Information with such third parties subject to the imposition of appropriate safeguards to prevent further unauthorized disclosure.
  • State and Federal Agencies: TCC may share your Information and Sensitive Information with federal and state agencies and departments, police and law enforcement agencies, and accrediting agencies.
  • College Affiliated Programs: TCC may share your Information with parties that are affiliated with the College for the purpose of contacting you about goods, services, academic experiences, charitable giving or experiences that may be of interest to you.
  • The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education: TCC may share Information and Sensitive Information with the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education as reasonably requested and necessary to comply with Regents Rules, System Policies, System Initiatives, investigations, and inquiries.
  • De-Identified and Aggregate Information: TCC may use and disclose Information in a de-identified or aggregate form without limitation.

Other than as set forth above, TCC will not normally publish or disclose any personal information about you to other external enquirers or organizations unless you have requested it or consented to it, or unless it is in your vital interests to do so (e.g. in an emergency situation).

Security

TCC implements appropriate technical and organizational security measures to protect your information when you transmit it to TCC and when TCC stores it in its information technology systems.

Retention and Destruction of Your Information

Your information will be retained by the College in accordance with applicable federal laws, and the applicable retention periods in the Record Retention Schedule adopted by the State of Oklahoma for state agencies and applicable to TCC. Your information will be destroyed upon your request unless applicable law requires destruction after the expiration of an applicable retention period. The manner of destruction will be appropriate to preserve and ensure the confidentiality of your information given the level of sensitivity, value and criticality to the College.

Your Rights

You have the right to request access to, a copy of, rectification, restriction in the use of, or erasure of your information in accordance with all applicable laws. The erasure of your information will be subject to the retention periods of applicable federal and state law and TCC’s Record Retention Schedule. If you have provided consent to the use of your information, you have the right to withdraw consent without affecting the lawfulness of the College's use of the information prior to receipt of your request.

Students may exercise these rights by contacting the College's Registrar, at records@tulsacc.edu. Applicants for employment and employees may exercise these rights by contacting the Office of Human Resources at hr@tulsacc.edu.

Information created in the European Union will be transferred out of the European Union to the College. If you feel the College has not complied with applicable foreign laws regulating such information, you have the right to file a complaint with the appropriate supervisory authority in the European Union.

Updates to This Notice

TCC may update or change this notice at any time. Your continued use of the College's website and third-party applications after any such change indicates your acceptance of these changes.