Privacy Policy for Montana Christian College
Effective Date: Jan. 1 2023
1. Introduction:
Montana Christian College (MCC), situated in Kalispell, MT, is a premier Christian institution that caters to both traditional and online students. We prioritize the privacy of our community, and this policy elucidates the nature of information we collect and its utilization.
2. Changes to This Privacy Policy:
This policy is accurate as of the effective date mentioned above. MCC retains the right to periodically amend this policy, always ensuring it aligns with prevailing privacy standards and regulations.
3. Reporting Online Security Incidents:
Should you identify any security vulnerabilities or malicious activities concerning our digital assets, we urge you to provide comprehensive details, including IP address, URL, user account, etc. This will aid us in promptly addressing the issue. Complete the Incident Report
4. Information We Collect:
We might gather data you willingly share, which could be used to identify you either directly or indirectly. Over the past year, we have amassed the following categories of information:
- Identifiers: A real name, alias, postal address, unique personal identifier, online identifier, Internet Protocol address, email address, account name, Social Security number, driver’s license number, passport number or other similar identifiers
- Commercial Information: Records of personal, property, products or services purchased, obtained or considered or other, purchasing or consuming histories or tendencies
- Biometric Information: Genetic, physiological, behavioral and biological characteristics, or activity patterns used to extract a template or other identifier or identifying information, such as, fingerprints, face prints, and voiceprints, iris or retina scans, keystroke, gait, or other physical patterns and sleep, health or exercise data
- Internet Activity: Browsing history, search history, information on a consumer’s interaction with a website, application or advertisement
- Geolocation Data: Physical location or movements
- Professional or Employment Information: Current or past job, history or performance evaluations
- Non-public, education information (per the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (20,U.S.C. Section 1232g, 34 C.F.R. Part 99): Education records, directly related to a student maintained by an educational institution or party acting on its behalf, such as grades, transcripts, class lists, student, schedules, student identification codes, student financial information or student disciplinary records
- Inferences drawn from other personal information: Profile reflecting a, person’s preferences, characteristics, psychological trends, predispositions, behavior, attitudes, intelligence, abilities and aptitudes
5. How We Use Your Information:
Some of the information collected by MCC may be utilized for business purposes such as:
- Operating, maintaining, and enhancing our services.
- Analyzing process performance and conducting research to better understand our community’s needs.
- Debugging systems that contain personal records.
- Evaluating financial aid applications, transcript assessments, enrollment, and other processes as detailed in MCC’s existing enrollment agreements and the student handbook.
- Marketing services/products to individuals when relevant.
- Ensuring the security of your data and conducting audits to adhere to state, federal, and international standards.
- Addressing other business needs as they arise.
MCC may provide you with a username and password to access specific platforms. To create these unique identifiers, we will collect Personally Identifiable Information (PII). Furthermore, for activities like purchases, orders, donations, and registrations, we might request credit card or other financial PII, which could be managed by a PCI-compliant third-party service provider.
For those completing online employment applications, we may gather PII, including your name, address, contact details, employment background, language proficiency, educational history, and other relevant work/skill information. It’s essential to be aware that external job application platforms not affiliated with MCC might have their own privacy policies. If MCC redirects to such platforms, we recommend reviewing their policies.
MCC is committed to not selling personal data records and confirms that it has not done so in the past 12 months.
6. Data Transactions:
MCC websites provide access to information and services for constituents that may not have a formal relationship with the college as a student or employee. If you are neither a student nor employee and prefer not to provide any information online, we invite you to cancel the transaction and contact the administrative unit responsible for the service to conduct the business in person, by mail or by telephone. Contact information is found in the “More Information” section of this policy.
7. Security Measures:
MCC is dedicated to ensuring a secure online environment for our community and visitors. Our websites employ both standard and advanced security protocols to guard against the loss, misuse, unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, and destruction of the information under our purview. While MCC has robust security measures to deter malicious activities, we urge users to exercise caution when entering MCC-assigned credentials on external platforms not affiliated with the college.
We advise all users to equip their devices with up-to-date antivirus software. MCC cannot be held responsible for data breaches resulting from: (i) the use of weak or commonly used passwords; (ii) willingly sharing credentials with malicious entities; (iii) transmitting data via insecure means not endorsed by MCC or its affiliated institutions (e.g., using an unsecured public network or a compromised personal device). To bolster data security, we consistently train our staff on standard data protection practices and emerging cybersecurity threats through our cybersecurity awareness initiatives.
Should you suspect a security issue related to data managed by MCC, please reach out to lbusic@montanacc.edu for immediate assistance.
8. Disclosure and Portability of PII Data:
Montana Christian College may share PII data with third-party vendors who have been vetted and approved to carry out tasks on MCC’s behalf. These vendors are bound by security obligations to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of all shared information. Additionally, we might disclose PII in response to legal mandates, such as court orders or subpoenas, upon requests from law enforcement agencies, or when deemed necessary to investigate, prevent, or address potential illegal activities.
MCC employs Google Analytics to showcase retargeted advertisements to our website visitors across the internet. While Google may gather non-PII data about your interactions with our site and services, this collection is done anonymously through pixel tags, ensuring no PII is captured. If you prefer Google not to collect this data, you can opt out by visiting: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.
Montana Christian College’s online advertising tools encompass platforms like Acquia Lift, Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Snapchat, Quantcast, Quinstreet, Bing, and Yahoo. MCC might also utilize technologies such as Facebook and Twitter cookie tracking, web beacons, and similar tools. These features enable MCC to monitor impressions on our sites for promotional purposes. If you’d like to opt out of these online advertising functionalities, please adhere to the opt-out instructions on the respective platform pages.
9. Protecting Children’s Privacy
MCC’s services are not designed for individuals under the age of 13. Any personal data records associated with an individual who cannot furnish parental consent will be promptly deleted in compliance with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (Rule 15 U.S.C. §§ 6501–6506). Some data regulations, such as the GDPR, mandate individuals under 16 to obtain parental consent. If this pertains to you, we kindly ask that you refrain from using our services until such consent is secured.
10. Third-Party Links
While navigating Montana Christian College websites, you might come across links leading to webpages not directly associated with MCC. The content of these external links is governed by the respective site’s administrators or owners. We encourage you to familiarize yourself with the privacy policies of these external entities before engaging with their content, as their data processing practices might differ from ours.
NOTE: We’d like to emphasize that sharing PII data voluntarily on social platforms and similar sites can be accessed and utilized by third parties. Once you depart from an MCC-managed site, we cannot vouch for the security of any PII data you might disclose to other entities.
11. Cookies
While exploring Montana Christian College’s website, cookies might be utilized. Cookies are diminutive text files saved by your browser on your device to retain specific information or image files. You have the option to modify your browser settings to decline cookies, deactivate them, or delete existing cookies from your device. It’s important to understand that making such changes could impact your browsing experience on websites that depend on cookies for their functionality.
12. Opt-Out
If you wish to be removed from our mailing lists, please send your name, email address, and home address to:
Montana Christian College Opt-Out
1605 Danielson Rd
Kalispell, MT 59901
If you prefer not to receive marketing emails from MCC, please submit a request.
13. Consent
Choosing to browse a Montana Christian College website signifies your agreement with the prevailing terms and conditions. Furthermore, you are consenting to the terms of this Privacy Policy, along with all harmonious principles outlined in the student handbook, employee handbook, faculty handbook, computer use policies, and the montanacc.edu terms and conditions. If you do not concur with these terms, we kindly ask that you cease using MCC’s websites.
14. Data Access Requests
If you are a European citizen, in accordance with GDPR regulations, you possess the right to request access to your data in an accessible format, seek rectification or deletion of your information; decline automated decision-making, including profiling; file a complaint with a supervisory authority; restrict processing (awaiting correction or deletion); object to communications or direct marketing; and request the electronic transfer of your information to a third party (data portability).
MCC is committed to treating all individuals fairly and will not discriminate against anyone wishing to exercise their rights as permitted by relevant data protection regulations. However, not all of these rights are granted automatically. We may need to discuss with you the reasons we might not be able to fulfill a particular request, depending on the specific circumstances.
We do not charge for personal data record requests unless they are deemed excessive, in which case a fee might be levied as allowed by regulations. For additional details, please refer to the contact form, email address, and/or phone number provided in the “More Information” section of this policy.
MCC employees also have specific data rights, such as the right to be informed about the data stored in their records, as authorized by GDPR.
As an EU data subject under GDPR, you always maintain the right to lodge a complaint about our handling of your personal data with the Information Commissioner’s Office at Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, SK9 5AF (ico.org.uk).
If you are an EU citizen living in an EU member state governed by GDPR and wish to request a copy of the data MCC has gathered about you or exercise a right granted by GDPR, please reach out using one of our provided communication methods. Registered students can also contact their student services counselor. Please note that your request may take up to 30 days to process, though in some cases, a reasonable delay of up to 90 days might be necessary.
15. More Information
For further details regarding this statement or MCC’s privacy practices, please reach out to:
Montana Christian College, Legal Department
1605 Danielson Rd
Kalispell, MT 59901
EMAIL: lbusic@montanacc.edu
PHONE: (406) 758-8100