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Privacy Policy

Effective date: June 4, 2010
Last updated: May, 24, 2018

This notice describes the Privacy Statement of Erikson Institute (“Erikson”, “we” or “our”), a U.S. non-profit organization. Erikson is committed to protecting your privacy when you visit our website by restricting the use of collected information. This privacy policy outlines how we collect information when you visit our site and how we use that information. You will not be required to submit personally identifiable information, but if you choose to do so, you are accepting and consent to the practices described in this Privacy Statement.

Our business changes constantly, and our Privacy Statement and Terms of Use will change, also. Your continued use of our website following the posting of any amendment shall indicate your acceptance of the revised Privacy Statement.

1. Information we collect

Anonymous information: Our website automatically captures limited, non-personally identifiable information that your browser makes available. This information may include your internet protocol (IP) address, browser type, computer operating system, time and date you visit, the pages you access, and the address of the page that directed you to our site. We use this data to understand patterns of site activity and to improve the site so it is more useful for you. This information is not linked in any way to your personal information. Although we cannot guarantee impenetrability of our servers, we have established reasonable physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards for all of the information we collect online.

Personal information: We do not collect personally identifiable information from you unless you supply it voluntarily. The types of personally identifiable information that you may be prompted to consider providing includes, but is not limited to, your name, mailing address, email address, telephone number, ethnic background, gender, marital status, GRE scores, program interests, date of birth, Social Security number, visa classification, armed forces affiliation, credit card number, citizenship, language spoken, academic experience, work experience, financial information, or other information relevant to an application for admission, request for information, or a transaction. If you reside in the European Union, upon providing your personally identifiable information to Erikson, you will be indicating your explicit consent that the personally identifiable information you have provided may be transferred to, processed, and stored in the United States, in accordance with this policy.

In accordance with the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), Erikson will respond to reasonable requests for access to information held about a data subject (identified natural person who is the subject of personal data); rectify information held about a data subject pursuant to a valid request; communicate corrections of personal data to third parties who have received the data; allow a data subject to revoke consent for a particular processing activity; to honor valid requests to restrict the processing of data if requested by a data subject; respond to valid requests for erasure of data held about a data subject; honor requests from a data subject to have their personal data transferred directly to another controller; if technically feasible, and respond to valid requests for erasure of data held about a data subject.

We request personally identifiable information only when necessary to provide a service or to complete a transaction. Examples include subscribing to electronic newsletters or listservs; membership accounts requiring login; completing online surveys; requesting program information; applying for admission to an academic program; registering and paying for events or courses; or making a donation.

Disclosure Regarding Google Display Advertising: We have implemented Google Analytics features based on Display Advertising (e.g., Remarketing, Google Display Network Impression Reporting, the Doubleclick Campaign Manager integration, or Google Analytics Demographics and Interest Reporting).

We use remarketing with Google Adwords and analytics to display content-specific advertisements to visitors who have previously visited our site when those visitors go to other websites that have the Google Display Network implemented. We and other third-party vendors, including Google, use first-party cookies (such as the Google Analytics cookies) and third-party cookies (such as the DoubleClick cookie) together to report how your ad impressions, other uses of ad services, and interactions with these ad impressions and ad services are related to visits to our site.

Google Analytics does not store any visitor specific data, and we will not use visitor-specific data in any way related to Google Analytics, Google Adwords, and Remarketing. We use aggregated behavioral information to refine our marketing efforts.

At any time, you may choose to opt-out of Google Analytics tracking with the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on. You can also opt-out of Google Analytics for Display Advertising and customize Google Display Network ads using the Ads Settings.

2. What we do with the personal information we collect

Through our website, some visitors can access chat rooms, forums, and message boards. Please remember that any information that is disclosed in these areas becomes public information, and you should exercise caution when deciding to disclose your personal information.

We will not sell, trade, or otherwise transfer to third parties your personally identifiable information, except that we may share this data with subsidiaries, affiliates, and vendors we retain to provide services necessary to our operations. Such third parties could include, but are not limited to, website hosting companies, mail delivery service companies, payment processors, and institutional research companies. We also reserve the right to release personally identifiable information (i) when we are under legal compulsion to do so (e.g., we have received a subpoena) or we otherwise believe that the law requires us to do so; (ii) when we believe it is necessary to protect and/or enforce the rights, property interests, or safety of Erikson, our users or others; or (iii) as we deem necessary to resolve disputes, troubleshoot problems, prevent fraud, and otherwise enforce the Privacy Statement and our Websites Terms of Use. Additionally, in the event that Erikson is merged with or becomes part of another organization, or in the event that Erikson is sold or it sells all or substantially all of its assets or is otherwise reorganized, the information you provide will be one of the transferred assets to the acquiring or reorganized entity.

3. Opt-out rights

Student directory information: Aside from directory information that may be disclosed under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), we will not post personally identifiable information about students or graduates without prior permission or as otherwise set out herein. Students who wish to withhold the disclosure of some or all directory information should notify the Registration and Student Records office by October 1 of the academic year concerned.

Alumni directory information: Personal and professional contact information for alumni is collected through various methods and is published online in a searchable, password-protected alumni directory. We restrict directory access to alumni and persons connected to the Erikson community and use all appropriate technology to prevent misuse of the data by unauthorized parties. Alumni can request that their contact information be withheld from the directory by contacting Alumni Relations.

Email and direct mail: You can opt out of receiving future promotional electronic mailings from us by following the unsubscribe procedures indicated in each mailing. You can opt out of receiving printed promotional mail in the future as well by contacting us at [email protected].

Cookies: We use cookies to keep track of and enhance certain user activities on our website, such as logging into your account, accessing your courses or your grades, and other user-specific features. You may block or restrict cookies on your computer or purge them from your browser by adjusting your web browser preferences. You should consult the operating instructions that apply to your browser for instructions on how to configure your browser setting to meet your preferences.

However, because cookies allow you to take advantage of some features or functions of our websites, we recommend that you leave them turned on. For example, EriksonOnline uses Blackboard Learn™, which requires the acceptance of a cookie by your browser to access information in the courses. If you block or otherwise reject our cookies, you will not be able to use this feature.

4. How you can access and update your personal information

If you have a My.Erikson account, you may access and update your information by clicking on Personal Info. Additionally, you may contact the Registration & Student Records Office to request updates to your personal information.

5. What about links to other websites?

This statement applies only to Erikson websites. Our websites may contain links to third party sites. We are not responsible for the content or policies of such sites and recommend that you check the third party privacy statements posted on their websites.

6. How do I ask questions and provide feedback regarding privacy?

We welcome your questions, comments and concerns about privacy. Erikson is committed to the resolution of concerns or complaints about your privacy and our collection or use of your personally identifiable information. If you have any questions regarding this privacy statement or how we protect your personal data, please contact us at:

Erikson Institute
ATTN: Privacy Practices
451 North LaSalle Street
Chicago, Illinois 60654-4510
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