When you visit COA websites, our servers may automatically record (or log) information that your browser sends. This information may include: your internet protocol (IP) address, browser type and language, the date and time of your request, the number of times a web page was accessed, the paths (links) taken through the website, and search terms entered on our search engines. Our websites may also collect information about the internet address (URL or IP) of the referring site. This type of information is collected to improve website or individual web page content, monitor performance, improve functionality (including navigation and searches), site security, troubleshooting, and to provide services to you. COA uses third-party web analysis services to help gather and analyze this information.

Some of our sites may employ cookies. A cookie is a small file containing a string of characters that is either maintained only for the duration of a particular session visit (called a session cookie) or is stored on your computer to uniquely identify your browser to support future visits (a persistent cookie). A session cookie terminates when the visitor closes the browser; the data is not stored. COA sites that use persistent cookies store the information collected during the visit to make subsequent visits more efficient for the visitor. Cookies provide usage statistics about our websites; as we understand how our sites are used we can facilitate navigation in our COA web space and enhance the visitor’s experience. Cookies may also be used for authentication processes (site security purposes). You may remove COA persistent cookies from your computer at any time by following your internet browser directions. If you prefer not to receive a cookie, you may set your browser to refuse it or set it to ask you whether you want to accept a particular cookie. However, some pages may not function properly if the cookies are turned off.

If you make an inquiry via our websites, those communications will be used to respond to you and to improve services. Unless you request otherwise, your inquiry may be forwarded to another COA addressee who may be more appropriate to respond. We recommend that you do not include in your inquiry Social Security numbers, credit card numbers, or other sensitive information. Email is not a secure medium.

On some of our websites, you may choose to provide information to us to obtain services or information. For example, you may sign up for a mailing list or send us your address so we may send you an application or other material. We will use your information to respond to your request and may also use it to keep you informed of other campus activities, programs, or for future communications. You may opt out of these additional types of communications at any time by following the website’s unsubscribe instructions or by directing your request to the contact for the website on which you provided the original information.

Other types of personally identifiable information that you may provide to us on our websites can include: name, address, telephone numbers, birthday, student identification number, Social Security number, credit card number, user name, password, and/or net-id. This information will be used to respond to you or to provide you with a requested service, such as enrollment, purchases, making a donation, and other educational, research, service programs or administrative purposes. In some cases, the information requested is mandatory in order for us to provide you with the information or service you seek. These fields will be marked with an “*”. If you do not wish to provide the mandatory information, you may contact the specific website’s contact person and ask whether there is an alternate method for you to provide the required information to obtain the service.

Please be aware that we will never use an email note to ask you to provide confidential or restricted information. If you receive such an email request, it is not from COA regardless of the purported sender’s identification. We recommend that you do not respond to that email. We will not sell or share your personally identifiable information with third parties without your consent, unless required by law or legal instruments. We retain the information only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purpose for which it was collected and to comply with laws and retention requirements.

If a COA site collects information from children (an individual under the age of 13), information will be collected, maintained, and secured in compliance with and to the extent required by the provisions of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998. If you are a parent or guardian, you can help us protect your child’s privacy by instructing them never to provide personal information on COA websites without your permission.

COA websites may contain links to non-COA sites (third-party sites). COA is not responsible for nor does it control the content, use, or retention of information found on linked third-party sites. Third-party sites may collect or solicit data from you or place their cookies or other files on your computer. Checking the privacy statement of a third-party site is recommended. COA does not endorse the services or products found on third-party sites.

Third-party websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with that embedded content, including tracing your interaction with the embedded content if you have an account and are logged in to that website.

You have the option to decline providing information about your self online and may use other methods, such as the U.S. mail to submit requests. You may ask the individual identified as the contact for the website you’re visiting whether there are additional alternatives to obtaining the information or services you seek.

• You may opt out of the use of cookies by Google Analytics.
• You can opt-out of Google Ads by using ad settings provided by Google.
• View information on Facebook’s Data Policy and learn how to control online ads from Facebook.
• If you no longer want to receive marketing communications from COA, please follow the unsubscribe instructions that are included at the bottom of each message. Please note that if you unsubscribe from our marketing communications, you may still receive administrative messages from the college.

Data Retention Period

If you submit information through any of our contact forms, the information and its metadata are retained indefinitely. This is so we can recognize and approve any follow-up comments automatically instead of holding them in a moderation queue.

Depending on your location and where applicable law requires, you may have the following choices with respect to your personal information submitted on the websites covered by this Privacy Statement:

• The right to access your personal information;
• The right to update your personal information by emailing us;
• The right to withdraw your consent to providing personal information
• The right to request deletion of your personal information or object to its processing; and
• The right to lodge a complaint with an applicable supervisory authority.

If you would like to exercise your choices regarding the personal information collected on our websites, email us at [email protected].

To review, update, or correct inaccurate personal information you’ve previously provided or to delete it, if it is not otherwise required to be retained by law or for a COA business purpose, direct your request to the contact for the website on which you provided your personal information.