Updated January 20, 2013
At Education Resource Strategies, Inc. (“Company” or “ERS”), your privacy is very important to us. The purpose of this privacy policy (“Policy”) is to provide you with a description of the types of information we collect about you when you visit the ERS web site located at http://erstrategies.org, and associated sub-domains (“Site”), and how we use that information. By visiting or using the Site, by reading our newsletters, participating in our discussion boards, and/or using our online resources, tools and applications (such as the District Resource Allocation Modeler (or DREAM™) tool, the ResourceCheck™ tool and the School Budget Hold ‘em™ game) (collectively “Services”), you agree to the provisions of our Terms of Use and this Policy. If you do not agree to this Policy, please do not use or access the Site or use the Services.
This Policy applies only to information collected through the Site and not to information collected offline. For more information on how a Site may redirect you to other web sites, please see the “Links and Redirection to Third Party Sites” section below.
We collect and store information that you voluntarily provide to us as well as data related to your Site visit and usage.
In some areas of the Site, we may request that you provide personally identifiable information, including your name, address, email address, telephone number, address for shipping (if you purchase products), username and other information from which your identity is or may be discernible. We collect personally identifiable information from our users at several different points on the Site. If you work for or on behalf of a school, you may also have the opportunity to provide additional information about your school, but it is solely up to you whether you furnish such information. If you do provide such information, you are thereby consenting to the use of that information in accordance with the policies and practices described in this Policy. We may also maintain a record of the purchases you make from the Site. This information may be stored on our servers, and on the servers of third party service providers.
The email address you provide when creating a user account will only be used to send you information relative to your accounts and ERS updates.
As part of the Services, certain tools and games allow you to share information related to your Site visit with other users. For example, when you use our School Budget Hold’em interactive tool, we allow you to share your Hold’em “hand” with other users. To facilitate this process, we collect your email address, the email address of the recipient with whom you have chosen to share information, and the Site location of the information you share.
In addition, during your visit we, either directly or through a third party business partner, automatically collect certain aggregate information and analytical data related to your Site visit (see “Use of Cookies” below). Aggregate information is non-personally identifiable or anonymous information about you, including the date and time of your visit, the IP address of your computer or mobile device, your computer or mobile device browser information, the Internet address that you visited prior to and after reaching the Site, the name of the domain and host you used to access the Internet, the type of mobile device you use, your mobile device’s unique device ID and the features of our Site which you accessed. This data is in no way associated with your personally identifiable information.
We use collected information to make available and to improve our high standard of reliable services. We use such information to:
We do not sell or rent personally identifiable information to third parties who are not affiliates of the Company. We may, however, disclose personally identifiable information to appropriate affiliates of the Company, including strategic alliance affiliates and third party service providers, to respond to a request for service or to provide information about available products or services. We are not limited in our use of your non-personal information that does not permit direct association with any specific individual, or non-identifiable aggregate information about our users (such as the number of users of our Services, the geographic distribution of our users, the amount of information located and/or removed, etc.). We collect and use anonymous aggregated and/or statistical data reflecting your use of the Site and Services and may use such data for tracking, reporting and other activities in connection with our business.
We disclose information that we, in good faith, believe is appropriate to cooperate in investigations of fraud or other illegal activity, or to conduct investigations of violations of our Terms of Use. For example, this means that if we conduct a fraud investigation and conclude that one side has engaged in deceptive practices, we can give that person or entity’s contact information to victims who request it.
We disclose information in response to a subpoena, warrant, court order, levy, attachment, order of a court-appointed receiver or other comparable legal process, including subpoenas from private parties in a civil action. If the subpoena seeks information about an identified user or limited group of users, we’ll make reasonable business efforts to contact the user(s) before providing information to the party that requests it. We cannot guarantee that we will be able to contact the user(s) in all cases, whether because of a time limit, court order, inability to effectively contact a user, or for any other reason.
We may disclose information to your agent or legal representative (such as the holder of a power of attorney that you grant, or a guardian appointed for you).
We share information with companies that provide public relations and marketing services for us. Such information will only be shared by us to customize, measure and improve our products, Services and advertising; it will not be shared with third parties for their marketing purposes. These third parties are obligated to protect your information and are prohibited from using your personally identifiable information for any other purpose.
As with any other business, it is possible that in the future we could merge with or be acquired by another company or entity. If such an acquisition occurs, the successor entity would have access to the information maintained by us, including customer account information, but would continue to be bound by this Policy unless and until it is amended.
We share your information with our parent, subsidiaries and joint ventures to help coordinate the Services we provide to you, enforce our Terms of Use, and promote trust and safety.
We may share aggregate (non-personally identifiable) information with certain third parties such as advertisers, national industry organizations, and prospective affiliates. In addition, we reserve the right to disclose aggregate information and personally identifiable information to third parties as required or permitted by law and when we believe that disclosure is necessary to protect our rights.
We provide you the opportunity to “opt-out” of having your personally identifiable information used for certain purposes when we ask for this information. For example, if you do not wish to receive marketing material from us, you can indicate your preference in the Site’s options area. If you no longer wish to receive our promotional communications, you may opt-out of receiving them by following the instructions included in each communication.
We use a third-party credit card processor to process credit card purchases made on our Site. To make this possible, your name, billing address, and order total are shared via secure (encrypted) means with this third-party payment processor for the sole purpose of completing your order. Please note that your credit card information (number, expiration date, security code) is provided directly to the third-party credit card processor and is stored by such third-party credit card processor and not the Company, and as such, it is important to review the privacy policy of the third-party credit card processor prior to providing this information. The third-party credit card processor’s privacy policy will apply to the information you provide on the third-party credit card processor’s web site. You hereby acknowledge and agree that the Company is not affiliated in any way with the third-party credit card processor and that we have no responsibility or liability for the services provided by such third-party credit card processor or for the third-party credit card processor’s acts or omissions.
“Cookies” are simple text files stored on your computer for use by a browser. Certain Site features may only be available through the placement of a cookie. We may use “cookies” to assist in data collection and to track visitor Site usage and trends to help us better serve you. The use of cookies is a standard practice among Internet web sites; most Internet browsers permit a user to accept, decline or delete cookies. This Site works with a first party cookie that collects anonymous traffic data at the Site.
We use persistent cookies to make it easier for you to navigate the Site. Specifically, we use persistent cookies to track whether you are logged into the Site. A persistent cookie remains on your hard drive for an extended period of time. You can remove persistent cookies by following directions provided in your Internet browser’s “help” file.
We use cookies to compile aggregate data about site traffic and site interaction so that we can offer better site experiences and tools in the future. We set a persistent cookie to store how you came to the Site and what listings and Content (as defined in the Terms of Use) you view. We may contract with third-party service providers to assist us in better understanding our site visitors. These service providers are not permitted to use the information collected on our behalf except to help us conduct and improve our business.
If you reject cookies, you will still be able to view the Site, but your ability to use some areas of the Site, such as automatically-generated recommendations, will be limited. You will be unable to log into the Site if you reject cookies.
Some of our business partners (e.g., analytical tracking software providers) use cookies and tracking technologies, including Google Analytics™, to collect information about use of the Site. The information collected by our business partners includes information such as how often you visit the Site, what pages you visit when you do so, what other sites you used prior to accessing the Site and the IP address assigned to you on the date you visit the Site. Our business partners do not collect your name or other identifying information. We use the information we get from these third party business partners only to improve the Site and tailor your access to the Services.
In connection with the Google Analytics tool, Google may plant a persistent cookie on your web browser to identify you as a unique user the next time you visit the Site, but the cookie cannot be used by anyone but Google. 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.
We have no access to or control over cookies or tracking technologies used by our business partners. This Policy covers the use of cookies on the Site and by us only and does not cover the use of cookies or tracking technologies by any such business partner. We have no access to or control over these cookies or tracking technologies. This Policy covers the use of cookies on the Sites and by us only and does not cover the use of cookies or tracking technologies by any such business partner.
The security of your account relies on your protection of your user name and password. You are responsible for maintaining the security of your user name and password. You are solely responsible for any and all activities that occur under your account. You may not share your password or user name with anyone. We will never ask you to send your password or other sensitive information to us in an email, though we may ask you to enter this type of information on the Site.
Any email or other communication requesting your password, asking you to provide sensitive account information via email, or linking to a website that does not link to this Policy should be treated as unauthorized and suspicious and should be reported to us immediately at contact@erstrategies.org If you do share your password with a third party for any reason, the third party will have access to your account and your personal information, and you may be responsible for actions taken using your password. If you believe someone else has obtained access to your password, please change it immediately by logging in to your account on the Site and changing your Profile settings. If you believe that an unauthorized access has already occurred please report it immediately at contact@erstrategies.org
We may have access to your password and may use such password to access your account for debugging, quality assurance, or other internal purposes.
You may review, correct, update or change your personally identifiable information on your account profile at any time. Simply log into your account, go to your Profile, review your personally identifiable information and, if you wish, edit it with the options provided. If you are unable to edit your personally identifiable information by logging into your account please contact us for assistance.
Occasionally, at our discretion, we may include or offer third party products or services on our Site by linking to third party websites (“Third Party Sites”). These sites include, among others, service providers and retail merchants who have a relationship with the Company.
Third Party Sites are not under the control of the Company, and the Company is not responsible for such Third Party Sites, including without limitation the accuracy, sufficiency, correctness, reliability, veracity, completeness, or timeliness thereof, any link contained therein, or any changes or updates thereto. The inclusion or access to Third Party Sites does not imply an endorsement thereof by the Company, or of the provider of such content or services, or of any third party web site. The Company reserves the right to terminate any link or linking program at any time. Nonetheless, we seek to protect the integrity of our Site and welcome any feedback about these Third Party Sites.
Please be aware that when you enter a Third Party Site, any information you provide, including financial information, is subject to the terms of use and privacy policy of that Third Party Site.
This Site and our Services are not directed to persons under the age of 13. If you become aware that your child has provided us with personal information without your consent, please contact us at contact@erstrategies.org We do not knowingly collect or solicit information from, market to or accept services from children. If we become aware that a child under 13 has provided us with personal information, we take steps to remove such information and terminate the child’s account.
Each time you use the Site, the current version of the Policy will apply. Accordingly, when you use the Site, you should check the date of this Policy (which appears at the top of the Policy) and review any changes since the last version. Our business changes frequently and this Policy is subject to change from time to time. Unless stated otherwise, our current Policy applies to all information that we have about you. We will not materially change our policies and practices to make them less protective of customer information collected in the past or collect substantially more customer information than in the past without the consent of affected customers.
You must promptly notify us if you become aware that any information provided by or submitted to the Site is lost, stolen, or used without permission.
This Policy is governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, U.S.A. without giving effect to any principles of conflict of law. Please note that our Services are intended only for use by residents of the United States. The United States and other countries have not harmonized their privacy regulations. Because ERS and its servers are located in the United States, the Company has written this Policy to satisfy United States regulations and the users of the Site and Services agree to that level of privacy protection. We ask that individuals residing outside of the United States refrain from accessing the Site or using the Services.
California Civil Code Section 1798.83 permits customers who are California residents and who have provided the Company with “personal information” (as that term is defined in Section 1798.83) to request certain information about the disclosure of that information to third parties for their direct marketing purposes. If you are a California resident with questions regarding this, please contact us via email at contact@erstrategies.org or by mail at the address listed in the “Contact Us” section below.
If you have questions regarding this Policy, you may contact us using the information below.
Education Resource Strategies
480 Pleasant St., Suite C-200
Watertown, MA 02472
Phone: 617-7607-8000
Fax: 617-600-6613
Email:
contact@erstrategies.org
Please also visit our Terms of Service establishing the use, disclaimers, and limitations of liability governing the use of our Site.
All trademarks, service marks, and other proprietary materials herein are the property of Education Resource Strategies, Inc., 2012. All rights reserved.
480 Pleasant Street, Suite C - 200
Watertown, MA 02472
617.607.8000