Columbia Southern University (CSU) is committed to protecting your privacy. The university has established this privacy policy to communicate the manner in which it collects and uses your personal information as well as methods and efforts we use to safeguard it.

Personally Identifiable Information

Personally identifiable information (PII) is only collected with your approval, which is affirmed via actions, such as submitting online forms or phone calls. By PII, we are referring to information that can be used to identify or contact an individual. For example, you may choose to provide your name, address or telephone number when submitting an information request. PII is used by the university to assist individual visitors as necessary.  This assistance may involve redirecting an inquiry or comment to another university individual or department better suited to provide the requested service.

Non-Personally Identifiable Information

CSU collects a variety of information from website visitors. Some of this data is not personally identifiable and is collected automatically via the use of cookies and other standard web technologies. Automatically collected information might include operating system and web browser version, internet IP address, as well as the date and time web pages are visited. Non-personally identifiable information is stored in security and traffic logs on our servers and in cookies.

Use of Information

Directory information may be disseminated to specific parties pursuant to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). CSU does not sell or share user information to outside parties without prior written consent of the user; however, the university may share any user information with its employees, affiliates and partners, or independent contractors with a vested interest. In some cases, cookies provided by third-party services, including Google Analytics, may be used to review website performance and to identify enhancements that may benefit visitors based on current navigation patterns and search trends.

Security of Information

CSU takes security of information seriously and, as such, takes all reasonable precautionary measures to protect sensitive user information. CSU utilizes encryption wherever possible for sensitive information requested for submission via the World Wide Web. The university may contract with third-party vendors to show our advertisements on non-CSU websites and other digital delivery mechanisms.

FERPA

PII for enrolled students is protected by FERPA administered by the U.S. Department of Education. Please visit our FERPA page for more information. "Directory information" disclosures include verifying enrollment for employment or credit application purposes.

GDPR

CSU observes the applicable principles of the EU General Data Protection Regulation.

For further information, please refer to our Technology Policies in the Student Handbook or contact us at DataSecurityOfficer@columbiasouthern.edu.