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Privacy Policy

This privacy policy and agreement (the "Privacy Policy" or "Policy") explains how, with your permission (as set out below), Smith College ("Smith," "we" or "us") collects, uses, and treats information that we receive from you through our Web site (available at www.smith.edu) (the "Web site" or "site"). The terms "you" and "your" refer to any person providing us with Personal Information (as that term is defined below) through our Web site. For your convenience, Section 14 (Definitions) provides a set of definitions used in this Privacy Policy. This Privacy Policy does not cover Personal Information that you provide to us through other means, such as through telephone calls and traditional mailing.

  1. Your Consent. Please read this Privacy Policy carefully as your consent to it creates legal obligations on you and on us. By accessing and using our Web site, you acknowledge and agree to be legally bound by this Privacy Policy. In addition, for certain activities on the site we may further confirm your consent to this Policy by asking you to click an "I accept" button referring to this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with the terms of this Privacy Policy, please contact us in accordance with Section 15.6 (Contact Us) or refrain from using our site.
  2. Types of Information You May Provide. Information we may collect on our site falls into two categories: (i) Anonymous Information, and (ii) Personal Information. These categories are defined as follows:
  • 2.1. Anonymous Information. The term "Anonymous Information" means information that does not identify you individually, and may include, for example, statistical information concerning the pages on our Web site that you visit most frequently.
  • 2.2 Personal Information. The term "Personal Information" means information about you that would allow us (or others) to identify you including, but not limited to, your name, gender, birth date, ethnicity, student ID number, mailing address, financial account information, Social Security number, telephone number, e-mail address and other similar information.
  1. Your Choices Concerning Personal Information. You decide whether you wish to provide us with Personal Information. We have structured our Web site so that you may visit us and obtain information related to Smith without revealing your identity, or providing any Personal Information. Please note, however, that certain Web site services offered by us may require that you provide us with Personal Information. For example, you cannot schedule a research appointment with our library staff or submit an event request form without providing us with Personal Information. In addition, you cannot provide Submitted Content to us for posting on our Web site without providing a level of Personal Information.
  2. Our Uses of Your Personal Information. You decide whether you wish to provide us with Personal Information. By way of example, we may collect information from you at different points (for example, when you give a gift to Smith online), and use this information as follows:
  • 4.1. Information You Wish to Have Posted on the Web Site or Alerts. We collect Personal Information from you when you provide us with Submitted Content for posting on our Web site or inclusion in other areas such as in Smith's eDigest, the Grécourt Gate or our Alerts. We may use this Personal Information to respond to you, verify your identity, and for other purposes. Please review Section 5 (Submitted Content) for information concerning how we treat Submitted Content (and any Personal information contained in that content) you may post on our Web site or in our Alerts.
  • 4.2. Ada Comstock Online Application. We collect Personal Information from you when you apply online to the Ada Comstock Scholars Program, and we use this information in connection with your application including, but not limited to, evaluating your candidacy to the Scholars Program, verifying the information you submit, and to contact you regarding your application.
  • 4.3. Communications to Us. If you send us an e-mail with questions, comments, or requests for additional information, or if you include your Personal Information when providing us with feedback about Smith, our Web site and Web site services, we may use your e-mail address and other information included in your correspondence to respond to you.
  • 4.4. Sending ePostcards. You can send ePostcards to third parties through one of several pages available on our Web site. If you wish to do so, you must provide us with Personal Information — including names and e-mail addresses for both you and the recipient. When giving us the recipient's name and e-mail address, please be sure that you first have the recipient's permission to do so. We may use your e-mail address and other Personal Information included in your request to contact you if we are unable to process your request.
  • 4.5. Giving to Smith. We collect Personal information in connection with your online giving of gifts to Smith. We request a variety of information in connection with your provision of a gift including contact information, the purpose of the gift, information about the gift, and payment information. We use this information to process your gift, and may use it to contact you if we have questions or trouble with our processing. In addition, we use a reputable vendor to process your online gift, and you submit your payment information to this vendor via a third-party site. Please see Section 6 (Third-Party Sites) for additional information.
  • 4.6. Verifying Your Identity. When you request information or services from us via the Web site, we may collect additional Personal Information beyond what we originally received from you in order to verify your identity and process your request. This is designed to further protect you and to reduce the threat of identity theft and fraudulent requests.
  • 4.7. Promotion of Smith. We believe that your experiences can often act as the strongest promotion of Smith. To promote Smith, we may wish to post on our Web site or elsewhere, endorsements from you or descriptions you provide about your experiences with Smith. You agree that your Personal Information and experiences with us may be used and adapted for these purposes (without the need for compensation). If we use your Personal Information and experiences in this manner and such use discloses other Personal Information, we will obtain your permission before using any other Personal Information.
  • 4.8. Staying Updated; Alerts and Other Communications to You. You may provide us with your e-mail address and other Personal Information so that we can send you information concerning Smith, our site, Web site services, and other information and publications (collectively, the "Alerts"). In addition, we may use your Personal Information to provide you with other information that we believe may be of interest to you. You will have the ability to opt out of receiving these materials, as provided in Section 10 (Opting Out).
  • 4.9. Informational Notices and Bulletins. Periodically, we may choose to send news, bulletins, or other information to you, and will use Personal Information to send such communications. If we choose to undertake such communications, you will have the ability to opt out of receiving them as provided in Section 10 (Opting Out); provided, however, that there are certain communications for which you cannot opt out. Please refer to Section 10 (Opting Out) for more details.
  • 4.10. Surveys. We may periodically initiate surveys on our site, through the mail or by other means, and we may request Personal Information from you in connection with such surveys. You are free to choose whether to participate in these surveys. Survey information will be used for purposes of monitoring or improving the use and appeal of our site, Web site services, and for other purposes. The information we receive through the survey will be used in accordance with this Privacy Policy; provided, however, that if we want to use your information in a manner different than as set forth in this Policy, we will notify you of relevant details in connection with asking for your participation in such surveys.
  • 4.11. Providing Other Services. We use Personal Information to provide the information and services that you request in addition to those specifically identified in this Section 4 (Our Uses of Your Personal Information). We may use the Personal Information you submit in any manner we reasonably deem necessary to provide you with any of the information or services that you request from us via the Web site.
  1. Submitted Content. You may choose to provide to us for posting publicly on our Web site or elsewhere, and in certain circumstances you may post directly, information that includes a level of Personal Information. Any Personal Information that you include as part of Submitted Content will be treated as Submitted Content, and will not be treated as Personal information, and we may choose (in our sole discretion) to publicly post Submitted Content on our Web site as you request. Please keep in mind that Personal Information posted in this manner is not subject to the provisions of this Privacy Policy. If you are posting Personal Information concerning an individual other than yourself, be sure that you have permission from that individual to make the posting. Please review our Terms of Use for more information on how we treat the information you wish to post on our Web site and elsewhere (referred to as "Submitted Content" in our Terms of Use).
  2. Third-Party Sites. Our site and Alerts contain links to other sites. Please be aware that we are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of other sites. For example, online applications are processed through The Common Application, Inc. and when you give a gift to Smith, your information is processed by a third party vendor. In addition, for example, third parties operate the alumnae Web site, GroupWise, BannerWeb and Moodle, all of which are accessible through are Web site. We encourage you to be aware when you leave our site and to read the privacy policies of each Web site that collects Personal Information. This Privacy Policy applies solely to information collected by our site and does not, for example, apply to information collected by a site operated by a third party. Rest assured, however, that Personal Information we receive from third-party sites will be treated by us as Personal Information pursuant to this Privacy Policy, unless such information is included with Submitted Content. For example, information we receive from Twitter may be posted on publicly accessible portions of our site, even if the information contains a level of Personal Information.
  3. Disclosures to Third Parties. We will not disclose Personal Information about you to third parties without your express consent, except in the following circumstances:
  • 7.1. Vendors. We employ other companies to perform functions both on our and your behalf, such as providing Web site services, maintaining the Web site, collecting information, responding to and sending electronic mail, and other functions necessary to support Smith, the Web site and the Web site services (collectively, "Vendors"). We will provide Vendors with only that Personal Information necessary to perform their functions, and instruct them not to use Personal Information for any purpose inconsistent with this Policy. We require that our Vendors agree contractually to comply with privacy laws, and agree to maintain protections for Personal Information consistent with this Policy.
  • 7.2. Questions of Harm. We may reveal Personal Information about you on a case-by-case basis to attorneys, private investigation organizations, or law enforcement agencies if we believe: (i) that you are in risk of harm from another; (ii) that you are harming or interfering (or will harm or interfere) with others; or (iii) are violating (either intentionally or unintentionally) our Terms of Use or are otherwise violating legal obligations.
  • 7.3. Legal. We will reveal Personal Information about you to the extent we reasonably believe we are required to do so by law. If we receive legal process calling for the disclosure of your Personal Information, we may attempt to notify you via the e-mail address you provided (if any) within a reasonable amount of time before we respond to the request, unless such notification is not permitted. In addition, we may share your Personal Information with third parties as otherwise permitted by law in order, for example, to protect against fraud, the confidentiality or security of our business records, or to comply with applicable legal requirements.
  • 7.4. Transfer of Ownership. We shall be entitled to transfer Personal Information to a third party in connection with a sale of all or substantially all of the assets of the entity responsible for the information under this Policy, provided the acquiring third party has agreed to safeguard your Personal Information with protections that in all material respects are the same as or more protective than those set out in this Privacy Policy.
  1. Our Use of Anonymous Information. We use Anonymous Information to analyze the effectiveness of our site, to improve our Web site and Web site services, and for other purposes. For example, the fact that our site users spend a majority of their time reading information on living at Smith would constitute Anonymous Information, if that information does not identify a particular user. This information provides us with potentially useful data concerning our site users' preferences and the efficacy and interest of our site and our Web site services. In addition, from time to time, we may undertake or commission statistical and other summary analyses of the general behavior and characteristics of Web site users, and the use of our Web site and Web site services, and may share Anonymous Information with third parties, including advertisers (if any). Rest assured, though, that Anonymous Information provided to third parties will not allow anyone to identify you, or determine anything personal about you. We may collect Anonymous Information through features of the software supporting our Web site and Web site services through both the means described below and other means.
  • 8.1. IP Addresses; Logs. Either directly, or through our hosting service provider, we may automatically receive and record information in our server logs from your browser, including your IP address (the Internet address of your PC), your computer's name, the type and version of your Web browser, referrer addresses, where the computer is routing from, and other generally-accepted log information. We may also record page views (hit counts) and other general statistical and tracking information, which will be aggregated with that of other users in order to understand how our Web site is being used, and for security and monitoring purposes.
  • 8.2. Cookies. A cookie is a small amount of data that often includes an anonymous unique identifier, which is sent to your browser from a Web site's computers and stored on your computer's hard drive. Cookies can be used to provide you with a tailored user experience and to make it easier for you to use a Web site upon a future visit. We may include cookies on our Web site and use them to recognize you when you return to our site. In addition, other third-party Web sites may recognize our cookies stored on your computer's hard drive, and use that information to provide you with information related to the content of our Web site. You may set your browser so that it does not accept cookies. However, cookies must be enabled on your Web browser if you wish to access certain personalized features of our site.
  • 8.3. Tags. We may use so-called "pixel tags," which are small graphic images (also know as "Web beacons," "single-pixel GIFS" or "Web bugs"), to tell us what parts of our Web site have been visited, to measure the effectiveness of searches users perform on our site, and for other purposes. Pixel tags also enable us to send e-mail messages in a format users can read, and they inform us whether e-mails have been opened, to help ensure that our messages are of interest to recipients. None of this data includes Personal Information, and you can "opt out" of receiving these types of e-mails from us by following the directions provided in Section 10 (Opting Out). If any Personal Information is collected using such tools, it will be subject to the terms of this Privacy Policy.
  • 8.4. Click-Throughs. We may send e-mail messages which use a "click-through URL" linked to content on our Web site. When you click one of these URLs, you pass through our Web server before arriving at the destination Web page. We track this click-through data to help determine interest in particular topics and measure the effectiveness of our communications. If you prefer not to be tracked simply do not click text or graphic links in the e-mail, or notify us in accordance with Section 10 (Opting Out).
  • 8.5. Banner Ads; Advertising Profiles. Our site may include the use of ad banner partners for the serving and/or targeting of ads, promotions, and other marketing messages. These ads may be provided, in some cases, by a third party ad service provider or advertiser (collectively, "Advertisers"). These Advertisers may use traditional banner ads, or other advertising methods, such as advertising using profiles and related content. An Advertiser may place or utilize its own cookie on your browser, and may use Anonymous Information about your visit to our site, such as the number of times you have viewed the ad. If the Advertiser requests that you provide Personal Information to it, please be aware that this Advertiser's use and collection of this information will be governed by its own privacy policy, and not our Privacy Policy. We recommend that you review the Advertiser's privacy policy before providing Personal Information.
  1. Any Anonymous Information Linked with Personal Information is Protected as "Personal Information." To enable us to better understand your characteristics and/or to provide services tailored to your needs, we may link Personal Information with Anonymous Information. If we combine or link any Anonymous Information with your Personal Information, the resulting combination will be treated and protected as Personal Information under this Privacy Policy.
  2. Opting Out. Because we respect privacy rights, we allow you to opt out of receiving certain information. If we choose to send bulletins, Alerts, or other communications to you, we will provide you with the ability to decline, or "opt out of", receiving such communications. In addition, you have the option to unsubscribe to our Alerts, and we will take reasonable steps to comply with this request in a timely manner. Instructions for opting out will be provided if and when we determine to send such a communication. Please understand that you will not be allowed to opt out of formal notices concerning the operation of our Web site, and legal and other related notices concerning your relationship to us, the Web site or Web site services.
  3. Access; Removing Information. To allow you appropriate control over your Personal Information, you can request us to change, update or delete Personal Information that you have previously submitted to us. We will take reasonable steps to verify your identity before fulfilling such requests. You may also delete your name and other Personal Information from our databases. Please understand, however, that it may be impossible to remove this information completely due to system backups and records of deletions. In addition, if you request the deletion of your Personal Information, you will be unable to utilize the services associated with that Personal Information. We will fulfill deletion requests within a reasonable time.
  4. Offline Collection of Personal Information. You are able to access a variety of different forms through the Web site including, for example, event request forms, payroll forms, and service request forms. Many of the forms you can access on our Web site require you to provide Personal information. Although you can access and print many of our forms online, we require you to submit the completed form to us offline, and not through our Web site. We provide additional terms regarding how we collect and use Personal Information when you provide such information to us through means other than our Web site (collectively, the "Other Policies"). Accordingly, the Other Policies, and not this Privacy Policy, govern how we treat Personal Information we collect from you offline. Please contact us pursuant to Section 15.6 (Contact Us) if you have any questions.
  5. Security. We have put in place security systems, physical and technical safeguards, and quality controls designed to prevent unauthorized access to, or disclosure of, Personal Information (collectively, the "Security Safeguards"). Our Security Safeguards are structured to deter and prevent unauthorized users and others from accessing Personal Information. Please understand that our Security Safeguards are not fail-proof and, due to the nature of internet communications and evolving technologies, we cannot provide, and expressly disclaim (to the extent permitted by law), assurance that the information we receive about you via the Web site will remain free from loss, misuse, or alteration by third parties who, despite our efforts, obtain unauthorized access. Please note that you play a key role in protecting the security of your Personal Information. For example, you should guard your password to our Web site, and not give it to others to use. In addition, you should close your browser when have finished viewing your information on our Web site, to prevent others from viewing your Personal Information.
  6. Definitions.
  • 14.1. Anonymous Information. The term "Anonymous Information" has the meaning set forth in Section 2.1 (Anonymous Information) of this Privacy Policy.
  • 14.2. Other Policies. The term "Other Policies" has the meaning set out in Section 12 (Offline Collection of Personal Information).
  • 14.3. Personal Information. The term "Personal Information" has the meaning set out in Section 2.2 (Personal Information) of this Privacy Policy.
  • 14.4. Smith, we, and our. The terms "Smith", "we", and "us" have the meaning set out in the introduction to this Privacy Policy.
  • 14.5. Submitted Content. The term "Submitted Content" has the meaning set out in our Terms of Use.
  • 14.6. Web site Services. The term "Web site services" has the meaning set out in our Terms of Use.
  • 14.7. You and your. The terms "you" and "your" have the meaning set out in the introduction to this Privacy Policy.
  1. Additional General Provisions.
  • 15.1. Privacy Protection for Children. Our Web site is not directed at children, and we will not accept or request Personal Information from individuals we know to be under 13 years old. In accordance with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act ("COPPA"), if we learn that a child under 13 years old has provided Personal Information, we will either: (i) delete this information from our databases in accordance with our deletion procedures set out in Section 11 (Access; Removing Information), or (ii) obtain verifiable parental consent in accordance with COPPA.
  • 15.2. Changes to Our Privacy Policy. We may change our Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make any changes regarding the Privacy Policy, we will post the new Policy on our Web site. Changes to the Privacy Policy will become effective upon your consent pursuant to Section 1 (Your Consent), at which point the new Privacy Policy shall govern information we collect from you.
  • 15.3. Disclaimer Notice. We make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, currency, completeness, or adequacy of the content of this Web site, Web site services, or Submitted Content, and expressly disclaim liability for errors and omissions in the related content. No warranty of any kind, implied, express or statutory, including but not limited to warranties of non-infringement of third party rights, title, merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and freedom from computer virus, is given with respect to the Web site services, Submitted Content, the Web site and its links to other internet resources, or other communications. Although we have put in place security systems (as described in this Privacy Policy) that are designed to prevent unauthorized disclosure of your Personal Information, due to the nature of internet technologies we cannot provide assurances as to the security of this information, and expressly disclaim any such obligation.
  • 15.4. Site Privileges. You agree to refrain from all activity that imposes an unreasonable burden on the site, and we reserve the right, in our sole discretion, to limit the access of any user violating this Privacy Policy.
  • 15.5. Choice of Law and Jurisdiction; Translations. This Privacy Policy shall be construed in accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, without regard to any conflict of law provisions. Any dispute arising under this Privacy Policy shall be resolved exclusively by the state or federal courts sitting in the judicial district that includes Hampshire County, Massachusetts. This Privacy Policy may be translated into languages other than English (collectively, "Translations"). Any communications sent by us to you shall be sent in English. Dispute resolution procedures arising out of either this Privacy Policy or the Translations shall be conducted in English, and the English version of this Privacy Policy shall control over the Translations.
  • 15.6. Contact Us. If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, the practices of this site, or your dealings with this Web site, please contact us at: webmaster@smith.edu.
  • 15.7. Complete Agreement. This Privacy Policy must be read in conjunction with our Terms of Use and Other Policies, and the provisions of our Terms of Use and Other Policies are incorporated herein. To the extent the Terms of Use or Other Policies conflict with the terms of this Privacy Policy, the terms of this Privacy Policy shall control. Moreover, the terms of the Terms of Use shall, to the extent they conflict with the terms of the Other Policies, control over the Other Policies.

Effective Date: July 26, 2011.