Privacy and Cookie Policy

Revised 3/24/2021

This Privacy and Cookie Policy (the “Policy”) applies to those who access and/or interact with the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, Inc. (“ABET”) website located at www.abet.org and all subpages/subdomains (collectively, the “Site”).  Through the Site, users may register and establish accounts.  As used in this Policy, the term “Platform” means the Site and any mobile applications that we make available; the terms “ABET,” “we,” “us,” and “our” mean ABET, with offices at 415 North Charles Street, Baltimore, Maryland, USA (as the data controller); and the terms “you” and “your” mean the individual who accesses the Site and/or the Platform.   For individuals in the European Union subject to the EU General Data Protection Regulation, please refer to the information concerning “EEA Resident Rights” in the “Other Important Privacy Information” section below.  If you object to all or any portion of the Policy after it becomes effective for you, you must notify us as specified in the Contact Us section below, and you may no longer use the Platform.

This Policy explains how we collect, process and/or use information that we receive via the Platform, as the same may be amended/changed from time to time.  This Policy describes how ABET collects, processes, uses, shares and secures the personal information you provide.  It also describes your choices regarding use, access, and correction of your personal information. For purposes of this Policy, personal information shall mean any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person.

This Policy applies only to information we collect, process and use through the Platform. This Policy does not apply to information that we collect through other channels, such as information that we collect offline, from other websites or from emails you send us.

Information We Collect

We collect information about you to provide our services. In order for us to best provide our services to you (and to help make it feasible for us to do so), it is essential that we are able to collect and use the information as described in this Policy. This means that the data collection is largely necessary for fulfilling the relationship we have with you, and where that is not the case, we have a legitimate interest in collecting the information described below.

Information You Give Us

When you fill out registration forms or actively provide us with other personal information, we collect that information for processing and use in accordance with this Policy. Because we change our offerings and features from time to time, the options you have to provide us with personal information also may change, but here are some examples of situations in which you will have the opportunity to provide personal information to us:

• Signing up for email alerts.
• Completing a form related to one of our products or services.
• Contacting us for technical support or customer service.

Depending on how you interact with our Platform, the personal information we collect from you may vary. For example, to create an account we may ask only for an email address and password. In other circumstances, such as when you complete a form related to a particular offering, we may ask you to provide other information, which may include your name, phone number and/or postal address. We also collect and store certain information associated with actions you take. For example, when you search for programs, we store the titles and locations of the programs you search for and select. We also store information about the time and duration of your activity on our Platform, and other information about your behavior on our Platform.

On certain ABET domains, when you set up an individual user account on the Platform, you may create a profile (a “Profile”) that will include personal information you provide. When you fill out and save your Profile, your saved Profile can be viewed by ABET.

If you enter debit or credit card information on the Platform in connection with a purchase or registration for an ABET event, that information is sent directly from your browser to the third-party service provider we use to manage debit/credit card processing and we do not store it on our servers. The service provider is not permitted to use the information you provide except for the sole purpose of debit/credit card processing on our behalf.

Information We Collect Automatically

When you use the Platform, the device you use to access the Platform is automatically providing information to us. The type of information we collect by automated means generally includes technical information about your device, such as your Internet Protocol (“IP”) address or other device identifier, the type of device you use, and operating system version. The information we collect also may include usage information and statistics about your interaction with the Platform. That information may include the URLs of web pages that you visited, URLs of referring and exiting pages, page views, time spent on a page, number of clicks, platform type, location data (if you have enabled access to your location on your mobile device) and other information about how you used the Platform.

Automated means of data collection include the following:

Cookies and Tracking Technologies. Technologies such as: cookies, web beacons, locally shared objects (sometimes called “flash cookies”), mobile identifiers and similar technologies (“Cookies”) are used by ABET and our partners (such as advertising, marketing and analytics providers). We use Cookies to remember users’ settings as well as for authentication/security and analytics. These technologies may be used in analyzing trends, administering the Platform, tracking users’ movements around the Platform and to gather demographic information about our user base. We work with third parties, such as Google Analytics, to provide analytics services that use the Cookies set on your device to track traffic to ABET generally.  We use two types of Cookies on the Platform: “session cookies” and “persistent cookies.” Session Cookies are temporary Cookies that remain on your device until you leave the Platform. A persistent Cookie remains on your device for much longer until you manually delete it (how long the Cookie remains will depend on the duration or “lifetime” of the specific Cookie and your browser settings).  You can control the use of Cookies at the individual browser level, but if you choose to disable Cookies, it may limit your use of certain features or functions on our Platform.

Log File Information. Log file information is automatically reported by your browser or mobile application each time you access a website on our Platform. For example, when you access the ABET website, our servers automatically record certain information that your web browser sends when you visit any website. These server logs include information such as your web request, IP address, browser type, referring/exit pages and URLs, number of clicks, domain names, landing pages, and pages viewed.

Device Information. We collect information about the device you use to access the Platform, including type of device, operating system, settings, unique device identifiers and IP address. Whether we collect some or all of this information often depends on what type of device you are using and its settings. For example, different types of information are available depending on whether you are using a Mac or a PC, or an iPhone or Android phone. We collect the device type and any other information you choose to provide, such as email address. We also use mobile analytics software to allow us to better understand the functionality of our mobile software on your mobile device. This software records information such as how often you use the application, the events that occur within the application, aggregated usage, performance data, and the geographic location from where the application was downloaded. We do not link the information we store within the analytics software to any personally identifiable information you submit within the Platform.

How We Use Information

We use the information we collect to provide our services. It is essential that we are able to collect and use the information as described in this Policy to fulfill the relationship we have with you, and, where that is not the case, we have a legitimate interest in using the information we collect, including personal information, for these purposes:

• To provide you with personalized content and offerings by ABET as well as promotional content and services.
• To improve the features, performance and support of the Platform.
• To transmit and save your requests (including any applications you complete).
• For internal operations, including troubleshooting, data analysis, testing, research and service improvement (this includes use of your IP address and mobile device information to help diagnose problems with our service and to administer the Platform).
• To communicate with you or initiate communication with you through other means such as email or postal mail, including through the use of contact information that you provide to us or (where it is lawful for us to do so) that we otherwise obtain from third-party resources.
• To analyze use of the Platform and improve the Platform.
• To create aggregate and statistical data that does not identify you individually and that we can commercialize (for example, we use mobile device data and IP addresses to gather demographic information).

When we collect any information that does not identify you as a specific natural person (“Non-Personal Information”), you agree that we are permitted to use and disclose this information for any purpose, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Policy, except where we are required to do otherwise by applicable law. Examples of Non-Personal Information include: physical location information; demographic information, including gender, dates of birth, ZIP codes, etc.; or any personal information that has been anonymized, aggregated or de-identified. If we combine any Non-Personal Information with your personal information (such as combining your ZIP code with your name), we will use and disclose such combined information as personal information in accordance with this policy. Similarly, if applicable law requires that we treat certain Non-Personal Information as personal information, we will use and disclose this information as personal information in accordance with this Policy.

How We Share Information

We only disclose your personal information to third parties as follows:

• We use affiliated and unaffiliated service providers all over the world (including web servers, cloud storage systems, CRM providers, email services, content support teams, marketing partners, and others) to help us deliver our service and run our business subject to strict confidentiality agreements. These companies are authorized to use your personal information only as necessary to provide these services to us.
• We will disclose your information if we believe in good faith such disclosure is necessary (1) to comply with relevant laws or to respond to subpoenas or warrants or legal process served on us; (2) as we otherwise deem necessary and is permitted by applicable laws to protect and defend our rights and/or property and those of the users of our services or third parties; or (3) as permitted under applicable laws to meet national security and similar requirements.

Choices Regarding Your Personal Information

We will send you notifications if you have opted-in to promotional communications or other messages using the contact information you provided to us when you registered or when you requested information from us. You may opt-out of continuing to receive optional messages by following the instructions included in each message.

How Long We Keep Your Personal Information

We keep your personal information only so long as we need it to provide the Platform to you and fulfill the purposes described in this Policy. This is also the case for anyone that we share your personal information with and who carries out services on our behalf. Retention periods can vary significantly based on the type of information and how it is used. Our retention periods are based on criteria that include legally mandated retention periods, pending or potential litigation, our intellectual property or ownership rights, contract requirements, operational directives or needs, and historical archiving. When we no longer need to use your personal information and there is no need for us to keep it to comply with our legal or regulatory obligations, resolve disputes and enforce our agreements, we will either remove it from our systems or depersonalize it so that we cannot identify you.

Privacy of Minors

To access or use the Platform you must be at least 16 years of age or, if older, the age of majority in your jurisdiction, otherwise you may not use the Platform. If you become aware that a child has provided us with personal information without parental consent, please contact us here. If we become aware that a child has provided us with personal information without parental consent, we will remove such information and terminate the child’s account.

Updates to Our Privacy Policy

We may revise this Policy from time to time by posting an updated version on the Platform. If we make a change that we believe materially reduces your rights or increases your responsibilities, we will notify you by email (sent to the email address specified in your account) or by means of a notice within the Platform prior to the change becoming effective. We may provide notice of changes in other circumstances as well. We encourage you to periodically review the Platform for the latest information on our privacy practices.  You can object to updates to this Policy within thirty (30) days after the revision date, but you will no longer be able to use the Platform if you do not agree to the most current version of this Policy. Your continued use of the Platform is subject to the most current effective version of this Policy.

Contact Us:

If you have any questions or suggestions regarding this Privacy and Cookie Policy, please contact us by mail, email or telephone at:

ABET
415 North Charles St.
Baltimore, Maryland, 21201
USA

Phone: +1.410.347.7700

Email: comms@abet.org

Data Protection Policy

EEA Resident Rights: If you are a resident of the European Economic Area, please review this supplemental information concerning data protection rights:

• If you wish to access, correct, update or request deletion of your personal information, you can do so at any time by using the contact details provided under the Contact Us above.
• In addition, you can object to processing of your personal information, ask us to restrict processing of your personal information or request portability of your personal information. Again, you can exercise these rights by using the contact details provided under Contact Us above.
• You have the right to opt-out of marketing communications we send you at any time. You can exercise this right by clicking on the “unsubscribe” or “opt-out” link in the marketing emails we send you. Registered users can manage their account settings and email marketing preferences as described in the “Choices Regarding Your Personal Information” section above. If you are an unregistered user, or to opt-out of other forms of marketing (such as postal marketing), you may contact us using the details provided under Contact Us above.
• Similarly, if we have collected and processed your personal information with your consent, then you can withdraw your consent at any time. Withdrawing your consent will not affect the lawfulness of any processing we conducted prior to your withdrawal, nor will it affect processing of your personal information conducted in reliance on lawful processing grounds other than consent.
• You have the right to complain to a data protection authority about our collection and use of your personal information. For more information, please contact your local data protection authority.

We respond to all requests we receive from individuals wishing to exercise their data protection rights in accordance with applicable data protection laws. Notwithstanding the foregoing, we reserve the right to keep any information in our archives that we deem necessary to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes and enforce our agreements.

Rights of Data Subjects:

• Consent and the right to be informed
• Privacy notice
• Procedures to handle personal data not obtained from the data subject
• Right of access to personal data of data subject
• Data portability
• Data Rectification and Erasure
• Individual right to seek restriction on data processing
• Individual objections and automated decision making

If you want to raise a question to ABET, or otherwise exercise your rights in respect of your personal data, you may do so by:

• Sending an email to DataRep at datarequest@datarep.com quoting <ABET> in the subject line
• Contacting us on our online webform at datarep.com/data-request

If you have any concerns over how DataRep will handle the personal data we will require to undertake our services, please refer to our privacy notice at www.datarep.com/privacy-policy