Privacy Statement

University of St. Thomas is committed to protecting your privacy. We use our Web-based services and associate sites to expedite requests for additional information, admission applications, housing and residence life deposits, parking permits, career services, alumni membership and philanthropy. In doing so, our goal is that all personal data we receive through our site is processed and managed according to established best practices.

We reserve the right to change this Privacy Statement from time to time at our sole discretion and without sending notice to you, so you should review this Privacy Statement periodically.  The effective date of this notice and any revised or changed notice may be found on this page, on the bottom right hand corner of the notice.

Below is an overview, which includes details regarding:

• What kind of information is collected
• How the information is collected
• How UST uses the information

Our Undergraduate Admission and Graduate Admission offices collect personally identifiable information from potential students who request applications and program information and those who elect to use our online admission applications or forms. This personally identifiable information includes, but is not limited to, name, address, birth date and social security number.

Residence Life, Security and Career Services & Testing offices gather personally identifiable information from students and employees that includes but is not limited to name, employee or student ID number, address and birth date.

Also, the Alumni Relations and Institutional Advancement offices collect personally identifiable information from potential donors requesting additional information and those who elect to use our online alumni community or the online giving form. This personally identifiable information includes but is not limited to names, phone number, email and physical addresses.

Online requests about admission to any academic program and enrollment applications are processed using encrypted connections to the servers. The information is then routed internally to the appropriate University of St. Thomas staff for follow-up. Access to this information is limited to University admission staff and University staff and faculty working on behalf of Admissions, and as described below.

The online information gathered by Residence Life, Security and Career Services & Testing offices are processed using encrypted connections to the servers and routed internally to the appropriate University of St. Thomas staff for follow-up, and as described below.

Likewise, online gifts made via this website are processed using encrypted connections to the servers. Access to this information is limited solely to University of St. Thomas Advancement staff to ensure the privacy and proper stewardship of financial and other personal information, and as described below.

We use no encryption (data scrambling) on certain portions of this site, but use encryption on portions where you are transmitting personally identifiable information and financial information, such as credit card information, or Social Security numbers. When you are on any web site that asks you for confidential information, you should check to see if the information being transmitted is encrypted in order to increase the security of your information.  Keep in mind that there is no such thing as perfect security.

Cookies

Cookies are small programs or files that allow computers to communicate through the Internet. The University uses cookies to help improve the online experience of site visitors by monitoring how they navigate the site and access certain functions. While these cookies are able to monitor visitor activity, they are not able to retrieve any information you do not provide yourself. Refusal to accept cookies will result in limited access to content or functionality.

Google Analytics

Many University of St. Thomas - Houston websites use Google Analytics which is a web analytics service provided by Google, Inc. Google Analytics employs cookies to define user sessions, which allows for the collection of data about how visitors are using the websites. Google Analytics uses only first-party cookies for data analysis.  This means that the cookies are linked to a specific website domain, and Google Analytics will only use that cookie data for statistical analysis related to your browsing behavior on that specific website.  According to Google, the data collected cannot be altered or retrieved by services from other domains.

If you choose, you can opt out by turning off cookies in the preferences settings in your web browser. Read more about opting out here.

For more information on Google Analytics, please visit:

• Google Analytics
• Google Analytics Terms of Service

We do not share any personally identifiable information with University personnel or third parties who are not involved in admission processes, philanthropy or decision making unless: (a) you grant us permission to do so; or (b) we are requested or required to do so by law.  We may disclose personally identifiable information you provide to third parties if required to do so by law or in the good faith belief that such preservation or disclosure is reasonably necessary to:  (a) complete the sales/donation transaction, such as providing your shipping information to our carrier; (b) comply with legal process; (c) enforce the Agreement; (d) respond to claims that any information you provide violates the rights of third parties; (e) protect the rights, property, or personal safety of the University, its users and/or the public; or (f) in the event that all or substantially all of the University’s assets are acquired by a third party. 

Additionally, some information, such as gender, age, high school or hometown, may be used in the aggregate to help the University further its recruitment and outreach efforts and to analyze application trends. When information is used in aggregate form, personally identifiable fields are excluded.

In addition to following strict guidelines regarding the sharing of personally identifiable information, we do not and will not sell the names or information collected through the website.

If you need to update or change information you have submitted, please contact the appropriate office:

• admissions@stthom.edu
• residencelife@stthom.edu
• security@stthom.edu
• career.services@stthom.edu
• alumni@stthom.edu
• advancement@stthom.edu

Or contact the University switchboard at 713-522-7911.

Applicable laws may give you additional rights that are not described in this privacy statement.

If you have questions regarding these practices or would like more details, please send us an email at privacy@stthom.edu or call the Executive Director of Privacy and Security 713-525-3156. For your protection, do not include highly sensitive information, such as a social security number, in your email.

This document was last updated on August 27, 2015