At Educopia, we are committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring that your personal information is handled responsibly. This privacy policy outlines how we collect, use, and protect your data when you visit our website, educopia.org. By using our website, you consent to the practices described in this policy. Educopia is home to a group of fiscal sponsees and an ongoing roster of Consulting and Research projects. Educopia does not actively collect personally identifying information about individuals—including our research partners, and users—beyond what is necessary to engage in the activities listed above. This policy intends to to help our website visitors, members, research partners, and research participants quickly understand how we collect, use, share, protect, and dispose of personal information.
Information We Collect
Our website collects limited, non-personally-identifying information about visitors (e.g., referring site, browser, date and time of visits). Educopia uses this data to improve the functionality of our website and the reach of our work. This information is used internally only, by Educopia staff members, for the sole purpose of refining our websites. We do not use potentially sensitive information collected by browsers and servers (e.g., Internet Protocol addresses) to identify visitors, and we do not disclose any information regarding these IP addresses to others. We do collect information regarding how often our resources are downloaded, and we do report this information as a bulk number in limited locations (e.g., our annual report or in grant reports to our funders), but this information is in no way personally identifiable and is reported only in the aggregate.
We do not collect personal information about you unless you choose to provide it. However, certain information may be automatically collected when you visit our website.
Automatically Collected Information:
When you visit educopia.org, we may collect the following information:
- IP Address: The Internet Protocol (IP) address from which you access our website.
- Date and Time: The date and time you access our site.
- Referring Site: The website from which you were referred to educopia.org.
- Interaction Data: The pages or content you viewed, links clicked, and other navigation patterns.
- Technical Information: The type of browser and operating system you use to access the website.
This data is used for the purpose of:
- Analyzing website traffic and usage patterns.
- Enhancing website functionality and user experience.
- Identifying and resolving performance issues.
We do not use this data to identify or track individual users.
Individuals may request accounts on our website for the purpose of accessing member-only content or authoring posts. The website stores a name, email address, a username, and a password for each account. The email address and password are always private, but the name and/or username may become public if the user engages in public activity on the site (e.g. authoring posts). You can request at any time that your account be deleted.
Cookies and Tracking Technologies (Google Analytics)
Like many websites, we use cookies and similar technologies to improve user experience. A cookie is a small text file that is placed on your browser to store information about your visit. This helps us to recognize your browser and provide a better user experience.
Types of Cookies We Use:
- Session Cookies: Temporary cookies that expire once you close your browser. These are used to improve navigation during a single session.
- Persistent Cookies: Cookies that remain on your device for a set period, allowing us to remember your preferences or settings for future visits.
These cookies help us:
- Collect aggregated, anonymous data on how visitors interact with our site.
- Track website performance and identify areas for improvement.
- Offer personalized content or experiences, where applicable.
You have control over cookie usage. Most browsers allow you to disable or delete cookies via their settings. Please refer to your browser’s help section for more information on managing cookies.
Personal Information You Provide
If you choose to share personal information with us, such as subscribing to our newsletter, sending inquiries, or applying for specific services, we will collect the data you provide, which may include:
- Name
- Email address
- Other information relevant to your interaction with our site
We use this information solely for the purposes for which you provide it:
- Responding to inquiries or requests.
- Processing subscription requests.
- Providing services or communications that you have explicitly requested.
We do not sell or share your personal information for marketing purposes. Your data will not be used to create individual profiles for commercial or marketing activities.
External Links
Our website may contain links to third-party websites. These links are provided for your convenience, and we do not endorse or control the content of these external sites. When you visit a third-party site, you are subject to their privacy policies, which may differ from ours. Educopia is not responsible for the content, privacy practices, or security of external websites.
Research And Assessment
Educopia conducts research and develops resources in support of its mission and vision. Except where permission has been explicitly given to share personally-identifiable information collected during these activities, we report out on responses only in the aggregate, usually to identify system-level challenges, gaps, or opportunities.
Educopia conducts surveys of memberships (e.g., votes on community activities) and event attendees (e.g., event assessment), and on occasion, we also survey broader networks (e.g., research projects with needs assessments, environmental scans, and other forms of data gathering). In these cases, Educopia typically does not collect personally identifying information. In circumstances where personally identifying information is collected, this information is used only to enable Educopia to follow up with the survey respondent within the spectrum of activities clearly documented within the survey instrument and agreed to by the visitor or respondent. The personally identifying information is not disclosed to anyone beyond the Educopia staff who serve as the Principal Investigators, Project Managers, or Lead Facilitators of these surveys. Our research projects report out on responses in the aggregate, usually to identify system-level challenges, gaps, or opportunities; they do not report out or share any personally identifying information about respondents.
Memberships and Other Affiliations
Educopia collects personally identifying information and potentially personally identifying information in the processing of memberships, sponsorships, and strategic affiliate relationships. This information is disclosed only to the Educopia employees and contractors who need to know that information in order to provide services (e.g., in order to process services or submit payments or invoice clients), and in all cases, these employees and contractors agree not to further disclose this information. Some of these employees and contractors will be located outside of the home countries of our web visitors, members, and research partners. By engaging with our programs and projects, visitors consent to the transfer of such information to those parties where it is necessary to perform services on their behalf.
Members and affiliates may also opt into communication channels (e.g. committee lists and community listservs) that require minimal personal information (i.e. name and email address). This information is not shared beyond Educopia staff and is used only for its intended purpose.
Data Requests and Data Deletion
Any individual who has participated in our programs and projects may request a copy of their personal information from our records at any time. Individuals may also request deletion of their information from our records and systems, though such information may be retained as necessary for Educopia to fulfill its legal or financial obligations. Personal data as described in the rest of this policy is the sum total data acquired, and is deemed non-sensitive. Within Research project work, Educopia retains historical personal data where necessary and in compliance with federal and funder guidelines. At the request of an individual, Educopia will fully delete personal data except as necessary to fulfill legal or financial obligations.
Event Registration
Self-selecting visitors to educopia.org and related pages on third-party web tools (e.g. Eventbrite) may choose to engage with Educopia programs or projects in ways that do lead them to share personally identifying information, including through event registrations (e.g., forums, workshops, webinars). In these cases, Educopia gathers only the amount and type of information that is necessary to the objective of the event (e.g., for an in-person forum event, collecting an attendee’s name, title, email address, and institutional affiliation). For some events, we may request information about attendees’ learning goals (i.e., motivation for registering for events) to help us assess the extent to which our assumptions about who the beneficiaries of events are are accurate. Visitors may refuse to supply this information at will, and Educopa does not share this personally-identifying information other than in specific, documented circumstances to which the visitor explicitly agrees (e.g., by checking a box that says “My name, title, institutional affiliation, and email address may be shared with other event attendees via an attendance roster” to opt into such information sharing). We send out post-event surveys to registered attendees. This data is not shared publicly and is only be used to assess the event’s impact.
Social Media
We engage with our audience on social media platforms such as LinkedIn, and others. We do not collect personal information through these platforms unless you choose to provide it. Please review the privacy settings and terms of service of any social media platform you interact with to understand how your information is used.
Data Security
We take the security of your data seriously and implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect it. While we strive to protect your information, please note that no method of data transmission over the internet is completely secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security, but we continually work to enhance our protection efforts.
Changes to This Privacy Policy
This policy will be reviewed and updated as needed; such updates are expected to occur rarely and they will be posted immediately to all Educopia websites. When visitors use our websites and tools, this constitutes their acceptance of the then-current, posted Privacy Policy.