Privacy Policy

American Councils for International Education: ACTR/ACCELS, Inc. (American Councils, we, us, our) takes your privacy seriously. We respect and value the privacy of everyone who visits our website — www.americancouncils.org — (American Councils Website) and when the online Applicant Information System — ais.americancouncils.org/start — (AIS) website is used (collectively, Our Sites). We will only collect and use your personal data in ways that are described herein, and in a way that is consistent with our obligations and your rights under applicable privacy and data protection regulations.

Information About Us

Our Sites are owned and operated by American Councils and are applicable to our subsidiaries and affiliates. American Councils is a nonprofit organization registered in the State of Maryland, United States of America, with its Head Offices located at 1828 L Street NW, Suite 1200, Washington, D.C. 20036‑5136, United States of America. We participate in numerous countries globally, which include offices located in 10 Member States of the European Union.

How Do We Collect Personal Data

We collect personal data from you in one or more of the following ways:

When we register you to use AIS
When you use forms on the AIS website
When you complete the Contact Us form on the American Councils Website
When you sign up to or agree to receive our email subscriptions
When you donate to us
When you apply for a job with us on our career/employment pages

What Personal Data Do We Collect

Depending upon your use of Our Sites and/or services, we may collect some or all the following personal data from you:

First, middle, and last names
Gender
Mailing address(es)
Email address(es)
Telephone number(s)
Countries of citizenship(s) or residency(ies)
IP address
Web browser type
Operating system
A list of URLs starting with a referring site, your activity on Our Sites and the site you exit to
Other personally identifiable information you choose to provide to us

How Do We Use Your Personal Data

It is our practice not to ask you for personal data unless we need it or intend to use it. We use the personal data you choose to share with us.

This may be because:

The data is necessary for our performance of a contract with you; or
You have consented to our use of your personal data; or
It is in our legitimate business interests to process your personal data; or
We have a legal obligation to process your personal data.

Your personal data will be used for one or more of the following purposes:

Sending you program and other informational materials
Providing and maintaining AIS, including to monitor the usage of AIS
Managing your registration as a user of AIS, which can give you access to different functionalities of AIS and the personally identifiable information of applicants and participants in American Councils' programs
Providing operational and technical support to you while you use AIS
Other processes and activities that are consistent with the operation of AIS, such as identifying usage trends, and evaluating and improving AIS

What Are Your Rights and How Can You Access Your Personal Data

For Citizens and Residents of the EEA:

Under the GDPR you have the following rights:

The right to be informed about our collection and use of your personal data. This Privacy Policy should tell you everything you need to know, but you can always contact us to find out more or ask any questions using the contact details found at the end of this Privacy Policy.
The right to access the personal data we hold about you. You will be informed how to do this in this Privacy Policy.
The right to have your personal data corrected if any of your personal data held by us is inaccurate or incomplete. Please contact us using the contact details found at the end of this Privacy Policy.
The right to be forgotten, which is, the right to ask us to delete or otherwise dispose of any of your personal data that we have. Please contact us using the contact details found at the end of this Privacy Policy.
The right to restrict, or prevent, the processing of your personal data.
The right to object to us using your personal data for a particular purpose or purposes.
The right to data portability. This means that you can ask us for a copy of that personal data to re-use with another service or business in applicable cases.
The right to not be subjected to automated decision-making and profiling. This means that if we use automated decision-making or profiling, and this has legal consequences for you, you have the right to have your data reviewed by a natural person.
The right to lodge a complaint with the relevant Data Protection Authority in your country. You have the right to submit a complaint to the Data Protection Authority when you are not satisfied with our response to your request or you feel that we have not treated you in accordance with relevant rights under the GDPR.

If you want to know what personal data we have about you, you can ask us for details of that personal data and for a copy of it (where such personal data is held). This is known as a data subject access request.

All subject access requests should be made in writing and sent to the email address shown below. Please note that we may ask you to verify your identity before responding to such requests. We will respond to your request within 30 days of receiving such request.

There is normally no charge for a subject access request. If your request is manifestly unfounded or excessive (for example, if you make repetitive requests) a fee many be charged to cover our administrative costs in responding.

Exercising Your Rights or Submitting a Complaint to American Councils in the EEA

For more information about our use of your personal data or exercising your rights as outlined above, please contact us using the contact details provided at the end of this Privacy Policy.

Further information about your rights can also be obtained from the relevant Data Protection Authority. If you have any cause for complaint about our use of your personal data, please contact us directly.

What Personal Data Do We Share and with Whom

We may share your personal data with various American Councils' offices, affiliated organizations, and third-party business partners. Our third-party business partners may include program funders, service providers, and others located in the United States of America and throughout the world that work with us to process your request and to deliver our services to you. All third-party business partners that we share your personal data with are expected to comply with applicable regulations and privacy requirements. We strive to ensure that such third parties will only share this information with other organizations or individuals that are working with them to deliver American Councils'-related services.

Some examples of why we may provide your personal data to such third parties are:

Sending you program and other informational materials
Providing and maintaining AIS, including to monitor the usage of AIS
Managing your registration as a user of AIS, which can give you access to different functionalities of AIS and the personally identifiable information of applicants and participants in American Councils' programs
Providing operational and technical support to you while you use AIS
Other processes and activities that are consistent with the operation of AIS, such as identifying usage trends, and evaluating and improving AIS

In the event we receive a governmental or other official request, your personal data will be made available to the appropriate authorities only if such an obligation will result from the applicable provisions of law.

How Long Do We Keep Personal Data

We will not keep your personal data for any longer than is necessary in accordance with the reasons for which it was first collected.

When the personal data is no longer needed for its original processing goal, and there are no further legal requirements, we will delete your personal data.

How Do We Protect Your Personal Data

American Councils uses appropriate technical and organizational measures to ensure that the personal data we process is protected from unauthorized access, use, destruction, alteration, or disclosure in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. Please note that no data transmission is 100% secure, and we cannot fully guarantee the security of personal data. When data transmission or IT storage problems arise, however, we have appropriate procedures in place to protect your personal data and privacy.

How and Where Is Your Personal Data Stored

For Citizens and Residents of the EEA:

We may store and transfer some or all your personal data in countries that are not part of the European Economic Area (the EEA consists of all EU Member States, plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway.) These are known as third countries and may not have data protection laws that are as strong as those in the EEA. This means that we will take additional steps to ensure that your personal data is treated just as safely and securely as it would be within the EEA under the GDPR.

We share your data within the group of companies of which we are a part. Where this involves the transfer of personal data outside the EEA, our group ensures that personal data is protected by requiring all companies within the group to follow the same rules with respect to personal data usage. To transfer personal data outside the EEA, we make use of Standard Contractual Clauses.

Unsubscribing from Our Email Lists and Database

When you consent, we may also use your personal data for marketing purposes, which may include contacting you by email. We may also use your personal data for marketing purposes when you complete and submit a form found on Our Sites. You will not be sent any unlawful marketing or spam communications. You can always unsubscribe from these communications, and our email communications will include instructions for removing that information from our database.

We may use Third-Party Service providers, such as social and/or analytical platforms, to perform certain services on behalf of us or Our Sites or services. We may also use your personal data that has been collected by those Third-Party Service providers. Those vendors may have additional or different privacy policies and/or Terms of Service. You should be sure that you read and agree to those policies and Terms.

Can You Withhold Information

You may access certain parts of Our Sites without providing any personal data at all. To use all features and functions available on Our Sites, however, you may be required to submit or allow for the collection of certain data. You may restrict our use of Cookies. For more information, please see our Cookie Declaration.

Cookies

Our Sites make use of Cookies.

Cookies are small text files that are stored on your terminal device. To find out more about how we use cookies please see our Cookie Declaration.

Amendments to this Privacy Policy

American Councils reserves the right to modify this privacy policy at any time by posting changes on our websites. We encourage you to review it periodically.

How to Contact Us

If you have any questions about our Privacy Policy, if you wish to exercise your rights or options, or if you wish to lodge a complaint, please contact us:

By Email

privacy@americancouncils.org

By Postal Mail

You can write to us in the USA at:

ATTN: CIO
American Councils for International Education
1828 L St NW Ste 1200
Washington DC 20036-5136
USA

Addresses and full contact information for American Councils' affiliated offices around the world, including in the EEA, can be found at:

www.americancouncils.org/field-offices

Last updated: April 2023

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