CHEA Privacy Policy

Last updated: June 2018

The Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) is committed to being responsible custodians of the information you provide us and the information we collect in the course of operating our business.

This Privacy Policy describes how CHEA may collect, use, and share information, particularly in association with the operation of our website (www.chea.org), any mobile app we may offer, and HTML-formatted emails that link to this Privacy Policy (collectively, “Digital Services”). CHEA is a data controller in those jurisdictions that distinguish between controllers and processors

This Privacy Policy describes:

  • The Types of Information We Collect
  • How We Use the Information We Collect
  • How We May Share the Information We Collect
  • Grounds for Using Your Personal Information
  • Third-Party Services and Content
  • Protection and Storage of the Information We Collect
  • Your Choices and Rights
  • How to Contact Us
  • Changes to This Privacy Policy

The types of information we collect

We collect your personal information when you provide it to us. "Personal information" is any information that can be used to identify you or that we can link to you. We may automatically collect certain information when you use, access, or interact with our Digital Services. And we may collect information from other sources, such as social media platforms that may share information about how you interact with our social media content.

Information you provide to us

You generally can use our Digital Services without providing us with personal information.
We collect information that you voluntarily provide to us, including when you communicate with us via email or other channels; when you sign up for or request that we send you newsletters or other materials; when you submit an application for a position with us; when you sign up for a webinar or event; and when you respond to our communications or requests for information. The information you provide may include your name, contact information, title, information about the organization with which you are affiliated, and payment information. Some of our Digital Services may require that you enter a password or other information in order to access certain features, and we collect such credentials when you enter them.

Information we may collect automatically

We use browser cookies and similar technologies (collectively, “Cookies”) to collect and store certain information when you use, access, or interact with our Digital Services. We may, for example, collect information about the type of device you use to access the Digital Services, the operating system and version, your IP address, your general geographic location as indicated by your IP address, your browser type, the content you view and features you access on the Digital Services, the web pages you view immediately before and after you access the Digital Services, whether and how you interact with content available on the Digital Services, and the search terms you enter on the Digital Services. For information about how we use Cookies and the choices you may have, please see our Cookies Policy.

Please note that we do not currently respond to web browser “do not track” signals or other mechanisms that may allow you to opt out of the collection of information across networks of websites and online services as there is no standard for how online services should respond to such signals. As standards develop, we may develop policies for responding to do-not-track signals that we will describe in this Privacy Policy.

Information we collect from other sources

We may receive information about you from other sources, including third parties that help us: update, expand, and analyze our records; identify new customers; or prevent or detect fraud. We may also receive information about you from social media platforms including but not limited to when you interact with us on those platforms or access our social media content. The information we may receive is governed by the privacy settings, policies, and/or procedures of the applicable social media platform, and we encourage you to review them.

Precise location information

When you access the Digital Services via a mobile device, we may collect precise location information if you permit the Digital Services to access such information. We use this information to provide you with content based on your location and your proximity to our office .

How we may share the information we collect

CHEA does not sell, rent, or otherwise share information that reasonably identifies you or your organization with unaffiliated entities for their independent use except as expressly described in this Privacy Policy or with your prior permission. We may share information that does not reasonably identify you or your organization as permitted by applicable law.
We may also disclose information we collect:

  • To our third-party service providers that perform services on our behalf, such as web-hosting companies, mailing vendors, analytics providers, event hosting services, and information technology providers.
  • To law enforcement, other government authorities, or third parties (within or outside the jurisdiction in which you reside) as may be permitted or required by the laws of any jurisdiction that may apply to us; as provided for under contract; or as we deem reasonably necessary to provide services. In these circumstances, we will take reasonable efforts to notify you before we disclose information that may reasonably identify you or your organization, unless prior notice is prohibited by applicable law or is not possible or reasonable in the circumstances.
  • To service providers, advisors, potential transactional partners, or other third parties in connection with the consideration, negotiation, or completion of a transaction in which we are acquired by or merged with another company or we sell, liquidate, or transfer all or a portion of our assets.

Grounds for using your personal information

We rely on the following legal grounds to process your personal information, namely: 

  • Performance of a contract – We may need to collect and use your personal information to enter into a contract with you or to perform a contract that you have with us. For example, when you use our Digital Services we will use your personal information to respond to your requests and provide you with such services.
  • Consent – We may collect or use precise location information as described in this Privacy Policy subject to your consent where required. To withdraw your consent to such use, you can contact us via email at [email protected], or you may be able to disable the sharing of location information in your browser settings. Where required by applicable laws, we will also rely on your consent for direct marketing and to collect information from your device or computer.
  • Legitimate interests – We may use your personal information for our legitimate interests to improve our products and services and the content on our Digital Services. Consistent with our legitimate interests and any choices that we offer or consents that may be required under applicable laws, we may use technical information as described in this Privacy Policy and use personal information for our marketing purposes.

Third-party services and content

Our Digital Services may include integrated content or links to content provided by third parties (such as video materials). This Privacy Policy does not address the privacy, security, or other practices of the third parties that provide such content.

We engage third parties that support the operation of our Digital Services, such as analytics providers. These third parties may use technologies to track your online activities over time and across different websites and online platforms. Please see our Cookies Policy for more information.

Protection and storage of the information we collect

We deploy administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to comply with applicable legal requirements and safeguard the information that we collect. This includes, when required or appropriate and feasible, obtaining written assurances from third parties that may access your data that they will protect the data with safeguards designed to provide a level of protection equivalent to that adopted by CHEA.

However, no information system can be 100% secure. So, we cannot guarantee the absolute security of your information. Moreover, we are not responsible for the security of information you transmit to us over networks that we do not control, including the Internet and wireless networks.

The Digital Services are controlled and operated by CHEA from the United States. We may store the information we collect in the United States or in other countries where we or our service providers have facilities. We may transfer information to countries outside of your country of residence, including the United States, which may have data protection laws and regulations that differ from those in your country.

We retain the information we collect no longer than as reasonably necessary to fulfill the purposes for which we collect the information and to comply with our legal obligations.

Your choices and rights

If you no longer wish to receive marketing communications from us, you can let us know by sending us an email at [email protected]. And the electronic marketing communications we send you contain opt-out mechanisms that allow you to register your marketing preferences.

Subject to local law, you may have certain rights regarding information that we have collected and that is related to you. We encourage you to contact us to update or correct your information if it changes or if you believe that any information that we have collected about you is inaccurate. You can also ask us to see what personal information we hold about you, to erase your personal information and you may tell us if you object to our use of your personal information. In some jurisdictions, you may have a right to complain to your local data protection authority. If you would like to discuss or exercise the rights you may have, send us an email at [email protected].

For information about the choices you may have in regard to our use of Cookies, please see our Cookies Policy.

How to contact us

We welcome your inquiries and comments. Please contact our office at One Dupont Circle NW, Suite 510, Washington, D.C. 20036 or send us an email at [email protected].

Changes to this privacy policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The effective date of the current Privacy Policy is noted at the top of this page. We encourage you to periodically review this page. If we make any material changes in the way we collect, use, and/or share the personal information that you have provided, we will notify you by posting notice of the changes in a clear and conspicuous manner on the CHEA website.