Website Privacy Statement
Scope: Baptist University of Florida (BUF) privacy statement applies to the university’s primary domain name (buf.edu) and all its sub domains, including MyBUF (myBUF.buf.edu). These separate domains are referred to collectively as the BUF Website. BUF strives to protect users’ privacy and confidential information. BUF will make efforts to ensure that changes to this privacy statement are reflected on the BUF home page. However, the failure of BUF to post changes to this privacy statement shall not prevent any changes from becoming effective in any instance, whether retroactively or prospectively.
Data Collection and Usage: BUF collects data from users to help fulfill the mission of the university. The information collected by BUF is voluntarily provided by the user in connection with the completion of online forms or by the user’s web browser to facilitate communication with the BUF Website. Collected information is not sold, loaned, or shared with outside entities except where required by law or to fulfill the mission of the university. BUF complies with the federal Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act (FERPA) which protects student records. Please refer to BUF’s FERPA policy for information about the release of student directory information.
General Internet Information: BUF cannot guarantee the privacy of any data while in transit to or from the BUF Website. Information submitted through forms on the BUF Website containing Social Security numbers or credit card information is protected through HTTPS encryption. Also, all transactions and information passed through MyBUF are encrypted. However, users of wireless internet access are at greater risk of personal information being revealed.
Cookies: Cookies are used to assist with the technical operation of the BUF Website. If the user chooses to disallow cookies, certain portions of the BUF Website may become unavailable to the user.
Transactions: BUF processes online transactions through a third-party gateway. These transactions are encrypted.
External Links: BUF is not responsible for website content, security, or protection of personal information on links found on the BUF Website to outside agencies or entities.
Email: BUF is not responsible for the privacy of any email messages. Users are advised that most email sent over the internet is insecure and that, as a result, users should assume that email communications may not be private. BUF reserves the right to review those emails that are sent on the BUF network.
Log Files: The BUF Website tracks generic network information to monitor trends in traffic and for security purposes. Information tracked includes but is not limited to:
- IP addresses
- Web Browser Type
- Page Hit Counts
- Date
- Time
This information is generally tracked and monitored by most websites, including BUF’s, and is not ordinarily associated with any specific user’s personal information.
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA): Information about FERPA may be found on the US Department of Education Website at www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/index.html. BUF makes every attempt to fully comply with FERPA and does not release student information without the permission of the student except as allowed by law.
Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA): To comply with COPPA, children under the age of 13 should not submit any information to BUF without parental consent.
Additional Information: If you need additional information about the BUF Privacy Statement please email the webmaster at webmaster@buf.edu.
Agreement with the BUF Privacy Statement: By using the BUF Website, you consent to the BUF Privacy Statement.
Definitions:
Cookies – Normally a text file stored on your computer by a website containing information about you to facilitate further communications with the website.
Encrypted/Encryption – A process for obscuring data transmitted over the internet to protect the confidentiality of the information. Encryption enhances but may not guarantee the security of confidential information.