Privacy Policy
1. Introduction
2. Personal Data We Collect
Northwest Center collects data from you when you create an account with us, and when you interact with and use our Site. We may also obtain data about you from third parties such as our internet analytics provider(s).
You
have choices when it comes to the technology you use and the data you share. Certain
features require some personal data to provide you with that feature, and if
you choose not to provide such data you cannot use that service or feature.
Where providing the data is optional, and you choose not to share personal
data, features like personalization that use such data will not work for
you.
- Data you provide to us: This is personal information about you that you give us directly when you interact with us. You may give it to us by filling out a form on our Site, by corresponding with us by phone, e-mail, or at an in-person event, or through interactions in a Northwest Center sponsored forum. It includes information necessary to register or pay for a course or subscription, to complete your profile, or to place an order for other services we provide. It also includes information shared when you submit a query, report feedback about or a problem within our Site, or engage with any of the other services. When you create an account, we require you to provide your first name, last name, and email address.
- Payment Processing: When you purchase a subscription, you will need to provide payment and billing information, often including an address and credit card information. Such payment details you provide in the designated checkout page on our Site will be encrypted using the Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol before they are submitted to us over the internet. Such data is then transmitted directly to our third party payment and subscription processors and is not within Northwest Center’s control. In such cases, this Privacy Notice will not apply and the use and privacy terms of the third party payment and subscription processors will apply.
- Data we collect about you from your use of our Site: We will automatically
collect information from you each time you visit our Site whether or not you
enter the Site as a registered user. This includes technical information,
information about your visit, and information about your activity on our Site such
as courses searched and viewed, page response times, download errors, length of
visit to certain pages, page interaction information (such as scrolling,
clicks, and mouseovers), methods to browse to and away from a page, and methods
used to contact our sales and support teams. Technical information may also
include the internet protocol (IP) address used to connect your device to the
internet, unique device identifiers, your login information, browser type and
version, time zone setting, browser plug-in types and versions, operating
systems, and device platform.
- Data we receive from other sources: This is information we receive about you from third parties that we work closely with to provide, promote, and improve our services. These third parties include business partners, vendors who assist in technical and payment services, advertising networks, analytics providers, and search information providers.
3. How We Use Your Personal Data
Northwest Center uses the personal information you provide in a manner that is consistent with this Privacy Notice as follows:
- Provision of Services: We use your personal
information to provide you with our services through our Site, including
services arising from any obligations set forth in an agreement between you and
us. These services may include providing access to our course library,
administration of your account, billing, and notifying you of changes to our
service or your account. This data will also be used to provide you with
information you may have requested from us, including but not limited to access
to whitepapers and webinars. If you ask us to, we
will also use this data to submit your continuing education credit(s) eligibility
to the applicable state regulatory agency.
- Improvement of Services and Features: We use data to
continually improve our Site, including by way of the addition of new content,
features, or capabilities.
- Personalization: We use data to enhance the
user experience based on prior interactions with our Site.
- Account Activation and Maintenance: Data such as device,
network, and subscription identifiers are used to activate and maintain user
accounts.
- Support: We use your personal data to respond to your requests for
assistance including password resets and general troubleshooting.
- Safety Security: We use data to protect the
safety and security of our users and our Site. This includes using data to
detect malware and malicious activities, and to monitor for violations of our
terms of use.
- Communications: We will use your personal data
to communicate with you regarding your account and your use of our Site.
- Marketing: We may use your personal data to provide you with information
about our[LK3] [ACW4] services that we feel may interest you and enhance your
interaction with our Site. We will communicate with you about these goods and
services via email, direct mail, telephone, or through our Site. These
communications may include newsletters, promotional emails, or offers to participate
in market research requests. You may choose to unsubscribe from such
communications by clicking the “unsubscribe” option in the applicable
communication, or by adjusting your marketing preferences in your individual
profile.
- Reporting and Business Operations: We will use personal
data in our legitimate interests (where we have considered that such interests
do not override your individual rights), to administer our Site, and for
internal operations, including troubleshooting, data analysis, testing,
research, statistical survey purposes, and reporting on our performance. We
will also use this data for measuring the effectiveness of how we present
content and for assessing the effectiveness of content. We use internet
protocol (IP) addresses and non-personally identifiable information in our log
files to analyze trends, to administer our Site, to track users’ movements in
and around our Site, and to gather demographic information about our user base
as a whole. We also utilize unstructured machine learning technologies to
understand user behaviors in order to provide user-specific recommendations and
other personalization of our Site experience.
- Legal Compliance: We process personal data to comply with various laws. For example, we may process your personal data to assist you with exercising your individual privacy rights or to report any prizes or awards to an applicable taxing authority.
4. Reasons We Share Personal Data
We
will take reasonable steps to ensure that we only disclose that personal data
that is relevant for the purposes for which it is to be used. Furthermore, we
will not process your personal data in a way that is incompatible with these
purposes.
- Engagement with Northwest Center Suppliers: We sometimes retain
third parties to perform certain business-related functions such as sending
email on our behalf, payment processing, or conducting market research. When we
employ another company to perform a function of this nature, we only provide
them with the information that they need to perform their specific function.
These third parties are not permitted to use your personal information that we
share with them for any purpose other than as required for them to provide
services to us.
- Engagement With Technology Vendors: We also share user
engagement information with third parties derived from our Platform. For
example, when you view a course related to a specific technology vendor, we
share information such as the number of course minutes viewed, hands-on course
engagement, and other related data with that technology vendor. We share this
information and receive feedback from those third parties in order to improve
the content available on our platform and better collaborate with our partners
to jointly help companies and individuals address their skill development
needs. Unless we specifically ask for and you grant consent, the data we
provide to technology vendors does not include personal data.
- Business Plans and Company Partnership Subscriptions: We partner with
certain third parties to provide our services to their employees or their group
members. As part of such partnerships, a third party may pay for the course or
subscription for its employees or group members or otherwise contract with Northwest
Center to make your subscription available to you, and Northwest Center may
share information about your use of our services with the third party. If your
subscription was provided by your employer or group sponsor we may share
information you provide, or information we may otherwise collect through your
registration and use of our services, with such third party. This information
may include course viewing history, course viewing time, course or assessment
completion, course quality ratings and feedback, certifications, performance-related
metrics, and other personal information. To prevent this from occurring, it is
suggested that you include a personal email address as a secondary email in
your profile.
- Legal Requirements: In certain situations, Northwest Center may be required to disclose personal data in response to lawful requests by governmental agencies and supervisory authorities, including to meet security or law enforcement requirements. We reserve the right to disclose your personal information as required by applicable law and when we believe that disclosure is necessary to protect our rights or to comply with a judicial proceeding, court order, or similar legal process served on us or our Site.
5. How to Access and Control Your Personal Data
Control the use of your data for interest-based advertising via the following:
- Select what types of marketing communications you wish to receive in the Communication Preferences section of your profile, where applicable;
- Utilize the “Unsubscribe” link found in the emails we may send to you; or
- Contact us at impact@nwcenter.com. Before helping you with your inquiry, we may ask to verify your identity or the identity of your authorized agent.
Not all personal data processed by Northwest Center can be accessed or controlled via the methods above. Please note that you will not be able to opt-out from our communications that are related to the ongoing service and support of your account. Such communications shall not be considered marketing communications. Additionally, any personal data that you provide to third parties directly, such as our third party payment and subscription providers, can only be controlled directly by contacting such parties.
6. Cookies and Similar Technologies
7. Access to Third Party Services
8. Retention of Personal Data
9. Trial or Free Accounts
10. Changes to this Privacy Notice
- Feedback from customer, regulators, industry, or other stakeholders.
- Changes in our products.
- Changes in our data processing activities or policies.
When we post changes to this policy, we will provide a version and effective date for the most recent terms. If there are material changes to the policy, such as a change to the purposes of processing of personal data that is not consistent with the purpose for which it was originally collected, we will notify you either by prominently posting a notice of such changes on our Site before they take effect, or by directly sending a notification via email to all registered users of the Platform. We encourage you to periodically review this Privacy Policy to learn how Northwest Center is protecting your information. If you do not agree to abide by this or any future version of the Privacy Notice, you do not have permission to use or access (or continue to use or access) our Site.