Who We Are. Certification Central (“CC,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) is the world’s largest association for online education—. Certification Central aims to transform business education globally for positive societal impact through our business school accreditation process, Certification Central in-person and online programming, connecting leaders in industry, education, non-profit sector, and government, our student and career resources, research and insights publication, and educational conferences and events (collectively, our “Services”).
Information about Certification Central and our Services is available at our website, www.certificationcentral.com, and our members can join and participate in our online communities available at the Certification Central Exchange, theexchange.certificationcentral.com (collectively, our “Sites”).
Scope of this Privacy Policy. Certification Central values your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal data. An important part of protecting privacy is to provide information about how we handle personal information. This Personal Data Privacy Policy (“Privacy Policy”) describes how we collect, use, and share personal data and summarizes your rights and choices with respect to your personal data.
What is personal data? We use the term “personal data” in this Privacy Policy to mean information recorded in any form about an identified individual (“User,” “you” or “your”), or an individual whose identity may be inferred or determined from the information, or the information is reasonably capable of being associated or linked, directly or indirectly, to an identified individual.
The term personal data does not apply to information that is publicly available or to information that has been aggregated or anonymized so that it cannot reasonably be used to identify or be associated with an identifiable individual.
Your Consent to this Privacy Policy
Collection of Personal Data
How We Use Personal Data
When Do We Share Personal Data?
Certification Cnetral Cookie Usage
Legal Basis for Processing Personal Data
Your Rights and Choices
Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act Compliance
Retention of Personal Data
Protection of Personal Data
Data Privacy Laws and International Transfers of Personal Data
EEA Users—Your Rights Relating to Personal Data
How to Contact Certification Central
The use of our Site and Services, and any dispute over the management of personal data, is subject to this Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use, including any applicable limitations on damages and the resolution of disputes. This Privacy Policy is incorporated into our Terms of Use, available here.
By using our Sites or Services, you agree to the collection, use, and sharing of your personal data as described in this Privacy Policy. We may change this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect business and legal changes, so please be sure to check back periodically. Your continued use of our Sites and Services after we post a revised version indicates your acceptance of our Privacy Policy as revised.
The sources, categories, and types of your personal data we may collect depend on our interactions with you and are summarized below. We describe the purposes for which we use personal data in the section titled, “How We Use Personal Data.”
Visit our Sites or use our online resources
Participate in our online member groups, communities, networks and affinity groups (collectively, our “online communities”) available through the member portal on the Certification Central Exchange
Represent your university, business school, corporation or other organization on its behalf its capacity such as an Certification Central member.
Serve as a volunteer peer review team or accreditation committee member or mentor
Attend our events, subscribe to our newsletter, or communicate with us in other ways.
Depending upon the request or activity, you may choose to provide:
Name
Email
Name of organization you represent and your job title
Postal address
Information and content you post on the Certification Central Exchange online communities
Responses to surveys
Other communications with us.
Media and images. Photos may be taken of your participation in an Certification Central event, but we will only publish your photo with your permission.
Data we collect online automatically. When you visit our Sites, we gather certain information automatically using cookies, pixels, and other internet technologies. This information may include your internet protocol (IP) address, operating system, browser types, domain name, internet service providers (ISP), access times and website addresses for referring and exit pages, clickstream data, the files viewed on our Site, and other data about your usage of our Sites. (See “Certification Central Cookie Usage” and “Your Rights and Choices” for information about how to restrict online data collection.)
Information from third parties. We may obtain personal data about you from third parties, including the following sources:
The Certification Central member, accreditation applicant, or other organization you are employed by or associated with
Information gathered during the accreditation process such as faculty curriculum vitae
Publicly available information such as academic, business, and professional publications and websites
Commercial providers of business contact and email marketing services such as professional/business contact and profile information
Before obtaining personal data from a third-party source, we take reasonable measures to determine that verify the personal data is collected and transferred in accordance with applicable legal obligations.
Sensitive information. Certain types of personal data we collect may be considered “sensitive” or within “special categories of personal data” under the laws of some jurisdictions (“sensitive information”). Sensitive information also includes personal data revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, or trade union membership and information about health and sexual matters. In the limited cases where we may request or collect sensitive information, we will use sensitive information only for the limited purposes we explain to you and that we reasonably believe you would expect based on the purposes for which we requested the information, your interactions with us, or as permitted by law.
If you choose to post sensitive information on our Sites, you do so at your own risk, including collection by others with access to your posts, as explained in our Terms of Use.
Payment and financial data. We use an authorized payment processor to handle your online and telephone payments. Certification Central does not directly collect or store your credit card or banking information.
How We Use Personal Data
Certification Central may use your personal data and cookie-derived data in any of the following ways:
To operate our Sites and provide our Services. We use personal data to perform our contract with you or your organization for the use of our Services, to provide you with the content you request, and to provide the functionality required to make our Sites and Services available.
To operate the Certification Central Exchange member portals. We use personal data to manage registrations and membership for each of our Certification Central communities, affinity groups and network, to facilitate and retain the submissions posted by the members, and to supervise the activities of member portals to meet the standards and requirements set out in our Terms of Use.
To include you in our Business Contact Database with your consent. We collect and organize contact and professional information from Users and make this information available for our members’ internal business purposes (the “Business Contact Database”).
To manage User accounts. If you register for an account with us, we process your personal data to manage your User account for the purpose of performing our contract with you in accordance with the Terms of Service.
To manage event registrations and attendance. We process personal data to plan and host events for which you register, including sending related communications to you.
To send newsletters, marketing, and other messages. We will use your email address to send you information (unless you direct us to stop sending messages), such as our newsletters, to respond to your inquiries, questions, and other requests. We will also send you information about our Services and conduct direct marketing subject to your consent or opt-out rights. Please see “Your Rights and Choices” for information about how you can control the processing of your personal data for marketing purposes.
To study and improve our Sites. We use online data analytics to help optimize User experiences and improve performance.
To protect the security of our Sites and Services. We process personal data collected online by tracking use of our Sites and Services, creating aggregated, non-personal data, verifying accounts and User activity, investigating suspicious activity, and enforcing our terms and policies.
To personalize user online experience. We may use information collected the Sites to customize the content, products, and Services that are offered to you.
To comply with legal obligations and protect legal rights. We may process your personal data to meet our legal obligations, defend or enforce our legal rights, respond to lawful requests under applicable laws, and protect against misuse or abuse of our Sites and Services.
Members. The Certification Central Business Contact Database available only to our members includes member names, organization, position, and e-mail address. members may choose to include other information in their member profile accessible to other members.
Event sponsors, venues, exhibitors, planners, public-facing materials. When you register for an Certification Central event or conference, your information, including full name, position, organization, telephone number, and email address, may be distributed to other attendees in third-party applications that service the event. Upon request, event sponsors and exhibitors are provided with an event attendee roster, limited to event attendees’ full names and institutions. Event exhibitors and sponsors may also request a one-time mailing list of event attendees, limited to postal addresses only. Photos taken at the event may be used in Certification Central communications including promotional purposes on our website, in print, or on social media.
Partners. We may share information, including personal data, with our partners. “Partners" refers to third-party organizations or entities that collaborate with Certification Central. Partners are required to use information only for purposes that are consistent with those described in this Privacy Policy or for which you provided express consent. This sharing of information with partners is intended to improve the user experience, provide personalized services, or help the company in its operations.
Accreditation volunteers. Each new or renewal of a business school accreditation involves the generous effort of educators and other business professionals who participate on a voluntary basis. When providing their services, these volunteers may have access to personal data about faculty, administrator, and students provided as part of the accreditation process. Volunteers access to and use of data is strictly limited to reasonable activities for purposes of the accreditation process.
Third-Party service providers. We share information, including personal data, with third-party service providers that assist us in operating our Sites and Services, such as hosting for and maintenance of our Sites, payment processing, marketing, website analytics, and IT support functions. These third-party service providers may have strictly limited access to or process your personal data for the purpose of providing services for us at our instruction. We do not permit our third-party service providers to use the personal data they receive from us for their own commercial purposes.
Site analytics. We may collect, and we may engage third-party analytics providers to collect, metrics and information regarding your use of the Site, including evaluating how Site visitors use our Site and customer portal (“Usage Data”) to develop new features, improve existing features or inform sales and marketing strategies. When we process Usage Data, any personal data is anonymized.
Online advertisers. We may use third-party advertising companies to serve advertisements on our Site and on selected websites and mobile applications operated by others. These companies may set their own cookies or use similar web technologies to collect information about your online and mobile device activities over time and across different websites. These companies may use this information to direct advertisements to you based on your interests as suggested by the history of your visits to this Site and other websites. (For information about how you can restrict online advertising, see the section titled “Your Rights and Choices.”)
With your consent. We may also share personal data with third parties when we have your express consent to do so.
Security and protection. We also reserve the right to disclose personal data or other information that we believe, in good faith, is appropriate or necessary to (i) protect ourselves or others from fraudulent, abusive, or unlawful uses or activity, (ii) protect the security or integrity of the Sites and Services and any facilities or equipment used to make those available, (iii) investigate and defend ourselves against any claims or allegations, and (v) protect or defend our other legal rights, enforce contracts, or protect the rights, property, or safety of others.
Law enforcement, legal process and compliance. We may disclose personal data or other information if required to do so by law or in the good-faith belief that such action is necessary to comply with applicable laws, respond to a court order, judicial or other government subpoena or warrant, or to otherwise cooperate with law enforcement or governmental agencies.
What are cookies? Certification Central (and our third-party data analytics and online advertising service providers) may use cookies, pixels, web beacons, scripts, and similar tracking technologies and device identifiers (collectively referred to as “cookies”) to collect data about your computer, mobile device, web browser, and internet service provider when you access or browse our Sites. These tools are used to analyze usage and trends, learn about the demographics of our Users, track Users’ movements around the Sites, and improve our Users’ online experience. Although many types of cookie-derived data are anonymous, this data is considered to be personal data if it can be used directly or in combination with other data to identity a specific individual.
Some cookies are necessary for our Sites to function properly, and they expire when you terminate the session and close your browser. Other cookies retain certain personal data unless you take steps to restrict their use. This information may include IP address (or proxy server), device and application identification numbers, location, browser type, internet service provider and/or mobile carrier, the pages and files viewed, searches, operating system and system configuration information, and date/time stamps associated with your usage.
How we use cookie-derived data. We use information derived from cookies to analyze overall trends, to help us provide and improve our Site, to personalize your experience, and to protect Sites security and functioning. Certification Central may contract with trusted third-party service providers to assist with better understanding our Site and platform visitors/Users. These service providers are not permitted to use the information collected on our behalf except to assist, conduct, and improve business.
How to restrict or disable cookies. You can limit the use and retention of cookies in your personal browser settings and in our cookie settings available by clicking this button:
Cookie Settings
Accessing and updating your personal data. If you have a “Certification Central” account, you may make any changes to your profile information at any time by logging into your account and going into the “My Profile” page. Personal profiles may be changed by the authorized User. If you are the authorized User of a member organization, you may be able to access and update your personal user account as well as important organization information such as: Official Contact roles, Institutional Contact affiliations, roles, and titles, remit payment of membership dues, and account balances, settings and event registrations by logging into your account and editing these items directly.
You can also update your personal data by contacting us as explained in the “Contact Us” section below.
Requesting deletion of personal data. Depending on the laws of the country or state where you live, you may have the right to request that we delete the personal data we hold about you. Please note that there may be legally permitted reasons why we may decline to fulfill your request. If we determine that we are permitted to decline your request for deletion, we will explain the basis for that decision to you.
Other rights under applicable law. In addition, the law of your jurisdiction may give you additional rights regarding the personal data we have about you, including:
Right to request access to information about you
Right to request changes or corrections to information about you
Right to withdraw consent to processing of your data
Right to data portability
Certification Central will consider requests to exercise these rights in light of our applicable legal obligations.
Exercising your rights. To make a request to exercise your rights regarding the personal data you know or believe Certification Central holds as the controller you may visit our Personal Data Request Portal or contact us as described in the section titled “Contact Us” We will make a prompt and reasonable effort to honor your requests, consistent with applicable legal time frames and other obligations. To protect your privacy and security, we may need to take steps to verify your identity before taking action on your request.
Certification Central does not knowingly collect any information from anyone under 16 years of age. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided us with personal data without your consent, please contact us at the contact information provided below, and we will take steps to delete such personal data from our systems.
The data protection laws of different countries and jurisdictions differ significantly as to what categories of personal data are protected and how they are protected. Certification Central data centers are located in the United States. If your personal data are transferred out of the jurisdiction where you reside, such as to Certification Central’s service providers or partners in other countries, including in the United States, different standards may govern what rights you have in those countries relating to your personal data. For purposes of cross-border transfers of personal data where subject to applicable law (such as in the European Economic Area and the United Kingdom), we rely on the consent of individuals who directly use our Sites and Services and will implement approved transfer mechanisms where required by applicable law. Certification Central takes reasonable precautions, in accordance with applicable legal requirements and in consideration of the nature, scope, context, and purposes of its processing activities, to protect your personal data, irrespective of the country in which the data are processed. These precautions may include, where appropriate, contract clauses with third-party providers or other compliance mechanisms.
Certain Services allow our members and Users to make international data transfers to third parties, for which those members and Users are solely responsible.
The following is a brief and partial list of some of the rights and protections that may be available to Users in the European Economic Area (“EEA”). Detailed information is available at https://ec.europa.eu/. Please note that exercise of these rights is subject to specific conditions and limitations, and we may take steps to confirm your identity before acting on your request.
Access to your personal data
Erasure of your personal data (under certain circumstances, for example, when your personal data are no longer necessary for the purposes for which they were collected)
Restriction of processing
Halting of processing based on an objection
"Data portability—the ability to receive a portable format copy of personal data held about you and to move the data to another data controller
Withdrawal of your consent from processing. Note: withdrawal does not invalidate the consent-based processing that occurred prior to withdrawal
To not be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing, including profiling, which produces legal effects or similarly significantly affects you as the data subject."
Users may request changes to the processing of their personal data through Certification Central’s Data Subject Access Rights (DSAR) portal or by sending a request to the contact information below. Certification Central shall provide you, the data subject, with a response to any such request(s) without undue delay and in any event within one month of receipt of the request. That period may be extended by two further months when necessary, taking into account the complexity and number of request(s). Certification Central shall inform you, the data subject, of any such extension within one month of receipt of the request, together with the reason(s) for the delay. Where you, the data subject, make the request by electronic form means via the DSAR portal, the information shall be provided by electronic means where possible, unless otherwise requested by you in written documentation.
If, after evaluating the legitimacy of the request, Certification Central does not take action on your request, Certification Central shall inform you without delay and at the latest within one month of receipt of the request of the reasons for not taking action and of the possibility of lodging a complaint with a local data protection authority and seeking a judicial remedy.