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Privacy Policy

Southern Nazarene University Privacy Policy

Policy Statement

Southern Nazarene University and its affiliated organizations respect the privacy of your information. We recognize that providing your personal data is an act of trust. We are committed to protecting your privacy and being transparent about it. All information we obtain, hold, and process is used to further the mission of Southern Nazarene University (the “University”).

This Privacy Policy pertains to the collection, use, and protection of Southern Nazarene University constituent data. The University and its affiliates use the SNU Constituent Database for purposes consistent with advancing the mission of the University. SNU Constituents means SNU current students and families, prospective students, alumni, supporters, and friends. This Privacy Policy is also designed to assist you in understanding how we collect, use, and safeguard information you provide to us while using our website (“Site”) and make use of its online services (“Services”).

From time to time, we may change this Privacy Policy. If we do, we will post an amended version on this webpage. Please review this Privacy Policy periodically.

This Privacy Policy covers the following topics:

  1.   Personal Data We Collect
  2.   How We Use Your Personal Data
  3.   How We Share Your Personal Data
  4.   Security
  5.   Your Rights
  6.   Updating Your Personal Data and Communication Preferences
  7. Accessibility
  8. Contact Information

I. Personal Data We Collect

We collect personal data from you through your use of the Site and Services. Personal data is information that is linked or reasonably linkable to an identified or identifiable individual. We collect the following types of personal data:

Personal Data Collected Directly from SNU Constituents

We collect personal data directly from you through your interactions with the University and its affiliates, including:

  1. Name and contact details including mailing addresses, email addresses, and phone numbers;
  2. Title, gender, ethnicity, nationality, and date of birth;
  3. Your degree and graduation information, and information about scholarships you received at Southern Nazarene University;
  4. Your campus history, including attendance, awards, honors, and student activities;
  5. Recreational activities and interests you participated in while at the University (for example, membership in marching band);
  6. Employment information, such as your title, employer, and work location;
  7. Family and spouse details and your relationships to other alumni, supporters, and friends;
  8. Your volunteer activities on behalf of the University or its affiliated organizations;
  9. Your engagement and interactions with the University or its affiliated organizations in meetings, events, groups, or networks;
  10. Online information you may have entered in the University website or those of its affiliates;
  11. Your activity on University social media channels or those of its affiliates (for example, the University Facebook page);
  12. Records of donations and memberships at the University and its affiliated organizations;
  13. Records of communications sent to you or received from you by the University or its affiliated organizations;
  14. Other information that you have provided to us in the process of conducting business or participating in activities at Southern Nazarene University.

Personal Data Collected From Other Sources

We may gather personal data about you—like media articles, social media activity, or professional employment history—from publicly available sources. We also may obtain personal data about you from third parties to whom you have given your consent to share it (for example, a crowdfunding website to which you may have contributed). This helps us understand more about you, your interests in supporting Southern Nazarene University, and your preferences about events, communications, and services. 

Personal Data Collected as You Navigate Our Site

Depending on how you interact with our Site and Services, we will collect the following personal data that you voluntarily provide to us for the following purposes:

  • Make a Donation. When you donate or register for an alumni event on the zhiyuan-sh.com website, you may provide us with your name, email address, gift designation or notes, and payment information (e.g., billing phone number, address, and credit card number). To process these donations, we use Blackbaud Merchant Services (BBMS).  Please see the BBMS privacy policy.
  • Apply for a Job. When you apply for a job with us, you will register for an account and create a password for future logins. You will provide us with your name, email address, phone number, and any other additional information you choose to provide in your resume and/or cover letter. We use Paycom to help process your job application. Please see Paycom’s privacy policy here.
  • Apply for Admissions or Request Information. When you apply for admissions or complete any form on our website which requests information about a service we offer, you may provide us with your name, email address, and other information related to your request. We use CRM software to process those requests. Please see the privacy policy for HubSpot, Ellucian, Navigate, and Jotform for more information. 

While we use encryption to protect sensitive information transmitted online, we also protect your information offline. Only employees who need the information to perform a specific job are granted access to personal data.  We automatically collect certain personal data through your use of the Site and our use of cookies and other tracking technologies, such as the following:

  • Page access and activity. 
  • Information about the device you are using, such as hardware model, operating system, application version number, and browser;
  • When you access the Site via a browser on your mobile device, we collect and aggregate information about whether you are accessing the Site via a mobile device or tablet, device type, and carrier; and
  • Location information on a city-regional basis.

How We Use Cookies

We use cookies and tools such as Google Analytics (discussed below) to aggregate data to monitor traffic and trends to improve our Site and Services. We use other analytic tools to understand social media behaviors of our donors and prospective donors. We use cookies collected from the Site for three primary purposes—to carry information about your current Site visit from one page to the next, to process transaction information needed to make a gift or register for an event, and to recognize you and remember your preferences on any subsequent visits.

How You Can Opt Out of Cookies

You can disable cookies by changing preference settings in your web browser. You can use most of our Site with cookies disabled on your browser, but you may find that some of the Site functions require you to enable cookies. You can find out more about cookies and how to manage them by visiting www.AboutCookies.org or www.allaboutcookies.org.

You can understand which entities have currently enabled Cookies for your browser or mobile device and how to opt out of some of those Cookies by accessing the Network Advertising Initiative’s website or the Digital Advertising Alliance’s website. For more information on mobile specific opt-out choices, visit the Network Advertising Initiative’s Mobile Choices website.

Please note these opt-out mechanisms are specific to the device or browser on which they are exercised. Therefore, you will need to opt out on every browser and device that you use.

Google Analytics

We use Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google, Inc. Google Analytics

uses cookies and other tracking technologies to help us analyze how users interact with our Site, compile reports on their activity, and provide other services related to their activity and usage. The technologies used by Google may collect information such as your IP address, time of visit, whether you are a returning visitor, and any referring website. The information generated by Google Analytics will be transmitted to and stored by Google and will be subject to Google’s privacy policies. To learn more about Google’s partner services and to learn how to opt out of tracking of analytics by Google, click here.

Google reCAPTCHA

We also use Google reCAPTCHA, a free service provided by Google, Inc., to protect our Site from spam and abuse. Google reCAPTCHA uses advanced risk analysis techniques to decipher humans and bots. Google reCAPTCHA works differently depending on what version is deployed. For example, you may be asked to check a box indicating that you are not a robot or Google reCAPTCHA may detect abusive traffic without user interaction. Google reCAPTCHA works by transmitting certain types of information to Google, such as the referrer URL, IP address, visitor behavior, operating system information, browser and length of the visit, cookies, and mouse movements. Your use of Google reCAPTCHA is subject to Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. More information as to Google reCAPTCHA and how it works is available here.

Do Not Track Signals

Some internet browsers incorporate a “Do Not Track” feature that signals to websites you visit that you do not want to have your online activity tracked. Given that there is not a uniform way that browsers communicate the “Do Not Track” signal, our Site does not currently interpret, respond to or alter its practices when it receives “Do Not Track” signals.

Third-Party Links

The Site may contain links that will let you leave it and access other websites. Linked websites are not under our control. We accept no responsibility or liability for these other websites.

Children’s Privacy

The Site and Services are not intended for children under 13 years of age. We do not knowingly collect, use, or disclose personal data from children under 13.

II.   How We Use Your Personal Data

In addition to the purposes stated above, we use your personal data for the purposes described below, on the basis of our legitimate interests (for example, sending college newsletters to alumni), pursuant to a contractual agreement (for example, to provide required tax information), or per your consent, where applicable, all in order to advance the interests of Southern Nazarene University and its affiliated organizations.

These interests include:

  • Providing, improving, and customizing educational offerings;
  • Promoting the success of current and former students;
  • Sending tailored marketing communications to prospective students;
  • Furthering research and understanding in fields of academic study;
  • Maintaining an ongoing relationship with alumni, supporters, and friends of the University, and helping to connect them with others;
  • Sharing opportunities to support students or programs with gifts;
  • Offering invitations to events and opportunities to volunteer;
  • Conducting admissions research;
  • Protecting the security and integrity of our Site and Services;
  • Exploring ways to develop and grow our operations;
  • Ensuring the safety and security of students, faculty, fellows, employees, and others; and
  • Meeting our legal obligations and defending and enforcing our legal rights and the rights of others.

We use the personal data we collect to connect you to the causes, departments, and University initiatives you care about. We use this personal data to keep in touch with you and inform you about University-related activities and developments; notify you of events and activities on campus and within your geographical region; offer services and involvement opportunities; send publications and campus information; notify you of activities; and to request and process donations. To keep in touch with you, we may contact you by telephone, email, mail, or social media. If you received a scholarship at Southern Nazarene University, we will use your personal data for donor stewardship purposes and other scholarship reporting. We hold personal data about you to segment our fundraising efforts and determine the most appropriate donor approach and experience. To accomplish this, we conduct asset screening and predictive modeling on alumni and donor records.

III.  How We Share Your Personal Data

Access to the SNU Constituent Database is available to Southern Nazarene University and its affiliated organizations, as needed to advance their university-related missions and to support the overall mission of Southern Nazarene University. We will retain your personal data for as long as necessary for the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy.

We provide personal data to vendors and service providers who support our business functions. You have the right to request not to be included in these activities and we will honor your request. Instructions on how to opt out of these activities are included in section VI, below. We only share personal data with our vendors once they sign an agreement with obligations governing confidentiality and data security.

Personal data about you may also be shared when we believe it is reasonably necessary to comply with a valid legal process (e.g., subpoenas, warrants, public information requests, etc.) or to protect the right, property, or safety of our employees, users, or organization.

IV.  Security

We maintain commercially reasonable security measures to protect the personal data we collect and store from loss, misuse, destruction, or unauthorized access. However, no security measure or modality of data transmission over the Internet is 100% secure.

Although we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your personal data, we cannot guarantee absolute security.

V.  Your Rights

We strive to be efficient, lawful, and appropriate in the delivery of our services, and not operate to the detriment of your interests and rights.

Depending on the jurisdiction in which you are located, you may have certain privacy rights regarding your personal data, such as the right to:

  • request a copy of the personal data we hold about you;
  • correct the personal data we hold about you to ensure its accuracy;
  • have us remove your personal data from the SNU Constituent Database, provided that this removal does not violate legal retention requirements; and
  • object to the processing of your personal data for any of the purposes outlined above.

To exercise your rights, please contact us using any of the options listed in section VIII, below.

VI.  Updating Your Personal Data and Communication Preferences

We consider Southern Nazarene University’s relationship with you to be lifelong, and we will endeavor to keep in touch unless you tell us you do not wish to hear from us. We will also try to keep your data as up-to-date and accurate as possible, and the updates you may provide to us are very helpful.

You have a choice on whether you want to receive information about Southern Nazarene University and about your preferred method of communication with us. At any time, you may request we no longer use your personal data to contact you for engagement or fundraising purposes. Please contact us and we’ll be happy to assist you with your preferences.

VII.   Accessibility

We are committed to ensuring this Privacy Policy is accessible to individuals with disabilities. If you wish to access this Privacy Policy in an alternative format, please contact us using any of the options listed below.

VIII. Contact Information

This Privacy Policy is subject to changes or additions, from time to time, and any updates will be posted online at www.zhiyuan-sh.com/privacy-policy

If you have questions, comments, requests, or concerns about this Privacy Policy or other privacy-related matters, please contact us any time:

By Email: webmaster@zhiyuan-sh.com

By Phone: 405.491.6300

By Mail: Southern Nazarene University

6729 NW 39th Expressway

Bethany, OK 73008

Policy Effective Date: 3/10/2025