Privacy Policy
Section A. Introduction
Thank you
for visiting the Washington Higher Education Facilities Authority
website and reviewing our Privacy Notice. This statement addresses
collection, use and security of and access to information that may be
obtained through use of the Washington Higher Education Facilities
Authority website. This notice covers the following topics:
Information Collected and How it is Used; Personal Information and
Choice; Public Access to Information; Nondisclosure of Certain
[Personal/Private] Information; Review and Correction of Personally
Identifiable Information; Cookies [and applets]; Security; Disclaimer;
Contact Information.
Section B. Information Collected and
How It is Used
Information collected if you only browse this site. If you do
nothing during your visit to our website but browse, read pages, or
download information, we will gather and store certain information about
your visit. This information does not identify you personally. We
automatically collect and store the following information about your
visit: The Internet Protocol Address and domain name used. The
Internet Protocol address is a numerical identifier assigned either to
your Internet service provider or directly to your computer. We use the
Internet Protocol Address to direct Internet traffic to you. This
address can be translated to determine the domain name of your service
provider (e.g. xcompany.com or yourschool.edu); The type of browser and
operating system you used; The date and time you visited this site; The
web pages or services you accessed at this site; and The web site you
visited prior to coming to this website.
The
information we automatically collect or store is logged and used by the
Washington Higher Education Facilities Authority only to improve the
content of our web services and to help us understand how people are
using our services. The Washington Higher Education Facilities Authority
analyzes the website logs to determine how our website is being used, so
that we may continually improve the site's usefulness to the public.
What we
collect if you volunteer information:
If during
your visit to our website you participate in a survey, send an email, or
perform some other transaction on-line, the following additional
information will be collected: The email address, and contents of
email, for those who communicate with us via email; information
volunteered in response to a survey; information volunteered through an
on-line form for any other purpose. The information collected is not
limited to text characters and may include audio, video, and graphic
information formats you send us.
We use
your email to respond appropriately. This may be to respond to you, to
address issues you may identify, to further improve our website, or to
forward the email to another agency for appropriate action. Survey
information and information from other on-line forms is used by the
Authority to improve the quality of our services or for any additional
purposes identified when we present a survey or otherwise request
information from you. The Washington Higher Education Facilities
Authority may use and disclose to third parties summaries or other
non-personally identifiable information derived from information
submitted on the site for other internal or external purposes, but the
Authority will not disclose any such information personally identifying
you without your prior permission.
Section
C. Personal Information and
Choice
You may
choose whether to provide personal information on-line.
"Personal
information" is information about a natural person that is readily
identifiable to that specific individual. Personal information includes
such things as an individual's name, address, and phone number. A domain
name or Internet Protocol address is not considered personal
information.
We collect
no personal information about you unless you voluntarily provide it to
us by sending us email, participating in a survey, or completing an
on-line form. You may choose not to contact us by email, participate in
a survey or to provide any personal information using an online form.
Your choice to not participate in these activities will not impair your
ability to browse Washington Higher Education Facilities Authority
website and read or download any information provided on the site.
If
personal information is requested on the website or volunteered by the
user, state law and the federal Privacy Act of 1974 may protect it.
However, this information is a public record once you provide it, and
may be subject to public inspection and copying if not protected by
federal or state law.
If you
believe that your personal information is being used for a purpose other
than what was intended when submitted, you may contact the Washington
Higher Education Facilities Authority Public Information Officer as
shown in the Contact Information Section of this statement.
Users are
cautioned that the collection of personal information requested from or
volunteered by children on-line or by email will be treated the same as
information given by an adult, and may be subject to public access.
Section D. Public Access to Information
In the
State Of Washington, laws exist to ensure that government is open and
that the public has a right to access appropriate records and
information possessed by state government. At the same time, there are
exceptions to the public's right to access public records that serve
various needs including the privacy of individuals. Exceptions are
provided by both state and federal laws.
All of the
information collected at this site becomes public records that may be
subject to inspection and copying by members of the public, unless an
exemption in law exists. RCW 42.17. 260(1) states that
Each
agency, in accordance with published rules, shall make available for
public inspection and copying all public records, unless the record
falls within the specific exemptions of subsection (6) of this section [RCW
42.17.260(6)], RCW 42.17.310, 42.17.315, or other statute which exempts
or prohibits disclosure of specific information or records. To the
extent required to prevent an unreasonable invasion of personal privacy
interests protected by RCW 42.17.310 and 42.17.315, an agency shall
delete identifying details in a manner consistent with RCW 42.17.310 and
42.17.315 when it makes available or publishes any public record;
however, in each case, the justification for the deletion shall be
explained fully in writing.
In the
event of a conflict between this Privacy Notice and the Public Records
Act or other law governing the agency’s disclosure of records, the
Public Records Act or other applicable law will control.
Section E. Nondisclosure of Certain
Personal Information
The
Washington Higher Education Facilities Authority may request you to
provide certain personal/private information in order to fulfill a
request made by you and/or to improve the quality of our services.
Generally,
all the Authority's files are available for public inspection, unless
exempt from disclosure under the provisions of Chapter 42.17.310 RCW.
Examples of information that is not available for public review include:
Personal information maintained on borrowers or applicants for Authority
programs; lists of individuals to be used for commercial purposes;
personal information maintained on employees, appointees, or elected
officials.
Section F.
Review and Correction of Personally Identifiable Information.
You can
review any personally identifiable information we collect about you by
using the information in the Contact Information section at the end of
this Notice. You may recommend changes to your personally identifiable
information you believe to be inaccurate by submitting a written request
that credibly shows the inaccuracy. We will take reasonable steps to
verify your identity before granting access or making corrections. (RCW
43.105.310)
Section
G. Cookies and Applets
To better
serve our users we may use "cookies" to customize your browsing
experience with the Washington Higher Education Facilities Authority
website. Cookies are simple text files stored on your computer by your
web browser. Cookies created on your computer by using this
website do not contain personally identifying information and do not
compromise your privacy or security.
Applets
are tools downloaded to your computer to work with the software you
have. Applets are intended to enhance your browsing experience by
enabling you to view information in a unique manner. We use applets with
this site to provide visual enhancements such as hover buttons and
alternate text formats. You are not required to use applets to browse
this site. Choosing not to accept applets will not affect your general
ability to browse this website and download information, but may
adversely affect how information appears on your computer or your
ability to view the information that the applet is intended to support.
Section
H. Security
The
Department of Information Services, as host and the Washington Higher
Education Facilities Authority as manager of this website, have taken
and are continuing to take several steps to safeguard the integrity of
its data and prevent unauthorized access to information collected on the
website and maintained by the Washington Higher Education Facilities
Authority. These measures are designed and intended to prevent
corruption of data, block unknown or unauthorized access to our systems
and information, and to provide reasonable protection of private
information in our possession.
This
information should not be construed in any way as giving business,
legal, or other advice, or warranting as fail proof, the security of
information provided via Washington Higher Education Facilities
Authority website.
Section I. Disclaimer
The
Washington Higher Education Facilities Authority website has many links
to other websites. These include links to websites operated by other
government agencies, nonprofit organizations and private businesses.
When you link to another site, you are no longer on the Washington
Higher Education Facilities Authority website and this Privacy Notice
will not apply. When you link to another website, you are subject to the
privacy policy of that new site.
Neither
the State of Washington, nor any agency, officer, or employee of the
State of Washington warrants the accuracy, reliability or timeliness of
any information published by this system, nor endorses any content,
viewpoints, products, or services linked from this system, and shall not
be held liable for any losses caused by reliance on the accuracy,
reliability or timeliness of such information. Portions of such
information may be incorrect or not current. Any person or entity that
relies on any information obtained from this system does so at their own
risk.
Section J.
Washington Higher Education Facilities Authority Contact Information
You may
contact the Washington Higher Education Facilities Authority to review
your personal information or request correction of your personal
information as follows:
Washington
Higher Education Facilities Authority
1000 Second Avenue, Suite 2700
Seattle, Washington 98104-1048
Fax: 206.587.5113
Phone:
206.464.7139
or toll free in Washington State 800.767.4663
Email:
whefa@wshfc.org
This page was modified on 08/15/2000. |
