College of Saint Mary (CSM) is committed to protecting the privacy of all visitors to our Web site and to being a trusted source of information. This policy describes how we handle information obtained from users in the course of a visit to the CSM Web site: www.CSM.edu.  

Links from the CSM Web Site
CSM web sites may contain links to other sites. CSM exercises no authority over third-party sites that users may link to from our site; each of these sites maintains its own independent privacy and data collection policies and procedures. CSM assumes no responsibility or liability for these independent methods or actions and is not responsible for the policies or procedures of destination sites. Nor does CSM assume responsibility for the privacy policies or procedures of any site that links users to the CSM site. We encourage users to be aware when they leave our site and to read the privacy statements of each web site that collects personally identifiable information.

Information Collection and Sharing
CSM is the sole owner of information collected through the CSM web sites. We do not collect any personally identifiable information unless users voluntarily supply it as part of a request for service or information. That information is used only to implement the requested activity. We do not share personally identifiable information collected through our site with any third parties without the specific consent of the user except as provided below.

Use of Log Files
Like most web sites, we analyze log files to help us improve our site and make it more useful to patients, their families and the general public. These log files provide aggregate data about how visitors use our site. They help us track such things as the origins of web traffic, the types of Internet browsers and Internet service providers our visitors use, and how users navigate through our site. We do not use these log files to collect information about the specific identity of any visitor to our Web site.

Use of "Cookies"
A "cookie" is a small file that a web site transfers to the user's hard drive. These cookies can be "persistent" (that is, they are retained on the user's hard drive from visit to visit) or "session-based" (that is, they last only for the course of a visit to the site). For the most part, the CSM Web site uses only session-based cookies to streamline a visitor's use of the site during a particular visit and to make it easier for visitors to take advantage of dynamic features of the site. These cookies expire once the user closes the browser window. We do not use cookies to keep track of personal information about Web site users.

Communications to the Site
CSM web sites provide opportunities for web users to communicate with the web site administrator and other CSM personnel via e-mail or various forms through which users may request information or supply feedback. Users should be aware that these forms are not encrypted unless otherwise noted and that normal e-mail is not encrypted. Users who ask questions via e-mail or any comment form supplied on our site are authorizing us to respond with an unencrypted e-mail message that may contain private information. In addition, we may require telephone numbers or return addresses so that we can supply the requested information or service. Because it is possible for unauthorized individuals to intercept e-mails with CSM, visitors to the site should exercise caution when sharing any personally identifiable information through e-mail. We are responsible for the privacy of messages that we store on the network. We are not, however, responsible for the privacy of those messages once we have transmitted them to the user or the user's e-mail provider, nor are we responsible for the privacy of messages while they are in transit from the user to our site.

Security
There are some secure forms on CSM web sites. These are generally indicated by the letters "HTTPS" in the URL of the page in question. In these cases, to prevent unauthorized access, maintain data accuracy and ensure the correct use of information, we have put in place appropriate physical, electronic and administrative procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect online, consistent with CSM policies along with state and federal laws and regulations. The personally identifiable information we collect is securely stored within our database, and we use standard, industry-wide procedures such as encryption, firewalls and SSL (Secure Socket Layers) to protect information we receive from visitors to the site. However, as effective as encryption technology is, no security system is impenetrable. We cannot guarantee the security of our database, nor can we guarantee that information supplied by visitors to the site will not be intercepted while being transmitted to us over the Internet.

Third-Party Intermediaries
CSM uses a processing company to process credit card transactions. The credit card processing company does not retain, share, store or use personally identifiable information for any secondary purposes.

Judicial Proceedings
Though CSM makes every effort to preserve user privacy, we may need to disclose personal information when we have a good faith belief that such action is necessary to comply with a current judicial proceeding, a court order or legal process served on our web site.

Notification of Changes
If our privacy policy changes, we will post changes at this URL to ensure that our users are always aware of the information we collect, how we use it and under what circumstances, if any, we disclose it. We will use information in accordance with the privacy policy under which the information was collected. Your continued use of this site shall be deemed as acceptance of the modified privacy statement.