Scholarship America recognizes the importance of data security and privacy.

We are dedicated to protecting your privacy and handling any personal information you provide with care and respect. This Privacy Policy is designed to assist you in understanding how we, as the data controller, collect, use, and share personal information you provide to us through the Scholarship America websites (Sites).

By accessing the Site and using its services, you confirm that you have read and consent to the information practices described in the policy.

This Privacy Policy Covers:

What information do we collect and how is it used?

Student Application Data

Your participation in Scholarship America’s programs is voluntary and you may choose whether to participate. To be considered for a scholarship, tuition assistance or other award administered by Scholarship America, you may be required to submit data electronically so that we may review and consider your application in order to select award recipients. By submitting an application, you consent to the processing of your personal information by Scholarship America and the organization sponsoring the program for the purpose of reviewing and considering applications and selecting award recipients.

Types of personally identifiable information may include, but are not limited to:

  • full name
  • address
  • email address and phone numbers
  • your parent(s) full name(s), address(es), email address(es) and phone number(s)
  • gender
  • ethnicity
  • academic information
  • current and future enrollment information
  • involvement in work, school and community activities
  • personal essays
  • birthdate

In some cases, your and/or a parent’s social security number and personal or household financial information may be requested. Actual information we collect varies based on the program being administered.

Scholarship America processes your personal information only for the purpose for which it was collected in accordance with contractual program parameters and this Privacy Policy. We review our data collection, storage and processing practices to ensure we only collect, store and process the personal information needed to administer a program or provide a service.

When you create an application account, data you enter during the application process is automatically saved for your convenience. Even if the application is abandoned or not submitted, the information you provide is collected and is subject to this policy. Once data is entered, it becomes the property of Scholarship America.

Data is stored and processed at Scholarship America locations in the United States and potentially at sponsor sites. Program guidelines will identify if data will be stored or processed by the sponsor. Scholarship America is not responsible for the use, processing, and security of information once it is in the care or control of a program sponsor or other designated entity as specified by the program. We encourage you to refer to the privacy policies of those organizations to learn more about their privacy practices.

We may use your contact information to confirm receipt of your application, to gather more information if there are questions regarding your application, to send you notifications regarding your status, or for communication necessary to administer a program or provide a service. When you send email or other communications electronically, Scholarship America may retain those communications to process your inquiries, respond to your request or question and improve our services.

No personal data will be shared with third parties without your explicit choice (opt in) with the exception of the organization sponsoring the scholarship or tuition assistance program who will act as the data controller with respect to that program. If data is shared with a sponsor, during the application process you will be told what data will be shared with the sponsor, how and for what purpose the sponsor will process the data and given access to the sponsor’s privacy policy.

Donor Data

Scholarship America is committed to the privacy and security of both online and offline donors. All donors to Scholarship America provide certain personal information which may include names, contact information and financial data. We protect this information in a variety of ways.

Except as otherwise provided in this Privacy Policy, we will not sell, share or trade donor information with any other entity and we will not send mailings to our donors on behalf of other organizations unless a donor has given us specific permission to do so.

In cases where donations are processed through a third-party service provider, donor information will only be used as necessary to process the donation. All processing of payments and related information, including by third party service providers, is protected by industry standard safeguards.

General Data

When visiting the Scholarship America websites, visitors have the option to enter data for the purpose of requesting information, downloading content or asking questions. This data is used only for the purpose of communicating with you and will not be shared or sold to anyone outside our organization. Scholarship America may use third parties to provide certain services on our behalf (“Service Providers”). Personal information will only be shared as necessary for Service Providers to conduct their services. Service Providers are prohibited from using the data we provide to them for any other purpose.

Scholarship America reserves the right to disclose personal information as required by law.  Non-personally identifiable information may be shared as aggregate demographic information to program sponsors or may be used by Scholarship America in pursuit of its philanthropic goals.

We also use personal information collected through our Sites:

  • for security or fraud prevention purposes
  • to improve the content, functionality and usability of our Site
  • to improve our marketing and promotional efforts
  • to invite you to participate in surveys and provide feedback to us (in accordance with any privacy preferences you have expressed to us)
  • to statistically analyze Site use
  • to improve our product and service offerings
  • to customize our Site’s content, layout, and services
  • to deliver information or otherwise respond to you
  • to contact you regarding administrative notices

Scholarship America relies on the following legal grounds for the collection, processing, and use of personal information:

  • Consent, as permitted by applicable law
  • Compliance with legal obligations
  • User support
  • Legitimate interest of Scholarship America where the legitimate interest may be:
    • customer relationship management and other forms of marketing
    • physical security, IT and network security
    • Site management and enhancement

We use certain web technologies including cookies, web beacons, clear gifs, and pixels (collectively, “cookies and other technologies”) to assist us in providing better service. These cookies and other technologies do not identify you personally and are not connected to any data you provide on the Site. They provide technical and behavioral information such as the IP address, device type, browser type, and device identifier used to visit the website, the date and time of your visit, the pages you view, the websites you visited before and after visiting that Site, and (where permitted by your device) location data. Our services and sites currently do not recognize “do not track” signals that may be sent by certain browsers. Please click here for more information about our Cookie Policy. Cookies are not used on Scholarsapply.org, our student application Site.

How does Scholarship America SECURE my personal information?

We use commercially reasonable physical, technological, and administrative safeguards designed to protect your personal data from unauthorized use, access, or disclosure. Email is not recognized as a secure medium of communication. For this reason, we request that you do not send private or sensitive information to us by email. Some of the information you may enter on our Sites may be transmitted securely via Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), 128 bit encryption services, which are enabled by a reputable SSL certificate provider (e.g., Thawte or Verisign). Pages utilizing this technology will have URLs that start with HTTPS instead of HTTP. No method of transmission over the Internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. While we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

In the event that your data has been accessed by an unauthorized individual, you will be notified as required by law.

This Privacy Policy applies to data collected on Sites administered by Scholarship America only. The Sites may contain links to other sites that are not owned or controlled by Scholarship America. Be aware when you leave our Sites and read the privacy statements pertaining to other sites you may link to.

Business Transitions

If Scholarship America becomes involved in a merger, acquisition, or any form of sale, it is likely personal information will be among the assets transferred.

Privacy Protection for Children under Age 13

Scholarship America does not collect personal information directly from children who are under 13 years old. However, a child of this age may occasionally be eligible for certain programs or services administered through our Sites, in which case, a parent or legal guardian of such child must provide the child’s personal information to Scholarship America. The parent or legal guardian must also provide his or her own contact information (e.g., email address, mailing address and phone numbers). All communications pertaining to the program or service will be sent directly to such parent or legal guardian. The personal information (identifiable or not) of such parent or legal guardian collected is subject to this Privacy Policy.

For more information on online privacy protection for children under 13, please see the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).

If you are a minor under the age of 18, a registered user of this Site, and a resident of the State of California, you may remove, or request the removal of, content or information you have posted on this Site by contacting us as provided below.  Certain exceptions may apply. Such removal, however, does not ensure complete or comprehensive removal of your content or information.

Will this Privacy Policy CHANGE?

Because our websites and business units will continue to implement new technologies and improve the services and features we provide, this policy is subject to change at any time. If there are changes or additions to this Privacy Policy, we will post those changes here or in other formats we deem acceptable, so you will always know what information we collect online, how we use it and what choices you have. Your continued use of the Site after such modifications will constitute your acknowledgement of, and agreement to be bound by, the revised Privacy Policy.

Discontinue Contact and Data Removal Policy

It is the policy of Scholarship America to discontinue contacting any person upon that person’s written request.

Data will only be stored as long as needed to fulfill legitimate business purposes or for a period of time specifically required or allowed by applicable regulations or laws.

If you are located outside the United States and choose to provide information to us, please note that we transfer the data, including Personal Data, to the United States and process it there. If you wish to have us discontinue processing or storing your data, you may contact our data protection officer, Stephanie Stoffel. Your consent to this Privacy Policy followed by your submission of such information represents your agreement to that transfer.

How to Contact Us

Scholarship America wants your information and preferences to be accurate and complete. To update or change your information, you can send your updated information to:

Scholarship America
One Scholarship Way
Saint Peter, MN  56082
data@scholarshipamerica.org

To communicate with our Data Privacy Officer, please address any questions, concerns or comments to:

Stephanie Stoffel, DPO
One Scholarship Way
Saint Peter, MN  56082
data@scholarshipamerica.org

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