Buck Institute for Education

Privacy Policy

At the Buck Institute for Education (“BIE”), we understand that privacy is important, and we are strongly committed to protecting the privacy of visitors to our websites. The following information is designed to help you better understand the information we gather from our website and through our professional development services, how we handle the information once we gather it, whether we disclose it to anyone, and the choices you have regarding our use of, and your ability to correct, the information.

This Privacy Policy applies when you visit our website, http://www.bie.org, or otherwise share your personally identifiable information with BIE as discussed below. Please read this policy carefully. Please note that this Privacy Policy applies only to the http://www.bie.org website, and not to other companies’ or organizations’ sites to which we link. You may wish to consult the privacy policies of such sites. By visiting BIE’s website, you are accepting the practices described in this Privacy Policy.

Information Collection and Use

Our primary goals in collecting personal information are to provide you with a smooth, efficient, and customized experience, and to send you products and information upon your request. The type of data we collect on this website includes:

• contact information, such as full name, email address, and mailing address when ordering products.
• financial information and/or credit card or debit card data (for online purchases of BIE products).
• Demographic information regarding your professional life as it relates to Project Based Learning
• Internet Protocol (IP) information, such as your IP address and browser type.

PLEASE BE AWARE THAT YOU ARE UNDER NO OBLIGATION TO PROVIDE, AND CAN DECLINE TO PROVIDE, ANY REQUESTED INFORMATION AT ANY TIME. HOWEVER, IF YOU DECLINE, YOU MAY NOT BE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN CERTAIN ACTIVITIES ON THIS WEB SITE.

Aggregate Data

In general, we automatically gather certain usage information, such as the number and frequency of visitors to our websites. This information may include which URL you just came from, which URL you next go to, what browser you are using, and your IP address. We use such data only in the aggregate. This collective data helps us to determine how much our visitors use parts of the websites, and to do internal research on our users’ demographics, interests, and behavior to better understand our visitors and improve our site content and website design.

Personally Identifiable Information

If you purchase a BIE product or service using this website, we will request certain personally identifiable information about you, including your name, address, phone number, e-mail address and credit/debit card number. In addition, we may use the information you provide to contact you and deliver information to you, such as curriculum downloads, e-mail updates, to improve our content, service and product offerings, to analyze website usage, and customize our website content, layout and services.

Online Store

FoxyCart hosts our ordering system and order data, and will collect order information during the process of fulfilling an order and supporting the shopping experience. Please see the FoxyCart Privacy Policy for more information about how FoxyCart uses this information.

Purchasing Items

Purchasing items from the online store may require the giving of personally identifiable information (such as name and credit card information). IF YOU ARE UNDER THIRTEEN, YOU WILL NEED YOUR PARENT’S OR GUARDIAN’S CONSENT BEFORE YOU CAN PARTICIPATE IN THIS ACTIVITY.

Security of Credit Card Information

All transactions within the online store hosted by FoxyCart are handled using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) software to encrypt sensitive information during transmission. Credit card details are never transferred to BIE or stored by BIE.

FoxyCart is PCI compliant, Safe Harbor compliant, has multiple security scans (PCI requirements 1, 5, 6), and adheres to best practices wherever possible. Servers are all located in secure facilities (PCI requirement 9), and access to systems are granted on a “need-to-know” basis (PCI requirement 7), as required by the PCI rules.

IP Address and Machine Type

An IP address is a number automatically assigned to your computer whenever you are surfing the Web. Web servers, the computers that “serve up” Web pages, automatically identify your computer by its IP address. When you request a page from our Web site, our servers log your IP address. An IP address does not contain personally identifiable information. Except with respect to our e-commerce activities (for example, online purchases), we do not link IP addresses with personally identifiable information. We may use your IP address to help diagnose problems with our server and to administer our Web site. Your IP address is used to help identify you and your shopping cart and to gather broad demographic information. We may also collect information about your browser software and/or machine type (for example, Windows, Mac, and Unix).

Site Registration and Forum

If you choose to become a registered user of the BIE site and PBL Forum (“Forum”) accessible at http://www.bie.org/forums/, we will request certain personally identifiable information about you in the registration process, including your name and email address. We will also give you the opportunity of providing additional, but not required information, including a URL address for your website or blog, your professional information (including your position, years in position, school, organization, grades served, content areas, degrees and specialization) and your personal interests (including areas of interest and a personal statement). This information will be stored in the website’s database. When you use the forum, your name and email address will be not be visible to other registered users. We will not otherwise disclose this personally identifiable information to anyone (except internal and external service providers as stated below).

Once you are a registered user of the Forum, you will have the opportunity to post messages that will be visible to other Forum users. BIE does not accept liability for the posting, by you or anyone else, of any of your or others’ personally identifiable information on any part of our websites, including the Forum. Such posting of personal information about yourself or others is not allowed.

You are welcome to change or delete your Forum information and profile or update the contact information we have for you.

Cookies

Our website utilizes “cookies”. A “cookie” is a small text file that permits us to recognize your browser in order to customize your experience, or permit you to access restricted areas. Cookies do not contain personal information.

Links

We create links to the Web sites of other parties. The inherent nature of the Internet allows easy access from one Web site to another. Though we certainly try not to link to any Web sites that contain unsuitable or inappropriate material, we cannot control any of these links and are not responsible for any content appearing on Web sites linked to or from our Web site, or for any personal information gathered at those independently operated Web sites. Independently operated Web sites are not associated with or authorized by us and may also have links leading to this Web site. IF YOU ARE UNDER THIRTEEN, GET YOUR PARENT’S OR GUARDIAN’S CONSENT BEFORE LINKING TO OTHER WEB SITES.

Security

We care about the security of your information. We employ several different security techniques to protect your personally identifiable information from unauthorized access by users inside and outside the organization. You should be aware, however, that “perfect security” does not exist on the Internet; third parties may unlawfully intercept or access transmissions or private communications. You should not expect that your personally identifiable information will remain private.

Sharing Information

As a matter of policy, we will not sell, share or rent information about you in ways different from what is disclosed in this statement. However, we may be forced to disclose information to the government or third parties under certain circumstances. We cooperate with law enforcement inquiries, as well as other third parties, to enforce laws such as those regarding intellectual property rights, fraud and other personal rights. We can (and you authorize us to) disclose any information about you to law enforcement or other government officials as we, in our sole discretion, believe necessary or appropriate in connection with an investigation of fraud, intellectual property infringement or other activity that is illegal or may expose us or you to liability. We may also disclose personal information in the good-faith belief that doing so is reasonably necessary to comply with legal processes, respond to any claims, or protect the rights, property, or personal safety of the Buck Institute for Education, its subsidiaries and affiliates, our partners, clients and customers, or the public.

Policy Towards Children

We are concerned about the safety and privacy of children who use the Internet. Although we encourage children to learn more about our organization and the world of project based learning, we encourage that this be done with parental supervision. Consistent with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (“COPPA”), we will never knowingly request personally identifiable information from anyone under the age of 13 without prior verifiable parental consent. If we become aware that a child under 13 has otherwise provided us with personally identifiable information without verifiable parental consent, we will use our best efforts to remove such information from our files. If a parent or guardian becomes aware that his or her child has provided us with personally identifiable information without verifiable parental consent, he or she should contact the Buck Institute for Education (18 Commercial Blvd., Novato, CA 94949, 415.883.0122, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)).

Other Information Collectors

Except as otherwise expressly included in this Privacy Policy, this document addresses the use and disclosure of information that we collect from you. To the extent that you disclose your information to others, different rules may apply to their use or disclosure of such information. We do not control the privacy policies of others. We encourage you to ask questions before you disclose your personal information to others.

Privacy Policy Changes

We reserve the right to make changes to this Privacy Policy, based on your comments, or to address new issues and reflect changes on our Web site. We will post all changes here. We encourage you to visit this area frequently to stay informed.

Governing Law

You agree that your use of this website, this Privacy policy and any disputes relating thereto shall be governed in all respects by the laws of the State of California.

Contacting the Web Site

Thank you for visiting our website. If you have any questions about this privacy statement or this Web site, contact us using the following information:

Buck Institute for Education
18 Commercial Blvd
Novato, CA 94949
(415) 883-0122
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)