Blackboard Inc. and its affiliates (collectively "Blackboard") are committed to protecting the privacy of its users. Because Blackboard gathers certain types of information about the users of the Blackboard.com Web site and the various services within the channels available on Blackboard.com ("Services"), we believe you should fully understand the terms and conditions surrounding the use of the information we collect. The following discloses our information gathering and dissemination practices for the Blackboard.com site; the practices relating to persons with separate agreements with Blackboard or its affiliates are separately covered in those agreements.
 
Please review the following statement to understand how the information you provide to Blackboard through our websites will be treated.
 
1. Information Blackboard collects.
 
You are free to visit Blackboard.com without identifying yourself; however, if you would like to utilize or customize some features of the Services, you must first register with Blackboard. When you register, we will request certain personal information, including your name, city and state, e-mail address, and age range. This information better enables us to provide you with content relevant to your interests and provides us with aggregate demographic data that Blackboard uses to improve the services offered to users. You may update or review this information at any time by selecting the "edit personal information" option throughout the Service. Please see below for Access to Information.
 
In addition to registration, Blackboard may, from time to time, request personal information for purposes such as the provision of customer service, billing, synchronization of information available in the Resources channel with individual CourseSites, network management, customer surveys, newsletter subscriptions, offers of related services, and other exchanges of information. Users may opt-out of receiving future promotional mailings at any time. Please see below for User Options - Opt Out.
 
Blackboard gathers information about all users collectively, such as what areas users visit most frequently and what services users access most often. Blackboard automatically logs IP addresses, session sources, and other data which tracks users' access to Blackboard.com. We analyze these logs for sales and marketing purposes as well as system performance monitoring. These logs are analyzed for the overall, aggregate trends they reveal about out customers, not for the behaviors of individual users.
 
2. Privacy of Children
 
Blackboard's policy is to limit the collection of personal information from children. Children ages 12 and under will not be allowed to register with Blackboard and create an account without their parent's permission. Before children ages 12 and under may participate in any Services requiring registration (e.g., creating or enrolling in a CourseSite, chat rooms, message boards or other forums in the Community channel), the child's school must first obtain the parent's permission. If at any time after a parent gives permission, the parent desires to review the child's personal information, request that it be deleted or refuse to allow any further collection of the child's information, the parent may contact the school's representative for Blackboard. If you have additional questions regarding your child's use of his or her account, you may contact the school's representative or Blackboard. Please see below for our contact information.
 
Blackboard does not:
 
collect more information from children than is reasonably necessary for them to participate in activities;
entice children, by the prospect of a special game, prize or other activity, to provide more information than is necessary to participate in the activity; or share any personal information about children with third parties.

3. What Blackboard does with the information it collects.
 
The UserID you select during registration must be used to login and participate in a CourseSite. Once you login to a CourseSite, you will be identified to the instructor and other students in that course by your full name in areas such as discussion forums, email lists, and other places where names appear. Please remember that any information that is disclosed in these areas becomes available to the instructor and other students in that course, and you should exercise caution when deciding to disclose your personal information.
 
Blackboard makes chat rooms, forums, message boards, and/or news groups available in the Communities channel and other Services. Please remember that any information that is disclosed in these areas becomes public information, and you should exercise caution when deciding to disclose your personal information.
 
The personal information you supply to Blackboard will not be given, sold, rented, loaned, or otherwise disclosed to any third parties outside of Blackboard, except when we have your permission or under special circumstances, such as when we believe in good faith that disclosure is reasonably necessary to (i) comply with legal process, (ii) enforce the Terms of Use, (iii) respond to claims that any content on Blackboard.com violates the rights of third parties, or (iv) protect the rights, property, or personal safety of Blackboard, its users, or the public.
 
Blackboard may use aggregated personal information to determine the demographics of our users and to distribute statistics and general marketplace information about Blackboard. These demographics will always represent aggregate information and will never identify a specific user.
 
Certain non-personal information regarding users is recorded by the standard operation of the Internet servers hosting the Blackboard.com site. This information is primarily used to provide visitors to Blackboard.com with an enhanced online experience. Blackboard may disclose aggregated user statistics in order to describe the service to prospective partners, advertisers, and other third parties, and for other lawful purposes.
 
Some features of Blackboard.com may be offered in conjunction with a partner company. In order to provide these features, it may be necessary for either you or us to share your personal information with this company. If you do not want your information to be shared, you can choose not to allow the transfer by not using that particular feature. Also, please be aware that advertisers or Web sites that are linked to Blackboard.com may collect personally identifiable information about you. The information practices of those Web sites linked to Blackboard.com are not covered by this Privacy Policy and Blackboard is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of such Web sites.
 
4. What is a cookie?
 
A cookie is a small data file that certain Web sites write to your hard drive when you visit them. A cookie file can contain information such as a user ID that the site uses to track the pages you've visited. But the only personal information a cookie can contain is information you supply yourself. A cookie can't read data off your hard disk or read cookie files created by other sites. Blackboard uses cookies to tell when a user is a repeat visitor and to let us know how the user found the site. They also allow us to automatically link users to their personalized accounts. When you create an account, Blackboard uses a cookie to store a unique, random user ID. Blackboard uses this ID to identify you anonymously in our database and to track the pages you visit on our site. This helps us better understand and improve areas of the site that our users find valuable. Blackboard also uses this ID to enable you to enter various channels as a member and to visit member-restricted areas of the site without having to login each time. Blackboard encrypts the user ID for added security.
 
If you've set your browser to warn you before accepting cookies, you will receive the warning message with each cookie. Though some of the Services require the use of cookies, visitors to Blackboard.com always have the option of disabling cookies via their browser preferences. You can refuse cookies by turning them off in your browser. However, some of the Services will not work if you have cookies disabled.
 
5. User Options -- Opt-Out
 
Users may opt out of receiving future promotional mailings by sending an e-mail with their name to: unsubscribe@blackboard.com. Blackboard reserves the right to send users email related to business practices and systems operations, such as outage notifications and quota warnings, even if the user has opted out of promotional mailings.
 
6. Access to Your Information
 
Blackboard offers users the ability to correct or change the information collected during registration. Users may change this information at any time and as often as necessary by choosing the "edit personal information" option offered throughout the Service.
 
7. Security
 
All of your personal information is stored on servers at a location designed specifically to ensure that no unauthorized individuals have access to the server or its data.
 
8. European Union Data Protection
 
If you reside in the European Union, upon registration you will be indicating your explicit consent that the personal information you have provided may be transferred and stored in countries outside the EU, including the United States. If you fail to provide your consent, you will not be permitted to access the Services for which registration is required.
 
9. Blackboard Privacy Policy Statement Changes
 
If Blackboard changes this privacy statement, we will post those changes at /legal/privacy.htm, so that you will always know what information we gather, how we might use that information, and whether we will disclose it to anyone. By using Blackboard.com or its Services, you signify your assent to the Blackboard.com Privacy Policy Statement. If you do not agree to this statement, please do not use the Blackboard.com Web site or its Services. Your continued use of Blackboard.com or its Services following the posting of changes to these terms will mean you accept those changes.
 
10. Contact Blackboard
 
If you have any questions about this privacy statement or this Web site, please contact us electronically /about/contact/index.htm or write to:
 
Webmaster
Blackboard Inc.
1899 L Street, NW
5th Floor
Washington, D.C 20036
 
In the event that you are concerned about how data you have provided Blackboard through Blackboard.com or its Services has been used, please contact us electronically from your Behind the Blackboard account, or write to the postal address listed above. Blackboard takes all concerns about privacy and use of data very seriously, and shall endeavor to reply to you within two business days to commence its investigation of your concerns.