Privacy & Data Use Statement
University Advancement at Michigan State University is committed to protecting the privacy of students, alumni, donors, and friends of the university.
This Privacy & Data Use Statement applies to information collected through University Advancement and its websites, advancement.msu.edu , alumni.msu.edu, givingto.msu.edu, other applications, and any other interactions we may have with you. This statement outlines the information we may collect, how we protect it, how we may use that information, and how you may elect to change your information. Please note that this Privacy & Data Use Statement only applies to domains operated by University Advancement.
COLLECTION OF INFORMATION
University Advancement obtains and updates personal data regarding alumni, donors, and friends from various sources.
Information Collected from You:
- attended MSU as a student or worked at MSU as an employee (if applicable)
- voluntarily enter information into a website or online form
- give a gift or register for a volunteer opportunity
- respond to outreach and communications (response cards, surveys, etc.)
- register for, or attend, events
Information Collected from Third Parties:
We may collect information that is available to the public from other websites or sources, such as media, public records, and directories. We do not sell information about our alumni or visitors. We sometimes share information with third-party vendors and service providers as part of regular business (such as sending the Spartan magazine through a mailing house to facilitate delivery). We occasionally share information for commercial purposes, if we determine there is a benefit to our alumni, supporters, and friends.
Information Collected Automatically:
While using our public web pages, you do not have to identify yourself or divulge personal information. We may collect general information from you that does not identify you personally. This may include data listed below. We aggregate this information to help us better focus on the needs and interests of our visitors and to improve the overall functionality of our website.
- your domain name
- the name of the web page from which you entered our site
- which of our web pages you visited and for how long
As you use our website, we will not collect any personal information such as your name, street address, or email address, unless you provide the information to us voluntarily. If you make an online gift, register online for an event, or otherwise voluntarily provide information, this is collected, stored, and used as described elsewhere in this statement.
KINDS OF INFORMATION COLLECTED
- Name
- Contact information (address, telephone, email, etc.)
- Degree information
- Birthdate
- Legal sex and gender
- Race and ethnicity
- Employment information, including job title and business contact
- Career highlights and other life achievements
- Parent, family, and marital relationships, if applicable
- Relationships with other MSU alumni or individuals affiliated with MSU
- Interests, including event and volunteer participation
- Memberships in alumni clubs and giving societies
- Giving history and estimated giving capacity
- Information you have voluntarily shared with us, such as your experience with MSU, how you wish to be engaged with MSU, your philanthropic priorities and interests, etc.
- Photographs and other media from MSU events and publications
USE AND SHARING OF INFORMATION
- to process a gift you have made to MSU, issue a receipt, and provide donor recognition
- to invite you to alumni and University events
- to send you relevant MSU news and publications, such as the alumni magazine, newsletters, or progress on fundraising campaigns
- to inform you of volunteer opportunities, fundraising priorities and campaigns, and other ways to engage with MSU that may be of interest to you
- to better understand our alumni and donor community, inform our fundraising strategy, and focus our communications more effectively
- to maintain internal records, including feedback or requests to opt-out of receiving specific communications
- to contact you for purposes connected to Michigan State University or our ongoing relationship with you as an alumni, donor, or friend
University Advancement may release personal information if required to do so by law, university policy or contractual obligation.
University Advancement may provide the opportunity for users to select specific areas of interest in order to receive news and marketing materials related to those interests. Users are given an opportunity to opt-out of mailings.
The MSU Alumni Office maintains the MSU Alumni Directory ("the alumni directory") for the purposes of facilitating interaction between alumni. The alumni directory is password protected and may be accessed by authenticated MSU alumni, students and faculty and staff. MSU has taken precautions to secure information available through the alumni directory. You may elect to restrict individual elements of your profile information or to opt out of the alumni directory completely. If you have questions about the alumni directory or your privacy settings, contact myalumni@msu.edu.
THIRD PARTY TRACKING TECHNOLOGY
This site uses a tracking technology called Google Analytics to obtain site usage information such as users' Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, Internet domain and host names, browser software, and the date and time that the site is visited. Data from Google Analytics allows us to monitor the use of this site, understand how users find our site, and improve the site's function and content.
Our use of Google Analytics is in compliance with Google's Terms of Service and the MSU Access to Student Information guidelines. Google provides more information about Google's privacy practices and information on how to opt-out of Google Analytics tracking of your web browsing.
You may also wish to review the MSU Access to Student Information guidelines.
This site uses Google Custom Search.
COOKIES
When you view our website, we may store some information on your computer in the form of a cookie. Cookies allow us to tailor our website to better match your interests and preferences. Usage of a cookie is not linked to any of your personally identifiable information while on our site. You have the ability to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you may be able to modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer. If you choose to decline cookies, you may not be able to fully experience all of the features and content of our website.
RIGHTS FOR INDIVIDUALS OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES
If you provide information directly to University Advancement from a location outside the United States, you consent to the collection, storage, use, processing, transmission, disclosure, and deletion of such information within the United States, as contemplated by this Privacy & Data Use Statement. You have the right to lodge an appeal pertaining to data protection with a data protection authority. To do so, contact the data protection authority responsible for your place of residence.
ACCESS TO YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION
You may review, update and correct the personal information maintained by University Advancement by contacting us. You may opt out of receiving communications from us or inform us of your preferred communication methods as well. Please note that even if you opt out of receiving communications, we still need to retain certain personal information in our records in order to maintain information about your preferences.
If you do not provide personal information on our websites, you may not be able to do certain things such as access particular areas of the site, request certain types of information, or send us an email.
To review or update your personal information, contact us at UADV.Records@msu.edu or call: (517) 884-1000 or (800) 232-4678 toll free.
You may also write to us at:
Strategic Data Management
University Advancement
Spartan Way
535 Chestnut Road, Room 300
East Lansing, MI 48824
If you request to review or update your personal information, University Advancement will need to verify your identity via a phone call prior to releasing information. Federal and state law require that we use caution in releasing personal information, which means that we must confirm that a request to release information is truly coming from the correct individual. Identity verification is a routine step we take in all requests for personal information. This necessary step protects the individual and the institution from potential fraud.
OUR COMMITMENT TO SECURITY
We maintain physical, electronic and procedural safeguards to protect against the loss, misuse or alteration of the information under our control. Safeguards include restricted access to computer systems and paper files, firewalls, encryption and secure authentication methods.
MSU participates in the InCommon SSL Certificate Program, powered by Comodo, which entitles MSU to provide 2048-bit SSL certificates for MSU servers Access to any personal information you chose to disclose to University Advancement through its website is restricted in our offices. Only employees who have a legitimate university business reason to use personally identifiable information are granted access to it. If you want to review or update your personal information, contact us at the address, email or telephone number noted above.
YOUR CONSENT TO THIS PRIVACY & DATA USE STATEMENT
When you choose to attend Michigan State University, you agree that we can process your personal data for administrative and educational purposes. Such purposes include processing your personal data, at the appropriate time, for alumni and development activities as well. University Advancement regards its alumni engagement efforts, including its outreach to alumni and the services it provides to alumni, as an important and integral part of the MSU's long-term commitment to its students. Similarly, when you are otherwise affiliated with MSU, for example, by interacting with University Advancement through making a gift, entering information into our websites, completing online or paper forms, or participating in activities, such as attending events, meetings, volunteering, etc., you agree that we can process your personal data in connection with your donation or affiliation and future University activities, and signify that you agree with the terms of our current Privacy & Data Use Statement.
CHANGES TO THIS STATEMENT
We may occasionally decide to update our Privacy & Data Use Statement, especially as new features are added to our website. If there are changes to this statement, we will post those changes within this Privacy & Data Use Statement, so you are aware of what information we collect and how we use it.
HOW TO CONTACT US
If you have any other questions or concerns about this Privacy & Data Use Statement, please call us at (517) 884-1007.
This Privacy & Data Use Statement was last updated December 2022.