Study Group / Embassy Privacy Policy

Embassy is a division of Study Group.

Study Group International Ltd takes your privacy seriously. This Privacy Policy explains the steps we take to ensure information about you is kept secure and confidential.

Please read this Privacy Policy carefully, as once you use our website or our services you will be deemed to have read and accepted this Privacy Policy.

You must not use our website or our services if you do not accept this Privacy Policy.

1. The information we collect

We will only collect personal information about you and given by you when you submit an enquiry, brochure request or direct application for a course through one of our webforms, or when you register directly for one of our premium content services such as Student Club. Our brochure distribution partner, International Logistics Group (IL Group) also holds this brochure request data. IL Group is bound by contract with us not to use this data except to send you materials you have requested. We will always let you have a copy of all personal information that we and IL Group have about you should you request it. Contact us here.

2. Purposes for which we use information about our users

We collect information about our users for a variety of purposes. These include the following:

• Where users supply data to us pursuant to educational services that we offer (for example, to enrol on a Study Group course or to obtain information about our educational programmes), data will be processed by us to supply the information requested by our users. Your information is held by Study Group International Ltd in the United Kingdom
• So that we can inform our users of new offers, products, and services which may be of interest to them
• So that we can send our users news items which are relevant to their interests
• To help us improve and personalise the services provided to our users

3. Passing on information about you

We will not disclose information obtained from you to third parties, with the necessary exception of IL Group in the case of brochure requests. In certain circumstances we may need to disclose information about you if you breach this Privacy Policy. We may also disclose or access your account if required to do so by law or any other governmental body.

4. Security

Keeping information about you secure is very important to us. We use the highest standards of encryption for online transactions involving sensitive data such as credit card details. Our secure server is authenticated by Thawte Server CA. However, no data transmission over the internet can be guaranteed to be totally secure. As a result, while we strive to protect your personal information, we cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information that you send to us, and you do so at your own risk.

Study Group will take precautions to protect against the loss, misuse, and alteration of your user data under our control. Only authorised employees and subcontractors will be given access to the information you provide us with prior consent.

5. Cookies

Study Group currently only uses cookies to recognise returning users who have previously submitted information about themselves voluntarily through one of Study Group's webforms. These cookies are used for marketing purposes only, and to assist us in providing a more tailored service to our customers. Cookies will not be written to the computers of users who do not submit personal data.

6. Transferring your information abroad

Information supplied to us by you will only be transferred abroad by us or our partners for the purpose of performing contractual obligations owed by us to you; for example, to supply an Embassy approved educational partner in your country or region with your information to enable that partner to provide you with services you require.

7. How can you access and update information which we hold about you?

• You can request to see the data Study Group, IL Group and Hobsons plc hold for you by contacting us here.

• You can unsubscribe from Study Group communications by emailing us at unsubscribe@studygroup.biz

8. Automated decisions taken by us about you

Assumptions are made about your interests depending on the information you have supplied us about yourself, and about the website you were visiting when you did so. For example, if you enquired about a course on http://www.bellerbys.com/, we assume you are interested in pre-university education in the United Kingdom.

We assume you speak certain languages based on your nationality or country of residence.

9. Changes to our Privacy Policy

We may update the Privacy Policy from time to time. If we need to make any changes we will post an announcement to this effect on our websites. We will also revise the last updated date at the foot of the Privacy Policy.

If you have any questions relating to this Privacy Policy or how we use the personal information we have about you, please contact us here.

Last updated 28th August 2009