Privacy Policy

Please read this Privacy Policy carefully. 
Privacy is very important to us. We also understand that privacy is very important to you. This Privacy Policy tells you how we protect and use information that we gather through this HLC/NDHI web site based in the U.S. HLC operates other web sites. This Privacy Policy does not apply to the other HLC web sites. You should review the Privacy Policy posted on other HLC web sites when you visit them. This web site and this Privacy Policy are intended for a U.S. audience.  This Privacy Policy was last revised on February 14, 2011. We may change this Privacy Policy at any time and for any reason. Significant changes to the Privacy Policy are discussed below in the Section called "Changes to the Privacy Policy." We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy each time you visit the web site. By using this web site, you agree to the terms of the most recent version of this Privacy Policy. Please read our Terms of Use to understand the general rules about your use of this web site. Except as written in any other disclaimers, policies, terms of use, or other notices on this web site, this Privacy Policy and the Terms of Use are the complete agreement between you and HLC with respect to your use of this web site. You may be subject to additional terms that may apply when you access particular services or materials on certain areas in this web site, or by following a link from this web site.

 
Introduction The information we receive, and how we use it, depends on what you do when visiting our web site. We collect and use your non-personal information (information that is not identifiable to you personally) differently than your personal information.  
 
What is non-personal information? Non-personal information is information we collect through this web site that does not identify you as an individual person. It may include information such as the following:
  • the type of web browser software you use (for example, Netscape Navigator or Internet Explorer)
  • the name of the domain from which you access the Internet
  • the Internet address of the web site from which you linked directly to our web site
  • the date and time you access our web site
  • which pages you have visited on our web site
  • the search terms you use
  • the links on which you click
  • personal information that has been  made non-personal or anonymized (i.e., information that no longer reflects or references an individually identifiable user)
If you visit our web site to read or download information, we may collect certain non-personal information about you from your computer. This information is collected from your computer's web browser: If you only read or download information on our web site, we do not collect or learn your name, e-mail address, home address, or other personal information about you. We may place a text file called a cookie in the browser files of your computer when you visit. The cookie may be stored on your computer's hard drive. The information that we collect using cookies is non-personal information. You are always free to decline our cookies if your browser permits, but some parts of our web site may not work properly for you if you do so. We will not allow third parties other than those companies that we hire to perform services or functions on our behalf to place cookies on our web site. 
 
What does HLC do with non-personal information? 
Because non-personal information cannot identify you or be tied to you in any way, there are no restrictions on the ways that we can use or share non-personal information. We are always looking for ways to better serve you and improve this web site. We will use non-personal information from you to help us make this web site more useful to visitors. We also will use non-personal information for other business purposes. For example, we may use non-personal information or aggregate non-personal information to:
  • create reports for internal use to develop programs, products, services or content
  • customize the information or services that are of interest to you
 
What is personal information? Personal information is information we collect through this web site that we can use to specifically identify you, such as your:
  • name
  • telephone number
  • e-mail address
 
In some places on this web site you have the opportunity to send us personal information about yourself, to elect to receive particular information, or to participate in an activity. For example, you may fill out a registration form, a survey, or an e-mail form and you may elect to receive materials or updates from HLC/NDHI.  You also may choose to allow us to personalize your visits to the web site, in which case we will ask you for certain personal information to make your visits to our web site more helpful to you. When this information is combined with the non-personal information that we collect through cookies (described above), we will be able to tell that you have visited our web site before and can personalize your access to our web site, for example, by telling you about new features that may be of interest to you.
 
How does HLC keep and use personal information? 
We may keep and use personal information we collect from you through this web site to provide you with access to this web site. In addition, we may keep and use your personal information:
  • to respond to your requests
  • to personalize your access to our web site, for example, by telling you about new features that may be of interest to you
  • to contact you with information that might be of interest to you, including updates from HLC/NDHI 
  • to enforce this Privacy Policy and other rules about your use of this web site
  • to protect our rights or property
  • to protect someone's health, safety or welfare
  • to comply with a law or regulation, court order or other legal process
 
Does HLC/NDHI ever share personal information with third parties? HLC/NDHI will not share your personal information collected from this web site with an unrelated third party without your permission, except as otherwise provided in this Privacy Policy. .  We may be legally compelled to release your personal information in response to a court order, subpoena, search warrant, law or regulation. We may cooperate with law enforcement authorities in investigating and prosecuting web site visitors who violate our rules or engage in behavior which is harmful to other visitors (or illegal).
We may disclose your personal information to third parties if we feel that the disclosure is necessary to:
  • enforce this Privacy Policy and the other rules about your use of this web site
  • protect our rights or property
  • protect someone's health, safety or welfare
  • comply with a law or regulation, court order or other legal process
 
Use of Non-Personal and Personal Information within the Private Community 
As a participant in this private, social online community (NDHI.com), you agree to allow select profile information:
  • Screen name
  • Affiliation
  • State/ Provence
  • (and the above associated with community activity you conduct)
 
Contact information is not shared with /visible to community members, aside from direct communications facilitated through the community features (chat, posts/comments, etc.),
You will see which information is kept private (not viewed by community members) and which profile information is visible to community members. Anonymity is not guaranteed in this community. Given the nature of the closed, private, peer-to-peer  Some non-personal information will be presented in site statistics visible to the community members (# of recent posts, comments, etc.); select personal profile information will be associated with such statistical presentation.
 
What happens if the Privacy Policy changes? If we decide to make a significant change to our Privacy Policy, we will post a notice on the homepage of our web site for a period of time after the change is made. Significant changes are also described below.  This privacy policy was established on this website (NDHI.org) on February 24, 2011.
 
What about privacy on other web sites? This web site may contain links to other web sites. Some of those web sites may be operated by HLC, and some may be operated by third parties. We provide the links for your convenience, but we do not review, control, or monitor the privacy practices of web sites operated by others. This Privacy Policy does not apply to any other web site, even the other HLC web sites. We are not responsible for the performance of web sites operated by third parties or for your business dealings with them. Therefore, whenever you leave this web site we recommend that you review each web site's privacy practices and make your own conclusions regarding the adequacy of these practices.
 
Does HLC ever communicate directly with visitors to this web site? We may contact you periodically by e-mail, mail or telephone if you agree to that contact to provide information regarding programs and content that may be of interest to you. In addition, some of the features on this web site allow you to communicate with us using an online form. If your communication requests a response from us, we will send you a response via e-mail. The e-mail response or confirmation may include your personal information. We cannot guarantee that our e-mails to you will be secure from unauthorized interception.
 
What about web site security? Security is very important to us. We also understand that security is important to you. We take reasonable steps to protect your personal information from loss, misuse, and unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. You should keep in mind that no Internet transmission is ever 100% secure or error-free. In particular, e-mail sent to or from this site may not be secure, and you should therefore take special care in deciding what information you send to us via e-mail
 
How to contact HLC/NDHI:  If you have questions or comments about this Privacy Policy, please contact Debbie Witchey, dwitchey@hlc.org .