Privacy Policy

This Web Privacy Policy covers the collection and use of information on Luther Seminary Web sites. Luther Seminary also has an internal Electronic Communications Policy which covers the use of technology and information by students, faculty and staff. This internal Electronic Communications Policy is available online at http://www.luthersem.edu/computer_services/policy.asp.

Luther Seminary is fully committed to providing an engaging, informative and useful Web site for its visitors. We strive to serve you with helpful resources, invite you into our community and provide helpful interaction with our many programs and offerings.

Visitors to any Luther Seminary Web page have the opportunity to contact us via e-mail using the feedback form found at http://www.luthersem.edu/web_feedback.asp.

The policy of Luther Seminary regarding its officially controlled and operated Web sites is to respect and protect the privacy of its users. These users include faculty, staff, students, donors, alumni/ae and other visitors.

How We Collect Information

This policy defines how Luther Seminary collects information from you and how it is used. For each visitor to one of Luther Seminary’s Web sites, the following information may be collected:

Anonymous Information

• Internet address information of visitors to our Web sites (IP addresses)
• Aggregate information on what pages people visit
• User-specific information on what pages people visit
• Information on browser capabilities
• Information on referring domains (what Web sites link to Luther Seminary)

Personal Information

• E-mail addresses of those who communicate with us via e-mail
• Information volunteered by a visitor, such as survey responses
• Personal information volunteered for specific purposes such as online event or course registration, online applications, online donations or information requests

Luther Seminary Web sites may log IP addresses and browser types, but will not link IP addresses to personally identifiable information. This means that a user's session may be tracked but their identity will remain anonymous unless personal information is specifically submitted. You can browse Luther Seminary Web sites without entering any personal information and therefore remain anonymous during your visit.

Security and SSL

There are cases where Luther Seminary Web sites may request or provide personal information such as LutherNet username/password, address or credit card information. To provide for your privacy in these instances, Luther Seminary utilizes a secure server which transmits and receives data in SSL-encrypted format.

SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer, a technology for managing the security of online message transmission. SSL encrypts any information sent from your browser to the server you are connected to. This technology protects your information from being viewed by an outside user.

Luther Seminary also has appropriate security measures in place in our physical facilities to protect against the loss, misuse or alteration of information that we have collected from you at our site.

Cookies

Some Luther Seminary Web sites utilize “cookies” to provide an enhanced online experience, enable e-commerce functionality and to facilitate login authentication to protected areas of the site.

Cookies store small amounts of data on your computer when you visit a Web site. The Web server issuing the cookie is the only server that can read that particular cookie. Cookies cannot retrieve information from your hard drive or profile your system. You have the ability to accept or decline cookies by modifying your browser. Our Web sites are viewable even if you disable the cookie function on your browser. However, if you disable cookies, some advanced and customized features of our site, as well as other Web sites, will not be available to you.

Third-Party Web Beacons

We use third-party web beacons from Yahoo! to help analyze where visitors go and what they do while visiting our website. Yahoo! may also use anonymous information about your visits to this and other websites in order to improve its products and services and provide advertisements about goods and services of interest to you. If you would like more information about this practice and to know your choices about not having this information used by Yahoo!, click here.

How We Use Information

The information collected by Luther Seminary Web sites is used for internal purposes which include improving the content and usability of the Luther Seminary Web sites, registering people for events or courses and fulfilling product orders or information requests. It will not be shared with other organizations. However, Luther Seminary may use the information to contact visitors for marketing and fundraising purposes. If you do not wish to be contacted by Luther Seminary for these purposes, please contact us at the address below.

Luther Seminary does not sell, rent or distribute any personal information obtained from our visitors to groups not affiliated with Luther Seminary, unless required by law. According to federal and state law, Luther Seminary may provide personal information to outside parties if a criminal act is under investigation by authorities.

A number of Luther Seminary pages contain links which may take you outside of our Web site. These other sites may send and receive cookies, collect data, or solicit personal information and may use this information in ways that are not in accordance with Luther Seminary’s privacy policy statement. Always be aware of the policies of those sites you visit.

While Luther Seminary strives to protect its users' personal information and privacy, it cannot guarantee the security of any information you disclose online and you do so at your own risk. Luther Seminary’s policy does not extend to anything that is inherent in the operation of the Internet, and therefore beyond our control, and is not to be applied in any manner contrary to applicable law or governmental regulation.

Luther Seminary reserves the right to make changes to this policy at any time. Feel free to check this page periodically for amendments/updates. By using this site, you agree with the terms of this Privacy Policy. Whenever you submit information via this site, you consent to the collection, use, and disclosure of that information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

Changing Your Communications Preferences

If you would like to manage your online e-mail list subscriptions for periodic publications like E-lert or God Pause or would like to change your preferences for receiving e-mail announcements, please visit:
http://www.luthersem.edu/email

If you would like to update your email address, please visit:
http://www.luthersem.edu/email/change.asp

If you would like to update your street address and phone number, please visit:
http://www.luthersem.edu/resources/change_address.asp

If you do not want to be contacted by us in the future, please let us know.

Luther Seminary
Seminary Relations
2481 Como Ave.
St. Paul, MN 55108

For Faculty, Staff, Students, Alumni/ae and Visitors to the Campus

LutherNet Login

Certain areas of the Luther Seminary Web site will require a LutherNet account login with username and password. These pages include access to MyLutherNet, intranet announcements and directories, student-specific forms, e-mail, certain resources, etc. Pages which require a login cannot be browsed anonymously.

FERPA

Luther Seminary abides by FERPA (The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, commonly known as the Buckley Amendment). This is a federal law that states an educational institution must maintain the confidentiality of education records. More information can be found at http://www.luthersem.edu/registrar/ferpa.asp.
Luther Seminary cooperates with students and judicatories of all denominations in providing appropriate information for their candidacy process.

Electronic Communications Policy

All faculty, staff, students and campus guests using public computers must abide by the Luther Seminary Electronic Communications Policy found at
http://www.luthersem.edu/computer_services/policy.asp

Luther Seminary is committed to providing an environment that encourages the use of computers and electronic communications as essential tools to support the instructional, research, administrative, and other work or mission-related activities of the seminary. In utilizing the seminary’s computers and electronic communications systems, such as electronic mail and access to the Internet, it is important for all users to be aware of the seminary’s policy regarding responsible use.

Pursuant to the Electronic Communications Policy, it is the responsibility of each user to ensure that the seminary’s technology is used for proper and lawful purposes and in a manner that is responsible and does not compromise the confidentiality of sensitive information, the security of the seminary’s systems, or the policies or mission of the seminary. This policy applies to all users of the seminary’s computers and electronic communications systems, including but not limited to faculty, administrators, employees, students, and guests.
 

--- updated 9/28/2008