Introduction
Welcome to Schola Classes ("Schola," "we," "us," or "our"). We are committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring the security of your personal information. This Privacy Policy outlines how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you visit our website www.scholaclasses.com (the "Website") and use our educational services (the "Services").
By accessing or using our Website and Services, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with the terms of this Privacy Policy, please do not access the Website or use the Services.
This Privacy Policy is published in compliance with the Information Technology Act, 2000, and the rules made thereunder, including but not limited to the Information Technology (Reasonable Security Practices and Procedures and Sensitive Personal Data or Information) Rules, 2011 ("Data Protection Laws").
Definitions
- "User," "you," or "your" refers to any individual who accesses or uses the Website and Services.
- "Personal Information" means any information that relates to a natural person, which, either directly or indirectly, in combination with other information available or likely to be available with a body corporate, is capable of identifying such a person.
- "Sensitive Personal Data or Information" includes passwords, financial information such as bank account or credit card details, physical, physiological, and mental health conditions, sexual orientation, medical records and history, biometric information, any detail relating to the above as provided to a body corporate for providing service, and any of the information received under the above by a body corporate for processing, stored or processed under lawful contract or otherwise.
Information We Collect
Personal Information
We may collect and process the following Personal Information when you use our Website and Services:
- Contact Information: Name, email address, postal address, phone number.
- Account Information: Username, password, profile picture.
- Demographic Information: Age, gender, date of birth.
- Educational and Professional Information: Educational qualifications, certifications, work experience, company details.
- Financial Information: Bank account details, payment history, billing information.
- Photographs and Testimonials: Images, audio/video recordings, testimonials, or any content you provide.
- Communication Records: Emails, messages, call recordings with our customer service.
- Any other information you voluntarily provide during your interaction with our Services.
Information from Devices
When you access the Website, we may automatically collect certain information about your device and usage, including:
- IP Address and Domain Name
- Browser Type and Version
- Operating System and Platform
- Device Identifiers and Mobile Network Information
- Internet Service Provider (ISP)
- Log Files and Usage Data
- Pages Visited, Referring/Exit Pages, and Links Clicked
- Date and Time of Access, Time Zone Settings
- Cookies and Tracking Technologies
We use cookies and similar tracking technologies to collect information about your browsing activities on our Website:
- Cookies: Small data files stored on your device that help us recognize you, customize your experience, and improve our Services.
- Web Beacons/Pixels: Electronic images that allow us to count users who have visited certain pages or opened emails.
You can control the use of cookies at the individual browser level. Please note that disabling cookies may affect the functionality and availability of certain features of the Website.
For more information about cookies and how to manage them, please refer to our Cookie Policy.
Information from Third Parties
We may receive information about you from other sources, such as:
- Social Media Platforms: If you connect your social media accounts to our Services, we may receive information like your username, profile information, and any other information you have agreed to share.
- Educational Partners and Affiliates: Information provided by institutions or organizations we collaborate with, including performance data, grades, attendance records, and other related information.
- Publicly Available Sources: Information from public databases or other publicly available sources.
- Third-Party Service Providers: Analytics providers, advertising networks, search information providers, credit bureaus, and payment processors.
How We Use Your Information
We use the information we collect for various purposes, including but not limited to:
Provide and Improve Services
- Service Delivery: To provide access to and use of the Website and Services.
- Personalization: To personalize your experience and deliver content and product offerings relevant to your interests.
- Analytics: To monitor and analyze usage and trends to improve user experience, diagnose problems, and enhance the quality and performance of our Services.
- Transactions: To process payments, fulfill orders, and send you related information, including confirmations and invoices.
Communication
- Administrative Messages: To send administrative information such as confirmations, invoices, technical notices, updates, and security alerts.
- Customer Support: To respond to your comments, questions, and provide customer service.
- Marketing: To send you marketing and promotional communications, newsletters, and other information that may be of interest to you, in accordance with your communication preferences.
- Engagement: To facilitate participation in surveys, promotions, contests, forums, and interactive features of our Services.
Legal Compliance and Security
- Compliance: To comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements.
- Security: To detect, prevent, or investigate security breaches, fraud, and other unauthorized or illegal activities.
- Enforcement: To enforce our Terms of Use and other agreements.
Other Purposes
- Research and Development: To conduct research and analysis to improve our Services and develop new features.
- Academic Activities: To facilitate assignments, assessments, examinations, certifications, and track attendance, program completion, and performance.
- User Consent: To carry out any other purpose described to you at the time we collect the information or with your consent.
Sharing of Information
We may share your information in the following circumstances:
With Affiliates and Partners
- Affiliates and Subsidiaries: Entities under common ownership or control with Schola, who are bound by this Privacy Policy.
- Educational Partners: Universities, institutions, or organizations we collaborate with to offer Programs. This includes sharing your performance data, grades, attendance records, and other related information necessary for educational purposes.
- Service Providers: Trusted third-party vendors who perform services on our behalf, such as payment processing, data analysis, email delivery, hosting services, customer service, marketing assistance, and technical support. These parties are obligated to maintain the confidentiality of your information and are restricted from using it for any other purpose.
For Legal Reasons
- Compliance with Legal Obligations: To comply with applicable laws, regulations, legal processes, or governmental requests.
- Protection of Rights: To enforce our Terms of Use and other agreements, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of Schola, our users, or others.
- Preventing Harm: To detect, prevent, or address fraud, security, or technical issues.
Business Transfers
In the event of a merger, acquisition, reorganization, sale of assets, or bankruptcy, your information may be transferred as part of the transaction. We will notify you via email and/or a prominent notice on our Website of any change in ownership or use of your Personal Information.
With Your Consent
We may share your information for any other purpose disclosed to you with your explicit consent.
Security of Information
We take reasonable steps to protect your Personal Information from unauthorized access, use, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These measures include:
- Encryption: Utilizing Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption and other industry-standard encryption technologies to protect data transmission.
- Access Controls: Limiting access to your Personal Information to authorized personnel who require it to perform their job duties and are bound by confidentiality obligations.
- Security Practices: Implementing appropriate physical, electronic, and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect.
- Regular Audits: Periodically reviewing our information collection, storage, and processing practices, including physical security measures, to guard against unauthorized access.
However, please be aware that no security measures are perfect or impenetrable. We cannot guarantee the absolute security of your information transmitted via the internet, and any transmission is at your own risk.
In the event we become aware of any data breach or security incident, we will promptly notify you and take appropriate action to mitigate the impact, in accordance with applicable laws.
Your Rights
Access and Correction
You have the right to access, review, update, or correct your Personal Information at any time. You can do this by:
- Account Settings: Logging into your account settings on the Website.
- Contacting Us: Reaching out to us at [email protected].
We will respond to your request within a reasonable timeframe, in accordance with applicable laws.
Withdrawal of Consent
You may withdraw your consent for the collection, use, or disclosure of your Personal Information by contacting us at [email protected]. Please note that withdrawing consent may affect your ability to access or use certain features of the Services.
Opt-Out Procedures
You may opt-out of receiving marketing and promotional communications from us by:
- Unsubscribe Link: Clicking the "unsubscribe" link in the emails.
- Account Preferences: Adjusting your communication preferences in your account settings.
- Contacting Us: Sending a request to [email protected].
Please note that you may still receive administrative or transactional communications from us, such as service notifications and account-related messages.
Data Portability
Subject to applicable laws, you may have the right to request a copy of your Personal Information in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format.
Right to Erasure
You may request the deletion of your Personal Information held by us, subject to certain exceptions provided by law.
Data Retention
We retain your Personal Information only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law. Factors influencing our data retention periods include:
- Legal Obligations: Compliance with legal, regulatory, tax, or accounting requirements.
- Dispute Resolution: Resolving disputes or enforcing our agreements.
- Business Needs: Conducting audits, data analysis, research, and improving our Services.
When we have no ongoing legitimate business need to process your Personal Information, we will securely delete, anonymize, or isolate your information, as appropriate.
Third-Party Links
Our Website and Services may contain links to third-party websites, applications, and services that are not operated by us. These links are provided for your convenience and do not signify our endorsement of such third parties. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of such third parties. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of every website you visit.
Children's Privacy
Our Services are not intended for individuals under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect Personal Information from children under 13 years of age. If you are under 13, please do not provide any Personal Information to us. If we become aware that we have collected Personal Information from a child under 13 without parental consent, we will take steps to remove that information from our servers.
If you believe that a child has provided us with Personal Information, please contact us at [email protected], and we will take steps to delete such information.
Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or for other operational, legal, or regulatory reasons. We will notify you of any significant changes by:
- Posting Notice: Posting the updated Privacy Policy on this page with a new "Effective Date."
- Direct Communication: Providing notice through the Website or via email, where feasible.
We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we are protecting your information. Your continued use of the Website and Services after any changes signifies your acceptance of the updated Privacy Policy.