This Privacy Notice (“Notice”) applies to the personal information that Anne Arundel Community College (“AACC,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) collects when you visit our main website (www.aacc.edu), other official AACC web properties that link to this Notice, our mobile applications, and through digital communications such as email subscriptions and online forms (together, the “Sites”).
This notice explains the types of personal information we may collect, how we use that information, when and why we may share it with others, the steps we take to protect it, and your rights and choices regarding your personal data. It also outlines how you can contact us with questions about our privacy practices.
Our privacy practices are designed to comply with applicable laws and may vary depending on the jurisdiction in which you access our services. This notice does not apply to information collected from or about current or former AACC employees, contractors or student workers in the context of their employment or official capacity, unless specified otherwise. It also does not apply to the privacy practices of third-party websites that may be linked from our sites. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of those third-party websites separately.
AACC may collect personal information from you when you visit our websites, use our services, communicate with us, or participate in College programs and activities. This information may be collected directly from you, automatically through your interaction with our systems, or from third parties acting on your behalf (such as educational platforms or application services).
The types of personal information we collect include, but are not limited to:
A. Information You Provide Directly
B. Information We Collect Automatically
C. Information from Third Parties
This information helps AACC deliver academic and administrative services, comply with legal obligations, enhance user experiences, and protect the security of our digital environments.
We use your personal information to carry out AACC’s educational mission and provide services supporting your experience as a student, employee, or visitor. The specific ways we use your information include:
A. Academic and Administrative Services
B. Communications and Support
C. Campus Safety and Security
D. Website and System Operations
E. Legal and Regulatory Compliance
Meeting obligations under local, state, and federal law
Supporting audits, accreditation, and data reporting requirements
F. Institutional Planning and Improvements
G. Automated Decision Making
AACC does not use personal information to make automated decisions that have legal or similarly significant effects on individuals. Should such technology be used in the future, it will be subject to appropriate safeguards and transparency measures.
We only use your personal information for purposes consistent with this notice unless we obtain your consent or are otherwise permitted or required by law.
We may share your personal information with third parties in limited circumstances, when necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Notice or as required by law. These disclosures are governed by confidentiality agreements and applicable regulations designed to protect your information.
We may share your information with:
A. Service Providers and Vendors: We may share your information with trusted vendors who provide services on our behalf, such as:
B. Legal and Regulatory Bodies: We may disclose your information to government agencies, regulators, law enforcement, or courts when:
C. Academic or Strategic Partners: We may share data with accredited academic institutions, research organizations, or educational partners to support collaborative programs, transfers, or articulation agreements, provided appropriate data use agreements are in place.
D. Emergency Situations and Safety: Your information may be shared with emergency responders or relevant officials to protect your health, safety, or the security of the AACC community.
We do not sell or rent your personal information to third parties for marketing or commercial purposes, but it may be shared anonymously for gathering certain statistics or metrics. All disclosures are limited to what is necessary and are done with your privacy and security in mind.
Depending on the laws that apply to you, you may have several rights regarding your personal information. These may include the right to:
You may exercise these rights through official AACC channels, such as using the MyAACC portal from www.aacc.edu or by emailing privacy@aacc.edu. To help protect your information, we will ask you to verify your identity before processing your request.
If you authorize someone else to act on your behalf, we will request written documentation of that authorization.
Please note that certain requests may be limited by applicable legal or institutional recordkeeping requirements.
AACC takes the security of your personal data seriously. We use a layered approach that includes administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect your information against unauthorized access, use, or disclosure.
Some of the safeguards we use include:
In the event of a data breach, AACC follows established response procedures and may notify affected individuals in accordance with applicable laws and College protocols.
AACC’s websites and services are primarily intended for individuals aged 13 and older. We do not knowingly collect or solicit personal information from children under the age of 13 without verifiable parental consent, as required by the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).
If you believe that we may have collected personal data from a child under 13 without appropriate consent, please contact us immediately. We will take steps to investigate the concern and delete the information as required.
Some academic programs or campus events may involve children or minors in educational activities, summer camps, or dual enrollment. In such cases, AACC follows additional safeguards, permission forms, and data handling protocols in accordance with legal and institutional requirements.
When you visit AACC websites, we may use cookies and similar tracking technologies to help operate our sites and improve your experience. Cookies are small text files placed on your device that help websites recognize your device and remember certain information about your visit.
We use cookies and other tracking tools to:
Some cookies are essential to the functioning of our services, while others are used to gather aggregated analytics or support accessibility features. We do not use cookies to serve targeted advertising or track users for commercial profiling.
You can control cookie settings through your browser preferences. Most browsers allow you to block or delete cookies, though some features on AACC websites may not work properly without them.
In compliance with applicable laws, we honor browser enabled "Do Not Track" (DNT) and Global Privacy Control (GPC) signals where supported. These signals indicate a user’s preference to opt out of certain types of data tracking.
For more information about how cookies work and how to manage them, visit the help section of your web browser or consult third-party cookie management tools.
We retain personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, including academic, administrative, legal and compliance-related functions. The specific retention period may vary depending on the type of information and applicable regulatory or policy requirements.
For example:
When information is no longer needed, we securely delete, anonymize, or archive it using methods designed to protect confidentiality and prevent unauthorized access. We periodically review our data holdings and retention schedules to ensure compliance with applicable law and best practices.
AACC may update this Privacy Notice periodically to reflect changes in our practices, legal requirements, or the services we provide. Any material updates will be posted on this page along with the effective date.
If significant changes are made that affect how we handle your personal information, we will make reasonable efforts to notify you in advance, such as by posting a notice on our website homepage, sending an email, or other appropriate means.
We encourage you to review this Notice regularly, so you stay informed about our privacy practices.
If you have any questions, would like to make a complaint, voice a concern or have questions about College privacy practices, please contact:
Information and Instructional Technology (IIT)
Anne Arundel Community College
Email: privacy@aacc.edu
Phone: 410-777-2195
MyAACC portal at: www.aacc.edu