PRIVACY STATEMENT

Effective Date: June 23, 2025

This Privacy Statement outlines how Polish International University (hereinafter "PIU" or "we") collects, uses, discloses, stores, and protects your personal information provided when you use our online learning platforms, websites, applications, and related services, as well as during the application process. PIU is committed to upholding your privacy rights and ensuring all data processing activities comply with applicable data protection laws, including but not limited to the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

1. Information We Collect

We may collect the following types of personal information:

• Information You Provide Directly:

  • Identity Information: Name, date of birth, nationality, gender, photo.

  • Contact Information: Email address, phone number, residential address, social media IDs.

  • Educational Background: Academic qualifications, institution names, majors, transcripts, certificates.

  • Application Information: Personal statements, recommendation letters, CVs, portfolios, language proficiency scores.

  • Payment Information: (If tuition or application fees are involved) Payment card details or bank information (typically processed through third-party payment platforms; we do not directly store sensitive payment information).

• Information Collected Automatically:

  • When you visit our website, we may automatically collect device information (e.g., IP address, device ID, operating system, browser type), usage data (e.g., pages visited, links clicked, access times), and Cookie data.

• Information from Third Parties:

  • We may obtain information about you from partners (e.g., educational agents, study abroad agencies) or through public databases to assist with admissions and verification.

2. How We Use Your Information

We primarily use your information for the following purposes:

• Providing Educational Services: Processing your admission applications, managing your enrollment and courses, providing academic support.

• Communication & Support: Responding to your inquiries, sending important notifications, updates, and admission information.

• Website Optimization & Improvement: Analyzing website usage patterns, enhancing user experience, ensuring proper functionality.

• Security & Compliance: Detecting and preventing fraudulent activities, complying with legal obligations and university policies.

• Research & Statistics: Conducting anonymized data analysis to improve programs and services (does not identify individuals).

3. Information Sharing and Disclosure

We do not sell your personal information. We may share your information in the following circumstances:

• With Internal University Departments: Your information may be shared among relevant departments such as Admissions, Academic Affairs, Finance, and Student Services to fulfill your application or provide services.

• With Service Providers: We may share information with third-party vendors who perform services on our behalf (e.g., online learning platforms, cloud storage, payment processing, IT support), subject to confidentiality agreements.

• Legal Requirements: We may disclose your information when required by law or in response to subpoenas, court orders, or government requests.

• Business Transfers: In the event of a merger, acquisition, or asset sale, your information may be transferred as part of the assets.

4. Protecting Your Personal Information

The PIU website and all online services use industry-standard Secure Sockets Layer (SSL/TLS) encryption on all web pages where personal information is required. When entering personal information, the University strongly recommends the use of an SSL/TLS-enabled web browser. To conduct a financial transaction on the University's website, the user should ensure that the transaction is secure, as indicated by the lock icon appearing on your screen. This will protect the confidentiality of personal and credit card information while it is transmitted across the Internet. When using the PIU website or online learning platforms, a user may choose to provide information to help with their individual needs (i.e., sending an email to request information, or submitting assignments in a virtual classroom). Personally identifiable information provided to PIU will be used only for the purpose indicated. PIU does not sell, exchange, or distribute personally identifiable information received without consent, except to the extent required by law. PIU reserves the right to work with third-party vendors to host this information for PIU purposes and in accordance with this privacy procedure. Each web page requesting information at PIU discloses the purposes of that information.

5. Cookies

A cookie is a small text file that is stored on a user's computer for record-keeping purposes. These pieces of information are stored by a web browser on behalf of a website and returned to the website on request. Our site may use cookies to carry data about a current session and to identify a user between site visits. PIU uses Session ID Cookies to make it easier to navigate the website and to verify proper access to secure areas once the user has successfully logged into those areas. A session ID cookie expires and is deleted when the user closes the browser. Users should log off public computers when their sessions are completed. In addition to session cookies, we may also use Persistent Cookies to remember your preferences (such as language selection) or for analytical purposes (such as Google Analytics). These cookies are not deleted when the browser is closed. Rejecting cookies still allows users access to PIU's website, but access to some areas (especially virtual learning resources requiring login) will be limited or denied. PIU requires the use of cookies to access all computing resources. Unless noted, PIU does not use cookies to track someone's movement among websites and does not exchange cookies with other entities. You can manage your cookie preferences to accept or reject all or certain cookies through your browser settings.

6. Links To Other Sites

PIU websites and subsites provide links to worldwide websites and resources, which PIU does not control or endorse. PIU is not responsible for their content, delivery of services or availability and these external sites are not bound by PIU's privacy policies and procedure. PIU is not responsible for the privacy practices of such other sites. Users should read the privacy statements of each and every website that collects personal identifiable information.

7. Data Retention

We will retain your personal information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which we collected it, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. To determine the appropriate retention period, we consider the amount, nature, and sensitivity of the personal information, the potential risk of harm from unauthorized use or disclosure, the purposes for which we process your personal information and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means, and the applicable legal requirements.

8. International Data Transfers

As an international university, PIU's online services and operations may involve transferring, storing, and processing your personal information to servers or data centers located outside your country/region, including countries outside the European Union. In such cases, we will ensure that your data receives adequate protection in accordance with applicable laws (such as GDPR), for example, through Standard Data Protection Clauses (Standard Contractual Clauses - SCCs) or other appropriate legal mechanisms.

9. Your Rights

Under applicable data protection laws, you have several rights regarding your personal information.

• Right to Access: You have the right to request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.

• Right to Rectification: You have the right to request the correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal information.

• Right to Erasure ("Right to be Forgotten"): Under certain circumstances (e.g., when data is no longer necessary), you have the right to request the deletion of your personal information.

• Right to Restrict Processing: Under certain circumstances (e.g., if you contest the accuracy of the data), you have the right to request us to restrict the processing of your personal information.

• Right to Data Portability: You have the right to obtain your personal information in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format to transmit it to another service provider.

• Right to Object: Under certain circumstances, you have the right to object to our processing of your personal information based on legitimate interests.

• Right to Withdraw Consent: If we process personal information based on your consent, you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time, but this will not affect the lawfulness of processing before your withdrawal.

• Right to Lodge a Complaint with a Data Protection Authority: If you believe that we have violated applicable data protection laws, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the relevant data protection authority.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the contact information at the bottom of this statement.

10. Children's Privacy

Our services are not directed at children under the age of 16 (or other age as specified by your jurisdiction). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 16. If we discover that we have inadvertently collected such information, we will take immediate steps to delete it.

11. Complaint Mechanism

If you have any concerns or complaints about how we handle your personal information, we encourage you to contact us first using the contact details at the end of this statement. We will do our best to address your concerns. If you believe we have not adequately addressed your concerns, you have the right to lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority in your country/region (especially in Poland or an EU member state).

12. Changes to This Privacy Statement

We may update this Privacy Statement from time to time. Any changes will be effective upon posting the updated version on the website. We encourage you to review this statement periodically for the latest information.

Contact Us

If you have any questions, comments, or wish to exercise your rights regarding this Privacy Statement, please contact us at:

• Email: privacy@piu.edu.pl