The Higher Education Leadership Learning Online (HELLO) Community (“HELLO,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) is committed to respecting your privacy and protecting your personal information.

This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and the choices you have about your data when you use this website and related services (collectively, the “Site”).

By using the Site, you agree to the practices described in this Privacy Policy.

Information We Collect

1. Registration and Account Information

When you register as a member of the HELLO Community, we collect:

  • Friendly name (display name)
  • First and last name
  • City, state/province, country
  • Email address
  • Password

You may also choose to provide optional information, such as:

  • Nickname
  • Institutional/organization name and URL
  • Job title / role
  • Photos (profile picture, cover image)
  • Short biography and personal comments
  • Other professional details relevant to the HELLO Community

You can update or edit most of this information at any time by visiting your profile via the “My Stuff” link in the navigation menu.

2. Profile Information and Visibility

Your Personal Profile contains information you may choose to share with other members on your Profile Page.

  • Only registered members of the HELLO Community can view other members’ Profile Pages.
  • By default, your Friendly Name, First Name, and Last Name will appear on your Profile Page.
  • Additional profile fields (e.g., bio, comments, institution, contact details, photos) will only be displayed if:
    • You choose to provide them and
    • You set their visibility to “members,” “friends,” or “everyone,” depending on the options the Site provides.

You control the visibility of most profile fields through your profile visibility settings.

3. Usage Data, Cookies, and Similar Technologies

Like most websites, we may automatically collect certain information when you visit the Site, such as:

  • IP address
  • Browser type and version
  • Device type
  • Pages visited and time spent on the Site
  • Referring and exit pages

We may use cookies and similar technologies to:

  • Maintain your login session
  • Remember your preferences
  • Understand how members use the Site so we can improve it

You may be able to control cookies through your browser settings. Disabling cookies may affect some functionality of the Site, including login and personalized features.

How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect for purposes including:

  • Providing and managing your membership and account
  • Displaying profiles and content you choose to share with the community
  • Enabling community features such as groups, forums, messaging, mentoring, bookmarking, and resource sharing
  • Processing payments for optional services, donations, or fees
  • Sending you email notifications about:
    • Site activity relevant to you
    • Group or forum updates you subscribe to
    • Administrative or system-related messages
  • Improving the Site’s usability, security, and performance
  • Responding to your support requests and questions
  • Complying with legal obligations and enforcing our community rules and terms of use

We do not sell your personal information to third parties.

When We Share Your Information

We may disclose personal information in the following limited circumstances:

  1. With Service Providers
    We may use third-party providers (e.g., hosting, payment processing, email delivery, analytics) to operate and improve the Site. These providers have access to personal information only as needed to perform their services on our behalf and are expected to protect it appropriately.
  2. When Required by Law
    We may disclose personal information when required by law or in the good-faith belief that such action is necessary to:
    • Comply with a legal obligation, court order, or legal process relating to the Site
    • Protect and defend the rights, property, or safety of HELLO, our members, or the public
    • Investigate and prevent fraud, security incidents, or misuse of the Site
  3. With Your Consent or Direction
    We may share information with third parties when you explicitly request or consent, for example by connecting to an external service or sharing links to your content on social media.

Credit Card Transactions

Some features of the Site may support credit card transactions, such as donations, membership-related purchases, or the payment of other fees. Use of these features is entirely voluntary.

To protect your payment information:

  • Transaction pages use industry-standard Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption.
  • Your personal information, including name, address, and credit card number, is encrypted during transmission to prevent unauthorized access.

Payment processing may be handled by a reputable third-party payment processor. We do not store full credit card numbers on our servers.

Fraudulent Behavior

The HELLO Community relies heavily on member-generated content and participation. While we strive to maintain an accurate and trustworthy environment, we cannot guarantee the accuracy of all information presented by members.

Anyone found to be engaging in fraudulent, abusive, or intentionally misleading behavior may be subject to corrective actions, including but not limited to:

  • Loss of membership privileges
  • Removal of content
  • Suspension or termination of account
  • Referral to law enforcement and prosecution to the fullest extent of the law

Email Communications and Opt-Out

The Site allows you to receive a variety of email communications, including:

  • Blog and announcement updates
  • Group and forum notifications
  • Mentions, messages, and invitations from other members
  • Transaction-related confirmations (e.g., event registrations, purchases, donations)

For most non-transactional emails:

  • Each email includes an unsubscribe or manage preferences link that allows you to opt out of that type of communication.
  • You can also modify your email preferences at any time by visiting your account settings and updating your email notification options.

Transaction-related emails (such as payment confirmations or critical account notices) may still be sent even if you opt out of other communications, as they are necessary to fulfill services you requested.

Photo, Blog, and Other Personal Content

Members can post photos, blog entries, articles, files, links, and other personal or professional content.

  • This Site retains the right to remove or reject any content that is deemed obscene, offensive, illegal, or otherwise objectionable, or that has been reported as such by other members.
  • The site owners and their licensors may at any time deem content objectionable and remove it.
  • The Site does not endorse content posted by members.

By posting content, you agree that:

  • You will not post copyrighted material without permission from the copyright owner (unless your use qualifies as fair use under applicable law).
  • You understand that all content—whether text, images, audio, or video—is the sole responsibility of the person from whom it originated.
  • This Site is not responsible for the accuracy, integrity, or quality of user-generated content.

Public Forums, Blogs, Articles, Files, Books, and Links

The Site offers a variety of interactive and public areas, including:

  • Message boards and forums for community groups
  • Blog posts
  • Articles and essays
  • File and document sharing
  • Recommended books and resource links

When you participate in these areas:

  • Your first and last name may be displayed alongside your contributions.
  • Any additional information you choose to include in these posts (e.g., contact details) is considered public within the community and, in some cases, to site visitors.

To protect your privacy and reduce the risk of spam or unwanted contact, we strongly advise you not to post personal contact details such as email addresses, postal addresses, or phone numbers in public-facing content.

The Site does not routinely monitor all forums and posts in real time. However, we may review content when it is flagged by members or if we receive a specific request via the Support Forums or other contact channels.

Links to Other Websites

The Site contains links to other websites that are not operated by HELLO.

  • We are not responsible for the privacy practices, security, or content of third-party websites.
  • We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party sites you visit.

Data Security

We take reasonable administrative, technical, and physical measures to protect the information we collect from loss, misuse, unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction.

However, no method of transmission over the Internet or electronic storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account password and for restricting access to your devices.

Data Retention

We retain personal information for as long as:

  • Your account is active, or
  • Is necessary to provide the services described in this policy, or
  • Is required by applicable law, dispute resolution, or enforcement of agreements.

You may request that we deactivate your account; some limited information may be retained in backups or logs for a reasonable period consistent with our legal and operational obligations.

Children’s Privacy

This Site is intended for adults, particularly higher education professionals and leaders. It is not directed to children under the age of 16 (or the applicable minimum age in your jurisdiction), and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children in that age group.

If we become aware that we have collected personal information from a child without appropriate consent, we will take steps to delete that information.

Additional Information for Users in the European Economic Area (EEA), United Kingdom, and Switzerland (GDPR)

If you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA), the United Kingdom, or Switzerland, the processing of your personal information is subject to the EU/UK General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) and applicable local data protection laws.

For the purposes of GDPR, the data controller is:

HELLO Community
highereducationlearningcom@gmail.com

You may contact us regarding any privacy-related question using the details above or via the Contact Us form on the Site.

Legal Bases for Processing

We process your personal information only where we have a legal basis to do so under GDPR. Depending on the context, this may include:

  • Contract – To provide the services you request as a member of the HELLO Community, including creating and maintaining your account, enabling community features, and processing payments where applicable.
  • Legitimate Interests – To operate, secure, and improve the Site; to support community interactions; to prevent fraud or abuse; and to communicate with you about community-related matters in a way that does not override your rights and freedoms.
  • Consent – For certain optional activities such as specific email subscriptions, participation in programs (e.g., MentorMatch), or posting certain types of personal information (e.g., photos, extended bio). Where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time via your profile settings or by contacting us.
  • Legal Obligations – To comply with applicable laws, regulations, and legal processes (for example, retaining certain transaction records for tax or accounting purposes).

Your Data Protection Rights

Subject to certain conditions and exemptions under GDPR, you have the following rights with respect to your personal information:

  • Right of access – To obtain confirmation of whether we process your personal data and, if so, to receive a copy.
  • Right to rectification – To request correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal data. In many cases you can update this directly in your profile.
  • Right to erasure (“right to be forgotten”) – To request deletion of your personal data in certain circumstances (for example, where it is no longer needed for the purposes for which it was collected, or where you withdraw consent and there is no other legal basis for processing).
  • Right to restriction of processing – To request that we restrict processing of your data in certain situations (e.g., while we verify its accuracy or assess an objection).
  • Right to object – To object to processing based on our legitimate interests, including certain types of profiling. We will stop processing unless we have compelling legitimate grounds that override your interests, rights, and freedoms, or the processing is needed for legal claims.
  • Right to data portability – To request that we provide certain personal data to you (or to another controller) in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format, where technically feasible.
  • Right to withdraw consent – Where processing is based on your consent, you may withdraw that consent at any time. This will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details provided above or through the Contact Us form. We may need to verify your identity before fulfilling your request.

International Data Transfers

The HELLO Community and its hosting and service providers may be located outside the EEA/UK/Switzerland, including in countries that may not provide the same level of data protection as your home jurisdiction.

Where we transfer personal data from the EEA/UK/Switzerland to a country that is not subject to an adequacy decision by the European Commission or UK Government, we will rely on appropriate safeguards, such as Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) or equivalent legal mechanisms, to protect your data.

You can contact us for more information about these safeguards.

Complaints to Supervisory Authorities

If you have concerns about how we handle your personal information, we encourage you to contact us first so we can try to resolve the issue.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority. If you are in the EEA, this is typically the authority in the country where you live or work, or where you believe your rights were infringed. In the UK, this is the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time.

  • If we make material changes that affect how we use your personally identifiable information compared to what was stated at the time you joined, we will notify you by email (to the address associated with your account) and/or by posting a prominent notice on the Site.
  • Changes that do not materially affect the use of personally identifiable information may be posted directly to the Site.

We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we are protecting your information.

Contacting Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, the practices of this Site, or your interactions with the HELLO Community, please contact us via the Contact Us form or by posting in the appropriate Support Forum area.

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