The following tools are provided to assist Western’s designated Privacy Owners and University departments that collect and/or process confidential personal data.
Privacy notices provide transparency on the use of individuals' data.
A privacy notice provides information up front to Western's constituents (students, applicants, employees, donors, parents, vendors, and visitors) regarding the use of their personal information that is collected and/or shared with the University. This allows individuals to make an informed decision prior to providing or consenting to the use of their data.
A "privacy notice" is different from an "on-line privacy statement" which communicates the collection, tracking, and use of individuals on-line activity (e.g., the use of cookies) when they visit a website or platform. See Western's On-line Privacy Statement.
Privacy notices may be a legal requirement.
Providing privacy notices is "best practice" in most cases. However, many of states now have consumer privacy laws that require commercial companies to provide privacy notices to consumers who use their products or services. These companies include many of Western's third-party vendors who may pass this requirement on to Western as part of the agreement to use their systems or services that collect or process personal data.
In addition, there are other privacy laws that Western is subject to, such as FERPA, GLBA, HIPAA, and the GDPR, that require privacy notices. Under the GDPR, departments that collect or may collect personal data from individuals located in the European Union are required to have a Privacy Notice that includes specific elements. Those departments should contact Compliance Services for assistance in developing their notices to ensure compliance.
Privacy notices should include certain elements.
If specific content is not required by a specific law, a notice should include an explanation of:
- What confidential personal information is needed or optional.
- Why the data is needed (what it will be used for),
- If and who it will be shared with and for what purposes,
- How long it will be retained and how it will be securely disposed of, and
- Who they can contact to inquire more about their personal data such as needing copies or requesting corrections.
See the Privacy Notice Template below.
Create a Privacy Notice
- Use the Privacy Notice Template.
- Review current WWU privacy notices as examples (see below).
- Review the notice with University Compliance Services (compliance.matters@wwu.edu).
- Post the notice in an easy to find location on your website.
Examples of WWU Privacy Notices
