Privacy Policy

Thank you for visiting the State of Arizona Commission for Postsecondary Education (ACPE) and reviewing our Privacy Policy Statement.  All individual agency web sites of the State of Arizona are required to contain a Privacy Policy Statement to inform you about the information that could be collected online as a result of visiting or requesting a service, how that information will be used, and what steps are being taken to ensure the security of customer data.  Your rights to privacy are of utmost importance to the State of Arizona in building trust and confidence when conducting business through the Internet.  

Online Customer Service and Alternatives

GITA offers access to its public information online that you might otherwise request in person.  Our goal is to provide citizens with a more convenient and efficient means in which to interact with Arizona government.  If at any time you choose not to proceed with a transaction offered online, your choice will in no way affect your ability to receive benefits or services another way.  If you prefer to request information from us in person, you may still do so at our office.

Collection and Use of Information

Information Collected and Stored Automatically by Cookies

We do not use “cookies” to gather information during your visit unless we are conducting a survey and need them to prevent duplicate results.  The web server that hosts the ACPE site does gather certain information about the visit automatically in a standard log file.  This information never identifies you personally and consists of only the following items:

1. The Internet domain (for example, "xcompany.com" if you use a private Internet access account, or "yourschool.edu" if you connect from a university's domain) from which you access the website;
2. The IP address (an IP address is a number that is automatically assigned to your computer whenever you are surfing the Web) from which you access the website; and
3. The date and time of your access.

We use this information to gather statistics about the amount of use the site receives.  Again, we do not automatically record information about you as an individual.  This information is not shared, sold, or otherwise disseminated by ACPE. 

When, from time to time, we present a survey page on the site, use of cookies is limited to the minimum function necessary to prevent duplication of survey results from that page.  A cookie is only transmitted at the time you submit the survey to us and consists of a unique text string to be stored on your computer and only retrieved in the event you return a subsequent survey to us.  You can always avoid receiving the cookie by not submitting the survey to us.  You can also refuse the cookie or delete the cookie file from your computer system by selecting various options on your computer’s operating system.  Refer to your browser’s help facility for the specific instructions about deleting, disabling, or refusing cookies. 

Information You Provide 

For www.highered.az.gov

Although the ACPE does not provide benefits or services to the public that require entry of personal information online on the www.highered.az.gov web site, the ACPE hosts the Arizona Grants web site (www.azgrants.az.gov) and the Arizona Family College Savings Plan web site (www.az529.gov) and provides links to these sites from the www.highered.az.gov web site.  Please refer to the information below if you link to these sites.

www.azgrants.az.gov

On this web site, the ACPE offers interactive forms that allow you to apply for one of the Arizona Grants:  Postsecondary Education Grant (PEG): Private Postsecondary Education Student Financial Assistance Program (PFAP): or Early Graduation Scholarship Grant (EGSG). When you apply for Arizona state grants using one of these forms, the ACPE is authorized to maintain a record of the transactions related to your application.

Account creation for a PEG, PFAP or EGSG grant.

The ACPE collects personally identifiable information from users who wish to create an online account to apply for a grant.  ACPE is allowed to ask for the information on these forms so that we can determine whether you are eligible for a grant.  This includes (but is not limited to) first name, middle initial, last name, social security number, address, zip code, gender, date of birth, high school attended, date of high school graduation, email address, telephone number, cell number, postsecondary institution you plan to attend, your major, when you plan to graduate, username, and password. We are allowed to ask for the information on these forms so that we can determine whether you are eligible for a grant, and, if so, how much. We will share the information with the postsecondary institute you plan to attend to verify the information you put on the application. If you do not give us all of the information we need to process your grant, your grant may be delayed or denied.

If you have authorized us to share your financial aid information with the schools that you are thinking of attending, they will also store that information (often in electronic form). State agencies and schools also collect other information relating to financial aid payments, admission, enrollment, etc. The privacy of these records is protected by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

Please be assured that your personal information will be held in strict confidence while ACPE processes your online transaction. ACPE will not share, sell or otherwise disseminate this information to any outside person or entity, except as required or authorized by law.

If you have any questions or comments regarding how ACPE will use the information you submit online, please forward them to us. Any comments collected are subject to the protections of this Privacy Statement.

www.az529.gov

Information Collected from Children 

Though ACPE does not specifically request information from children, as a State agency we would comply with the Children’s Online Privacy Policy Protection Act of 1998 (“COPPA”), requiring parental consent before we collected any personal information from an individual under the age of 13.  The text of COPPA is available at http://www.ftc.gov/ogc/coppa1.htm. 

Security

ACPE and its consultants have taken several steps to safeguard the integrity of its computer systems and networks.  These steps include, but are not limited to, individual authentication, the security of transmitted data, security monitoring, auditing, and encryption of information.  Security methods and measures have been integrated into the design, implementation and day-to-day practices of the entire ACPE website.  

Other External Links Disclaimer

ACPE web pages contain links to various other web sites operated by other government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and private businesses.  When you link to another site, you are no longer on the ACPE site and this Privacy Statement will not apply to other sites.  When you link to another web site, you are subject to the privacy policy of that new site.  Links to web sites outside of State government are offered solely for your convenience.  No State of Arizona agency is responsible for or has control over the policies or content of any third-party sites.

Neither the State of Arizona, nor any agency, officer, employee, or contractor of the State of Arizona warrants the accuracy, reliability, or timeliness of any information published by this system, nor endorses any content, viewpoints, products, or services linked from this system, and shall not be held liable for any losses caused by reliance on the accuracy, reliability or timeliness of such information.  Portions of such information may be inaccurate or outdated.  Any person or entity that relies on any information obtained from this system does so at his or her own risk. 

Privacy Policy Statement Is Subject To Change

This policy may be updated or revised from time to time, so please check back periodically in order to receive advance notice of any substantive changes to the manner in which the information you disclose on this web site may be collected, used, or disseminated.

Contact Information

To offer comments about the ACPE website, or about the information presented in this Privacy Policy, please contact the webmaster:   

If you choose to provide us with personal information – by filling out a form or a survey with your personal information and submitting it to us from this website – we use that information to respond to your message and to help us get you the information you have requested or register your opinion.  We only share the information you provide with another agency if your inquiry relates to that agency, or as otherwise required by law.  Moreover, we do not create an individual profile with the information you provide or give it to any private organizations.  ACPE does not collect information for commercial marketing.  Any comments collected are themselves subject to the protections of the privacy policy.