Ontario Universities’ In-person Events Privacy Statement and Participant Declaration

Last updated: August 21, 2023

Privacy Statement

The Ontario Universities’ Application Centre (“OUAC”, “we” or “us”), a division of the Council of Ontario Universities (COU), is committed to respecting your privacy. We process applications for admission to Ontario university programs on behalf of the Ontario universities. To apply for admission to an undergraduate university program in Ontario, or to an Ontario medical school, law school, teacher education program, or rehabilitation sciences program, your application is processed through the OUAC. We also process applications for other graduate and professional programs offered by the Ontario universities and for transcripts for the Ontario College of Teachers and the Qualifications Evaluation Council of Ontario. The purpose of this Privacy Statement is to inform you about our privacy practices, including how we collect, use and disclose your personal information.

The OUAC, on behalf of the Ontario universities, organizes and administers the Ontario Universities’ Fair and the Ontario Universities’ Regional Fairs, which combined constitute the Ontario Universities’ In-person Events (“In-person Events”). To this end, the OUAC has contracted a third party, Betadac Media, LLC, doing business as StriveScan (“StriveScan”), to manage the delivery of, and data collection for, the In-person Events. The notice of collection of personal information for StriveScan can be found on its website. Please review StriveScan’s policy for further information.

By registering for the In-person Events, you authorize StriveScan to collect your personal information directly from you, as necessary, to complete and process your registration, this includes your OUEvents Pass (i.e., barcode), for the In-person Events. You also agree that StriveScan will disclose to the OUAC and to the universities you select and/or that scan your OUEvents Pass (the “Chosen Universities”) the personal information you provide to StriveScan and to your Chosen Universities as part of your registration and/or participation in the In-person Events. The Chosen Universities collect your personal information through StriveScan in accordance with their enabling legislation for the purpose of recruitment. Universities may use and disclose your personal information for other purposes in accordance with their own admission and personal information policies and practices. The notices of collection of personal information for each Ontario university can be found on their websites. Please review the policies of your Chosen Universities for further information.

What Information Do We Collect?

We collect personal information about you in the following way:

Information We Collect from Third Parties

  • We collect the personal information you provide to StriveScan and to your Chosen Universities as part of your registration and/or participation in the In-person Events.

How Do We Use Your Information?

We use your personal information to:

  • contact you about the In-person Events and about special programs or surveys, including by email.
  • respond to your inquiries and requests.
  • create aggregated data and reports to be used by us and the Ontario universities.
  • conduct research and analysis and to assist others with research.

We may use your personal information for other purposes we have obtained your consent for and for other purposes as may be permitted or required by applicable law.

StriveScan keeps electronic versions of the personal information you provide to StriveScan and to your Chosen Universities as part of your registration and/or participation in the In-person Events for 180 days, after which the personally identifiable information will be destroyed. StriveScan will keep the remaining information (i.e., the information that remains after personal identifiers are destroyed) until August 2024 when StriveScan will destroy the remaining information. We will archive the remaining information after StriveScan destroys personal identifiers.

How Do We Share Your Information?

We keep your personal information confidential and disclose it only for the purposes described in this Privacy Statement. We share your information with the following third parties:

Universities

  • We may disclose the aggregated data and reports we create to the Ontario universities for admission, enrollment and other academic policy development and research purposes. The notices of collection for each Ontario university can be found on their websites.

Service Providers

  • We may transfer your personal information, as required, to third parties who provide services on our behalf, such as hosting, data storage and processing service providers, research and analytics providers and auditors who analyze our systems to ensure that your personal information is protected.

Note: Your personal information may be stored and processed in any country where we engage third-party service providers. As a result, your personal information may be transferred outside of Canada to jurisdictions that may have different data protection rules than Canada. While such information is outside of Canada, it is subject to the laws of the country in which it is located, and may be subject to disclosure to the governments, courts or law enforcement or regulatory agencies of said country, pursuant to the laws of such country.

How Do We Protect Your Personal Information?

We maintain administrative, technical and physical safeguards in an effort to protect your personal information against unauthorized access, use, modification and disclosure.

  • We restrict access to personal information only to employees and authorized service providers who require the information for the purposes described in this Privacy Statement.
  • We store electronic records off-site as part of our disaster recovery procedures. These records remain in Canada.
  • We use industry standard security during the transfer of data. All files transferred to or from the OUAC use a Secure Socket Shell (SSH) protocol. Files containing personal information have an additional layer of encryption.
  • Our third-party service providers are required to maintain the confidentiality and security of your personal information and to use it only in compliance with applicable privacy laws.

Although we take appropriate measures to safeguard the personal information in our custody and control, we cannot guarantee that your personal information will always be used in ways that are consistent with this Privacy Statement and no method of transmission or storage of information is 100% secure or error-free, so we cannot guarantee absolute security.  If you have reason to believe that your interaction with us is no longer secure (e.g., if you feel that the security of any information you provided to us has been compromised), please contact us immediately.

Changes to This Privacy Statement

This Privacy Statement is current as of the “Last updated” date at the top of this page. We may update this Privacy Statement periodically to reflect changes to our personal information practices. We will post the revised privacy statement on this website. We treat your personal information in accordance with the privacy statement in place at the time of collection of such information, or as you otherwise consent.

Participant Declaration

By registering for and/or participating in the In-person Events, you consent to the personal information practices set out in the Ontario’s Universities’ In-person Events Privacy Statement.

How to Contact Us

Contact our Privacy Officer at any time if you:

  • have any questions or comments about this Privacy Statement, or about your personal information or our privacy practices;
  • wish to access and/or correct the personal information we have in our custody or control; or
  • have a complaint about the manner in which we treat your personal information.

Contact the OUAC Privacy Officer:


Ontario Universities’ Information Sessions Privacy Statement and Participant Declaration

Last updated: March 27, 2024

Privacy Statement

The Ontario Universities’ Application Centre (“OUAC”, “we” or “us”), a division of the Council of Ontario Universities (COU), is committed to respecting your privacy. We process applications for admission to Ontario university programs on behalf of the Ontario universities. To apply for admission to an undergraduate university program in Ontario, or to an Ontario medical school, law school, teacher education program, or rehabilitation sciences program, your application is processed through the OUAC. We also process applications for other graduate and professional programs offered by the Ontario universities and for transcripts for the Ontario College of Teachers and the Qualifications Evaluation Council of Ontario. The purpose of this Privacy Statement is to inform you about our privacy practices, including how we use, disclose and otherwise manage your personal information.

The OUAC, on behalf of the Ontario universities, organizes and administers the Ontario Universities’ Information Sessions (“virtual Information Sessions”). To this end, the OUAC has contracted a third party, Acadiate, to manage the delivery of, and data collection for, the virtual Information Sessions. The notice of collection of personal information for Acadiate can be found on its website. Please review Acadiate’s policy for further information.

By registering for the virtual Information Sessions, you authorize Acadiate to collect your personal information directly from you, as necessary, to complete and process your registration for the virtual Information Sessions. You also agree that Acadiate will disclose to the OUAC and to the universities you select (the “Chosen Universities”) the personal information you provide to Acadiate as part of your registration and/or participation in these sessions. The Chosen Universities collect your personal information through Acadiate in accordance with their enabling legislation for the purpose of recruitment. Universities may use and disclose your personal information for other purposes in accordance with their own admission and personal information policies and practices. The notices of collection of personal information for each Ontario university can be found on their websites. Please review the policies of your Chosen Universities for further information.

How Is Your Information Used?

Your personal information is used to:

  • contact you about the virtual Information Sessions and about special programs or surveys, including by email.
  • respond to your inquiries and requests.
  • create aggregated data and reports to be used by us and the Ontario universities.
  • conduct research and analysis and to assist others with research.

We may use your personal information for other purposes we have obtained your consent for and for other purposes as may be permitted or required by applicable law.

Acadiate will destroy the personal information you provide as part of your registration and/or participation in the virtual Information Sessions by January 2025. We do not archive the personal information that Acadiate discloses to us.

How Is Your Information Shared?

We keep your personal information confidential and disclose it only for the purposes described in this Privacy Statement. Your personal information is shared with the following third parties:

Universities

  • We may disclose the aggregated data and reports we create to the Ontario universities for admission, enrollment and other academic policy development and research purposes. The notices of collection for each Ontario university can be found on their websites.

Service Providers

  • We may transfer your personal information, as required, to third parties who provide services on our behalf, such as hosting, data storage and processing service providers, research and analytics providers and auditors who analyze our systems to ensure that your personal information is protected.

Note: Your personal information may be stored and processed in any country where we engage third-party service providers. As a result, your personal information may be transferred outside of Canada to jurisdictions that may have different data protection rules than Canada. While such information is outside of Canada, it is subject to the laws of the country in which it is located, and may be subject to disclosure to the governments, courts or law enforcement or regulatory agencies of said country, pursuant to the laws of such country.

How Do We Protect Personal Information Held by the OUAC?

We maintain administrative, technical and physical safeguards in an effort to protect your personal information against unauthorized access, use, modification and disclosure.

  • We restrict access to personal information only to employees and authorized service providers who require the information for the purposes described in this Privacy Statement.
  • We store electronic records off-site as part of our disaster recovery procedures. These records remain in Canada.
  • We use industry standard security during the transfer of data. All files transferred to or from the OUAC use a Secure Socket Shell (SSH) protocol. Files containing personal information have an additional layer of encryption.
  • Our third-party service providers are required to maintain the confidentiality and security of your personal information and to use it only in compliance with applicable privacy laws.

Although we take appropriate measures to safeguard the personal information in our custody and control, we cannot guarantee that your personal information will always be used in ways that are consistent with this Privacy Statement and no method of transmission or storage of information is 100% secure or error-free, so we cannot guarantee absolute security. If you have reason to believe that your interaction with us is no longer secure (e.g., if you feel that the security of any information you provided to us has been compromised), please contact us immediately.

Changes to This Privacy Statement

This Privacy Statement is current as of the “Last updated” date at the top of this page. We may update this Privacy Statement periodically to reflect changes to our personal information practices. We will post the revised privacy statement on this website. We treat your personal information in accordance with the privacy statement in place at the time of collection of such information, or as you otherwise consent.

Participant Declaration

By registering for, and/or participating in, the virtual Information Sessions, you consent to the personal information practices set out in the Ontario’s Universities’ Information Sessions Privacy Statement.

How to Contact Us

Contact our Privacy Officer at any time if you:

  • have any questions or comments about this Privacy Statement, or about your personal information or our privacy practices;
  • wish to access and/or correct the personal information we have in our custody or control; or
  • have a complaint about the manner in which we treat your personal information.

Contact the OUAC Privacy Officer:

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