Privacy Policy

The ASSOCIATION OF CERTIFIED COLLEGE FUNDING SPECIALISTS wants you to know how it addresses privacy issues on the ASSOCIATION OF CERTIFIED COLLEGE FUNDING SPECIALISTS' website(s), including any apps published by the ASSOCIATION OF CERTIFIED COLLEGE FUNDING SPECIALISTS'(the “Sites”). This privacy policy (“Privacy Policy”) describes how the ASSOCIATION OF CERTIFIED COLLEGE FUNDING SPECIALISTS gathers and protects information, including certain individually identifiable information (“Personal Information”) and how the ASSOCIATION OF CERTIFIED COLLEGE FUNDING SPECIALISTS may use, process, transfer, and share Personal Information. This Privacy Policy applies to information that we collect through the Sites, as well as off-line Collections of Personal Information about CCFS® members, Candidates for CCFS® certification, continuing education providers, registered programs and other individuals or entities with whom the ASSOCIATION OF CERTIFIED COLLEGE FUNDING SPECIALISTS has a professional relationship.

Each user of the Sites expressly accepts and agrees to this Privacy Policy and to be bound by our Terms of Use.

Collection and Dissemination of Information

The ASSOCIATION OF CERTIFIED COLLEGE FUNDING SPECIALISTS generally collects information about you to help it better understand your needs, to provide you with personalized and efficient service, and for other purposes described in this Privacy Policy. The ASSOCIATION OF CERTIFIED COLLEGE FUNDING SPECIALISTS generally obtains Personal Information directly through the information that you provide to the ASSOCIATION OF CERTIFIED COLLEGE FUNDING SPECIALISTS. The ASSOCIATION OF CERTIFIED COLLEGE FUNDING SPECIALISTS may also obtain other information automatically through the use of cookies and other technologies.

Information We Collect

  • Personal Information: The ASSOCIATION OF CERTIFIED COLLEGE FUNDING SPECIALISTS may collect information that identifies you when you interact with the ASSOCIATION OF CERTIFIED COLLEGE FUNDING SPECIALISTS and provide such information to the ASSOCIATION OF CERTIFIED COLLEGE FUNDING SPECIALISTS such as, but not limited to, when you create an account, apply for CCFS® certification, or a registered program and purchase products from the ASSOCIATION OF CERTIFIED COLLEGE FUNDING SPECIALISTS. The types of Personal Information the ASSOCIATION OF CERTIFIED COLLEGE FUNDING SPECIALISTS collects may include, among other things, your full name, business address, home address, email address, telephone number, fax number, social media accounts, website addresses, credit card number, education, job description, employer, criminal history, gender, investigative information, social security number and date of birth. The ASSOCIATION OF CERTIFIED COLLEGE FUNDING SPECIALISTS may also receive Personal Information about CCFS® members and Candidates for CCFS® certification from continuing education providers, registered programs and other individuals or entities with whom the ASSOCIATION OF CERTIFIED COLLEGE FUNDING SPECIALISTS has a professional relationship.
  • Non-personal Information: As you interact with the Sites, the ASSOCIATION OF CERTIFIED COLLEGE FUNDING SPECIALISTS may collect information that is not Personal Information but may disclose aspects of your browsing history or other information about you through the use of a variety of technologies, including, but not limited to, cookies, tags, beacons, Internet Protocol (IP) address tracking/URL tracking, Google DoubleClick and other tools. Cookies are pieces of code or text placed on a user’s computer hard drive when some websites are visited. These cookies may be used to collect information such as login, shopping cart contents, website pages or advertisements viewed by the visitor. When the visitor returns to the website, the cookies will aid in recognizing the visitor and customizing their user experience accordingly.“Tags” and web beacons refer to code scripts that are primarily used to track visitors’ activities on the Sites by web analytics software. The ASSOCIATION OF CERTIFIED COLLEGE FUNDING SPECIALISTS uses analytics data and the DoubleClick cookie to serve ads based on a user’s prior visits to the Sites. Additionally, cookies, tags and other tools placed by third parties may collect other information about you such as, but not limited to, your industry, company size, job function, seniority level, etc. Depending on your browser settings, you may or may not be notified that cookies are in use and be able to refuse them. Users may opt out of cookies and other trackers by changing the setting on their browsers. Refusal to allow cookies may prevent the visitor from taking advantage of all available features of the Sites.

How the ASSOCIATION OF CERTIFIED COLLEGE FUNDING SPECIALISTS Uses and Shares Personal Information

Once collected, the ASSOCIATION OF CERTIFIED COLLEGE FUNDING SPECIALISTS may use Personal Information in a variety of ways including, but not limited to:

  • Providing service communications such as bill reminders, order confirmations, and other customer service messages.
  • Responding to inquiries from the public regarding the certification status of an individual.
  • Providing and/or selling lists to third parties such as continuing education providers, registered programs and other individuals or entities with whom the ASSOCIATION OF CERTIFIED COLLEGE FUNDING SPECIALISTS has a professional relationship as described below.
  • Compiling directories.
  • Sharing with third parties as required by law or to protect the rights of the ASSOCIATION OF CERTIFIED COLLEGE FUNDING SPECIALISTS.
  • Providing information to a governmental agency, industry self-regulatory organization or employer of CCFS® members.

In addition, the ASSOCIATION OF CERTIFIED COLLEGE FUNDING SPECIALISTS, through telephone or email responses or through its “Find a CCFS® ” consumer search tools may provide any of the following Personal Information, including, but not limited to:

  • Whether the individual has ever been certified by the ASSOCIATION OF CERTIFIED COLLEGE FUNDING SPECIALISTS, the date of that certification, and, if not currently certified, the date on which certification lapsed or was otherwise terminated and the reason the certification lapsed or was otherwise terminated.
  • Whether the individual has indicated he/she is in the practice of college planning, college funding, or college consulting.
  • Any past and/or current public disciplinary actions against the individual by the ASSOCIATION OF CERTIFIED COLLEGE FUNDING SPECIALISTS.
  • The business name, address, and phone number of the individual.
  • The renewal date for the individual’s current CCFS® certification.

From time to time the ASSOCIATION OF CERTIFIED COLLEGE FUNDING SPECIALISTS provides or sells Personal Information to third parties, including but not limited to, continuing education providers, registered programs and other individuals or entities with whom the ASSOCIATION OF CERTIFIED COLLEGE FUNDING SPECIALISTS has a professional relationship in the form of a list, as the ASSOCIATION OF CERTIFIED COLLEGE FUNDING SPECIALISTS deems appropriate.

A fee may be charged for the list, and the list may be used only one-time. There is no limit on the number of lists that may be purchased. 

The ASSOCIATION OF CERTIFIED COLLEGE FUNDING SPECIALISTS reserves the right to deny any requests for information.

How to Opt Out

Users may opt-out of receiving future information from the ASSOCIATION OF CERTIFIED COLLEGE FUNDING SPECIALISTS or from being included on lists the ASSOCIATION OF CERTIFIED COLLEGE FUNDING SPECIALISTS provides or sells to education providers, industry organizations, associations, vendors or businesses either by emailing or faxing notification to the contact information listed below in this section.

Visitors to the Sites may opt out of the DoubleClick Cookie by visiting the Google advertising opt-out page or they may opt out on the Google Analytics opt-out page. Google has additional information available about their Remarketing Privacy Guidelines, Policies, and Restrictions. Users may opt out of cookies and other trackers by changing the setting on their browsers.

Should you have additional questions, comments, concerns, or want to opt-out of certain information dissemination please contact us by email, fax or phone:

Email: support@accfs.com
Phone & Fax: 888-722-7790

Legally Required to Disclose Information

The ASSOCIATION OF CERTIFIED COLLEGE FUNDING SPECIALISTS shall reserve the right to disclose information obtained through the Sites, when disclosure is required by the legal process of a court of law, governmental agency or an industry self-regulatory organization having appropriate jurisdiction.

Security

Physical, electronic and managerial procedures have been employed to safeguard the security and integrity of personal information, including social security numbers. All ASSOCIATION OF CERTIFIED COLLEGE FUNDING SPECIALISTS agents and contractors with access to personal information obtained on the Sites are also bound to adhere to this policy. To protect the security of information supplied by users in order to access restricted areas, users must provide email addresses and passwords to access their information. Although the ASSOCIATION OF CERTIFIED COLLEGE FUNDING SPECIALISTS takes these measures to safeguard against unauthorized disclosure of a user’s data or personal information, the ASSOCIATION OF CERTIFIED COLLEGE FUNDING SPECIALISTS cannot control Internet transmissions and cannot guarantee or warrant that personal information transmitted to the ASSOCIATION OF CERTIFIED COLLEGE FUNDING SPECIALISTS will never be compromised.

Accessing and Changing Your Information

If you are a registered user of the Sites, you may review and update or correct your information online.

Changes to Collection and Dissemination of Information Policy

The ASSOCIATION OF CERTIFIED COLLEGE FUNDING SPECIALISTS reserves the right, at any time, to add to, change, update, or modify this Policy, simply by posting such addition, change, update, or modification on this site and may require CCFS® members to consent to certain changes. Any such addition, change, update, or modification will be effective immediately upon posting on the site.

Last Modified: 23 June 2017