Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy describes how Austin Christian University ("ACU," "we," "our," or "us") collects, uses, shares, and protects information about you when you visit our website at austinchristianuniversity.org (the "Site"), submit forms, communicate with us by email, phone, or text message, or interact with our staff and systems.

We are an educational institution located at 601 Westinghouse Rd, Georgetown, TX 78626. Questions about this policy can be directed to privacy@austinchristianuniversity.org or by mail to the address above, attention: Privacy.

1. Information We Collect

We collect the following categories of information:

1.1 Information you provide directly

• Inquiry and application data. When you submit a form on our Site (such as the info-packet download form), apply to a program, register for an event, or otherwise contact us, we collect the information you provide. This typically includes your name, email address, phone number, mailing address, the program or topic you are interested in, where you heard about ACU, and other information relevant to your inquiry or application.
• Communications content. When you email, text, or speak with our staff or current students, we collect the content of those communications, including SMS message logs, call notes, and email threads, for purposes of servicing your inquiry, application, or enrollment.

1.2 Information we collect automatically

• Site usage data. When you visit our Site, we automatically collect technical information such as your IP address, browser type, device type, pages viewed, referring URL, and timestamps. This data helps us understand how the Site is used and to improve it.
• Cookies and similar technologies. We use cookies and similar tracking technologies for analytics, advertising measurement, and to maintain session state. You can control cookies through your browser settings.
• Session replay. We use Microsoft Clarity, which records how visitors interact with our pages (for example, clicks, scrolling, and mouse movement) so we can find and fix problems with the Site. Microsoft processes this data under its own privacy terms.
• Advertising pixels. Our Site includes pixels from advertising and social media platforms (currently Meta and TikTok). When you visit, these platforms receive information such as the pages you view and your browser and device details, which they may combine with information they already hold about you under their own privacy policies. We use this to measure our advertising and to show ACU ads to people who have visited our Site.
• Visit history connected to your inquiry. We set our own first-party cookie that records which pages of our Site a browser visits, where the visit came from (for example, a search engine, a social media post, or one of our emails), which of our forms were submitted (not what was typed into them), and which links to other sites were clicked. We store an approximate location (city, region, and country) but not your IP address. If you later submit an inquiry, register for an event, apply, or click a link in an email we sent you, we connect that browser's earlier visits to your record so our admissions staff can understand your interests and help you better. If you and a family member use the same device, your visits may appear on both of your records. This visit history stays within ACU and is not sold or shared with advertisers. It does not record keystrokes, screens, or anything you type, and if your browser sends a Global Privacy Control signal, it is not collected at all.

1.3 Information from third parties

• Application referrals. If you are referred to ACU by a partner organization, school, or individual, we may receive your contact information and any context they have provided.
• Public records. For applicants and enrolled students, we may receive academic records, test scores, and other educational information from your prior schools and testing services with your consent.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

• Send you information about ACU's programs, events, and admissions process
• Respond to your inquiries and provide information you request
• Process and evaluate your application for admission
• Communicate with you by email, phone, and text message about your inquiry, application, enrollment, and ongoing student experience
• Provide enrolled-student services, including academic advising, financial aid administration, and student life
• Understand which parts of our Site an inquirer or applicant has visited, so our staff can answer their questions and follow up with relevant information
• Operate, maintain, and improve our Site, services, and internal systems
• Comply with our legal and regulatory obligations
• Protect the rights, safety, and property of ACU, our students, our staff, and others

3. SMS / Text Messaging

We send and receive text messages for the following purposes:

• Prospective student marketing texts. A single, optional marketing SMS program with one opt-in method: turning on the "Text me updates about ACU" switch on our info-packet form (off by default and optional; submitting the form does not by itself opt you in). If you turn it on, we may send you recurring automated marketing text messages about ACU programs, admissions, events, and follow-up from admissions staff or current students. This is a separate program from any operational texts described below, with its own separate opt-in.
• Enrolled student communications. Enrolled students may receive operational text messages relating to academic deadlines, financial aid, housing, campus safety, and student life.
• Internal staff communications. ACU staff who have opted in via their employment agreement may send and receive text messages through ACU's internal communication systems.

Opt-out. You can opt out of ACU text messages at any time by replying STOP, UNSUBSCRIBE, CANCEL, END, or QUIT to any message you receive from us. You can also email privacy@austinchristianuniversity.org to be removed.

Help. Reply HELP to any message for support information, or email the address above.

Message frequency varies. Message and data rates may apply. ACU does not charge for sending text messages, but your mobile carrier's standard rates apply.

We do not share your mobile information — including your phone number, your SMS opt-in and consent, and your text message content — with third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes. SMS opt-in and consent information is never shared with any third parties.

4. How We Share Your Information

We share your information only as described below.

4.1 Service providers

We work with third-party service providers who help us operate ACU. These providers receive only the information they need to perform their services and are contractually obligated to protect it. Categories of providers we use include:

• Customer relationship and communication platforms (for example, HubSpot) — to manage inquiries, applications, and communications
• SMS / messaging providers (for example, Twilio) — to send and receive text messages
• Email service providers (for example, Resend) — to send transactional and informational emails
• Audio transcription providers (for example, OpenAI) — to transcribe voice memos and recordings submitted by staff for internal capture
• Scheduling providers (for example, Cal.com) — to manage appointment booking
• Hosting and infrastructure providers — to operate the Site and our internal systems
• Analytics and session replay providers (for example, Google Analytics and Microsoft Clarity) — to understand and improve Site usage
• Advertising and social media platforms (for example, Meta and TikTok) — to measure our advertising and show ACU ads to people who have visited our Site, as described in Section 1.2

4.2 Educational and regulatory disclosures

For enrolled students, we share educational records as permitted or required by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and as described in ACU's separate FERPA & Student Privacy notice.

We may also disclose information when required by law, in response to valid legal process, to protect rights and safety, or in connection with any merger, sale, or transfer of ACU's operations.

4.3 We do not sell your information

We do not sell your personal information to third parties.

5. Data Retention

We retain your information for as long as needed to fulfill the purposes described in this policy, including for the duration of your relationship with ACU as an inquirer, applicant, student, or alumnus, and for a reasonable period thereafter for legitimate business and legal purposes (such as record-keeping, compliance, and dispute resolution).

You may request deletion of your information at any time, subject to our legal and educational record-keeping obligations.

Visit history that is never connected to an inquiry or application is deleted 180 days after the browser's last visit. Visit history connected to someone who never applies is deleted two years after the last visit.

6. Your Rights and Choices

You have the right to:

• Access the information we hold about you
• Correct information that is inaccurate or incomplete
• Delete your information, subject to our legal and record-keeping obligations
• Opt out of text messages (reply STOP) and marketing emails (use the unsubscribe link in any email)
• Withdraw consent for ongoing processing where we rely on consent
• Limit advertising tracking by blocking third-party cookies or trackers in your browser, or through the ad preference settings of the platforms you use (such as Meta and TikTok)
• Opt out of visit history by turning on Global Privacy Control in your browser, or by clearing or blocking cookies for our Site; you can also ask us to delete visit history already connected to your record

To exercise any of these rights, email privacy@austinchristianuniversity.org with your request and the email address or phone number associated with your records. We will respond within 45 days.

7. Children's Privacy

Our Site and services are not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13.

For prospective students between 13 and 17, we expect that a parent or guardian has reviewed and agreed to the collection and use of information described in this policy. If you are between 13 and 17 and are submitting an inquiry, you affirm that a parent or guardian has reviewed this policy and consents on your behalf.

If you believe we have collected information from a child under 13 without parental consent, please contact us at privacy@austinchristianuniversity.org and we will delete it.

8. Security

We use reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect your information from unauthorized access, use, alteration, and disclosure. No system is perfectly secure, however, and we cannot guarantee the security of information transmitted to or stored by us.

9. International Visitors

ACU is located in the United States, and our systems are operated in the United States. If you visit our Site or submit information from outside the United States, you understand that your information will be transferred to and processed in the United States, where data protection laws may differ from those in your country.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy from time to time. When we make material changes, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page and, where appropriate, provide additional notice (for example, by posting a notice on our Site or sending you an email). Your continued use of our Site or services after changes take effect means you accept the updated policy.

11. Contact Us

For questions, concerns, or requests related to this Privacy Policy or your information, contact:

Austin Christian University
Attn: Privacy
601 Westinghouse Rd
Georgetown, TX 78626
privacy@austinchristianuniversity.org