The University of Alberta is committed to providing our staff, students and visitors with websites that respect their privacy. This page summarizes the privacy policy and practices for all University of Alberta websites. University of Alberta websites do not automatically gather any personal information from you, such as your name, phone number or email address. 

This information is only obtained if you provide it voluntarily, through contacting us via email, or through an online form. Any personal information you do provide is managed according to the Alberta Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy (FOIP) Act. This means that, at the point of collection, you will be informed that your personal information is being collected, the purpose for which it is being collected, and that you have a right of access to the collected information. Some University of Alberta websites may collect more information than is described here and will have additional privacy policies. Where applicable, please be sure to read these privacy policies.

Information collected automatically via the Internet

The University of Alberta logs http requests to our server. These logs capture computer information, navigation and clickstream data.

Some of the information collected does not identify who you are. Other information, such as your domain name or IP address, may identify you depending on the naming standards followed by your Internet service provider. You may wish to ask them about their polices and practices.

Although we make no attempt to link the information captured to the identity of individuals, the information captured does identify the following:

• the Internet domain and IP address from which you access our website
• the type of browser and operating system used to access our site
• screen resolution of your monitor
• the date and time you access our site
• the pages you visit
• the address of any website from which you linked to the University of Alberta website

This information is used to help us make our site more useful to our audiences by learning about the number of visitors to our site, and by monitoring traffic patterns and the types of technology our visitors use. We do not track or record information about specific individuals and their visits. Visitor information is not disclosed to anyone except University of Alberta personnel who need the information for legitimate business purposes such as responding to a request.

Cookies

A cookie is a small piece of text information that is sent to your browser when you access a website. Your browser will return this cookie information to the domain where the cookie originated. We do not regularly use “cookies” to track how our visitors use the site; when cookies are used, they may be used to help you fill in forms or track your use of the sites. The length of time that the cookie will reside on your machine will depend upon the specific set-up of the particular sites you visit. If you are concerned about the use of cookies, you can refer to the help information in your browser software for information on how to disable cookies. If you wish to delete cookies from your machine, consult your browser’s help files for instructions on how to do so.

Cookies used on some sites

A number of University of Alberta websites (such as the one you are viewing now) use dynamically driven content. These pages use two specific cookies to define the parameters of the site you are visiting. These tokens are identified by your browser as CFIDE and CFTOKEN.These cookies do not gather or submit any information on users visiting the site.

Security

For site security purposes, the University of Alberta employs software programs to monitor network traffic that identifies unauthorized attempts to upload or change information, or otherwise cause damage. Except for authorized law enforcement investigations, no other attempts are made to identify individual users or their usage habits.

Privacy and links to other sites

University of Alberta websites may contain links to other sites. We are not responsible for the content and the privacy practices of other websites and encourage you to examine each site's privacy policy and disclaimers and make your own decisions regarding the accuracy, reliability and correctness of material and information found.

Information collected in emails and web forms

Should you choose to provide us with personal information—as in an email or by filling out a form and submitting it to us through our website—we will use that information to respond to your message and to help us get the information you have requested. The University of Alberta does not collect personal information for commercial marketing or distribution to any private organizations. Messages sent via the Internet can be intercepted. If you are concerned about sending your personal information to us via the Internet, you can use another method such as fax or regular mail.

Transactions where information enters a system of records

Where personal information is provided that enters a system of records, it is collected in compliance with section 33(c) of the Alberta Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy (FOIP) Act. The University of Alberta collects, creates and maintains information for the purposes of admission, registration and other activities directly related to its education programs. Information collected is kept only for the length of time necessary to fulfill the purpose for which it was collected.

Google Analytics

The University of Alberta uses Google Analytics to gather statistics on portions of its web site. UAlberta will use the information gathered to improve digital services for its patrons.

Google Analytics employs cookies to define user sessions, which allows for the collection of important data about how our patrons are using the site. Google Analytics uses only first-party cookies for data analysis. This means that the cookies are linked to the UAlberta’s website domain(s), and UAlberta will only use the collected data and cookies for aggregate, including age, gender and possibly interests for non-individual statistical analysis related to your browsing behaviour.

According to Google, the data collected cannot be altered or retrieved by services from other domains. If you choose, you can opt out by turning off cookies in the preferences settings in your browser. For more information on Google Analytics, please visit Google’s web site.

Getting more information

For questions or comments regarding this policy, or for additional information about the administration of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, contact the University of Alberta Information and Privacy Office.