Privacy Policy
Privacy Policy
This notice applies across all websites that Sterling Professional Education owns and operates and all services we provide (our “services”).
When we say “personal data” we mean identifiable information about you, like your name, email, address, phone number, payment information, support inquiries, and so on. If you can’t be identified (for example, your personal data has been aggregated and anonymized) then this notice doesn’t apply.
We may update this policy from time to time and without prior notice to you by publishing a new version on our website. It is your responsibility to review this policy and if you do not agree with the terms, or any updates, please discontinue using this site. Where there is a significant change to this policy, we may notify you by email.
Age Limitations
Our website and services are targeted to people 18 years or older.
If you learn that anyone younger than 18 has provided us with personal data, please contact us and if we have reason to believe that we hold personal data of a person under that age in our databases, we will delete that personal data.
Who “we” are
When we refer to “we” (“our” or “us”), we mean Sterling Professional Education and our websites.
What data do we collect?
When you visit our websites or purchase services, we collect personal data:
Information you provide us. When you visit or use some parts of our websites and/or services we might ask you to provide personal data to us. For example, we ask for your contact information when you complete our contact form. If you don’t want to provide us with personal data, you don’t have to, but it might mean you can’t use some parts of our websites or services.
Information collected from using our site. We collect data about our website’s visitors using technology such as cookies, device IDs, IP addresses and location data. This can include information about your location, the type of device you are using and your online browsing history. We also collect information when you navigate through our websites and services, including what pages you looked at and what links you clicked on. This information is useful for us as it helps us get a better understanding of how you’re using our websites and services so that we can continue to provide the best experience possible (e.g., by customizing content).
Information from other sources. The majority of information we collect, we collect directly from you. Sometimes we might collect personal data about you from other sources, such as publicly available materials or trusted third parties like our marketing and research partners. We use this information to supplement the personal data we already hold about you, in order to better inform, personalize and improve our services, and to validate the personal data you provide.
Where we collect personal data, we’ll only process it:
- to perform a contract with you, or
- where we have legitimate interests to process the personal data and they’re not overridden by your rights, or
- in accordance with a legal obligation, or
- where we have your consent.
If we don’t collect your personal data, we may be unable to provide you with all our services, and some functions and features on our websites may not be available to you.
How we use your data
We use your personal data to operate our websites, provide you with services, and to manage our relationship with you. We also use your personal data for other purposes, which include the following:
To communicate with you. This may include:
- providing you with information you’ve requested from us (like articles or quotes) or information we are required to send to you
- operational communications, like changes to our websites and services, security updates, or assistance with using our websites and services
- marketing communications (in accordance with your marketing preferences)
- asking you for feedback or to take part in any research we are conducting (which we may engage a third party to assist with).
To support you: Assisting you with the resolution of technical support issues or other issues relating to the websites or services, whether by email, in-app, product support on our website or otherwise.
To optimize our websites and services: For example, by tracking and monitoring your use of websites and services, or by carrying out technical analysis of our websites and services, we can optimize your user experience and provide you with the best service.
To protect: So we can detect and prevent fraudulent or malicious activity, and make sure that our websites and services are being used fairly.
To market to you: In addition to sending you marketing communications, we may also use your personal data to display targeted advertising to you online – through our own websites and services or through third party websites and their platforms.
To analyze, aggregate and report: We may use the personal data we collect about you and other users of our websites and services (whether obtained directly or from third parties) to produce aggregated and anonymized analytics and reports, which we may share publicly or with third parties.
How we share your data
There will be times when we need to share your personal data with third parties. We will only disclose your personal data to:
- Regulators, law enforcement bodies, government agencies, courts or other third parties where we think it’s necessary to comply with applicable laws or regulations, or to exercise, establish or defend our legal rights. Where possible and appropriate, we will notify you of this type of disclosure
- an actual or potential buyer (and its agents and advisers) in connection with an actual or proposed purchase, merger or acquisition of any part of our business
- other parties, where we have your consent.
Security
Security is a priority for us when it comes to your personal data and we maintain administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect your personal data against accidental, unlawful or unauthorized destruction, loss, alteration, access, disclosure or use. We use SSL encryption on our websites. While we use a variety of industry standard security measures to maintain the safety of your personal information, “perfect security” does not exist on the Internet and transmission of your personal data to and from us is at your own risk.
Retention
The length of time we keep your personal data depends on what it is and whether we have an ongoing business need to retain it (for example, to provide you with a service you’ve requested or to comply with applicable legal, tax or accounting requirements).
We’ll retain your personal data for as long as we have a relationship with you and for a period of time afterwards where we have an ongoing business need to retain it, in accordance with our data retention policies and practices. Following that period, we’ll delete or anonymize it.
Your privacy rights
It’s your personal data and you have certain rights relating to it. When it comes to marketing communications, we will only send you promotional e-mail messages if you have opted-in to receive such messages, in relation to your purchase or a communication you initiated. You can ask us not to send you these at any time – by following the unsubscribe instructions contained in the marketing communication, or send your request to info@sterlingproed.com.
Depending on your location or residency you may have the right or choice to:
- Opt out of some collection or uses of your personal data, including the use of cookies and similar technologies, the use of your personal data for marketing purposes, and the anonymization of your personal for data analyses
- Access your personal data, update or amend it, restrict or object to its processing, or request its deletion
- Receive the personal data you provided to us in an electronic to transmit to another company
- Withdraw any consent provided
- Where applicable, lodge a complaint with your local data protection supervisory authority. You can find their contact details here: https://edpb.europa.eu/about-edpb/board/members_en
You can exercise these rights at any time by sending an email to: info@sterlingproed.com.
We will review and your request and get back to you within a reasonable time frame.
Features and third party links
We may provide links to other websites for your convenience and information or allow you to choose to use certain features for which we partner with other entities. These websites and features, which may include social networking and geo-location tools, are clearly operating independently from us. They may have their own privacy notices or policies, which we strongly suggest you review. To the extent any linked websites or features you visit or use are not owned or controlled by Sterling Professional Education, we are not responsible for their content, your use of their websites, or their privacy practices.
We offer you the ability to share, link to, or mention things on social media about our products and services. You may also choose to use certain features on our websites that can be accessed through, or for which we partner with, other entities that are not otherwise affiliated with us. These features, including geo-location tools, are operated by third parties and are clearly identified as such. Social media providers such as Facebook and Twitter, and these other third parties, are independent from us and have their own policies regarding the protection of privacy. Please review their privacy notices if you decide to use their services. Sterling Professional Education cannot be held liable for your use of any of these social media tools’ and third parties’ websites or apps.
How to contact us
If you have any questions or comments about this Privacy Policy, Sterling Professional Education‘s privacy practices or if you would like us to update information or preferences you provided to us, please click here or e-mail us at: info@sterlingproed.com.
We prefer to communicate with you by email – this ensures that you’re put in contact with the right person and in accordance with any regulatory time frames, but you may also write us at:
34161 35th Avenue
Dennison, MN 5501
Effective date: 1/1/2023