PRIVACY POLICY

The Ceylon Institute of English and Leadership (hereinafter referred to as “CIOEL”) is committed to protecting the privacy of visitors / users of the CIOEL website (www.cioel.com). Personal information of all users is collected, used and disclosed as described in this Privacy Policy.

1. COLLECTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION
a) As an English Language online training institute, CIOEL collects personal information of users who visit the site. Personal data such as name, gender, residential address, national identity card details, date of birth, telephone numbers and email addresses are collected.
b) Data such as location, IP address (from which the visitor’s device accesses the website), device type and ID, operating system and version, browser type and settings, and cookie-related data (e.g. cookie ID) shall be collected to assist in spam detection.
c) Data regarding all other interactions with CIOEL’s services and communications shall be collected.
d) Additionally, any other data that CIOEL is required or entitled to collect by the
applicable law for user authentication, identification or verification shall also be collected.

2. USE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION
a) Personal information collected by CIOEL shall be used for following purposes:
 To process student / participant enrollment requests and thereby enter into subsequent contracts with applicants.
 To provide CIOEL’s specialized services such as training in English Language, training in customer service, training in email etiquette etc.
 To enable the performance of a transaction (including in cases of failed or subsequently void transactions) and enhance features such as payment processing and account management.
 To inform and update the users on other related services that are offered by CIOEL.
b) It is important to note that CIOEL operates with third parties such as payment service providers and shipping companies. Therefore, such authorized companies shall have access to the personal information collected subject to confidentiality terms imposed by CIOEL.
c) However, in the following instances CIOEL shall disclose the personal information collected:
 When required to do so by law enforcement agencies, courts, government agencies or public authorities, intergovernmental or supranational bodies;
 To prevent, detect, investigate and prosecute illegal acts (e.g. fraud, money laundering and terrorist financing);
 To protect and defend the rights or property of CIOEL including its website;
 To act under exigent circumstances to protect the personal safety of users of CIOEL or the public.

3. STORAGE, DURATION AND ERASURE
a) When users / visitors leave comments, the website retains the comments and the metadata indefinitely. All information collected by CIOEL is used to recognize and approve any follow-up comments automatically instead of holding them in a moderation queue.
b) All details of users who provide their personal information shall be stored in accordance with applicable data protection laws in individual user profiles.
c) All users / visitors are able to see, edit, or delete their personal information prior to submission of same.
d) Retention of all personal information collected shall therefore be subject to activities such as maintaining and improving the services offered, keeping CIOEL’s systems secure and maintaining appropriate business and financial records. Additionally, corresponding personal information shall be retained due to Statutory/ contractual
obligations that may arise. (e.g. – Personal data contained in contracts, notifications and business letters may be subject to statutory storage obligations depending on national law)

4. USE OF COOKIES
a) CIOEL uses cookies and similar technologies to provide visitors with better, faster and safer user experience. Cookies also help to analyze web traffic.

b) When a visitor leaves a comment or enters any information in the website, cookies shall gather and remember the information, saving-in user time. These cookies shall last for 12 months.
c) When a visitor logs in to CIOEL’s website, cookies shall save user login information and screen display choices. Login cookies last for two days and screen options cookies last for a year.However, if the user selects “Remember Me”, the login data shall persist for two weeks.
d) CIOEL uses traffic log cookies to identify which pages are being used. This information is only used for statistical analysis purposes and the data is removed from the browser upon the visitor logs out of the website.
e) The visitor / user is free to disable the use of cookies and similar technologies and thereby manage cookie settings (provided it is supported by the device used)

5. DATA SECURITY
a) CIOEL is committed to protecting the security of all personal information collected and uses a variety of security technologies and procedures to minimize risks associated with data loss, misuse, unauthorized access, unauthorized disclosure and alteration.
b) CIOEL is a SSL (Secure Socket Layer) certified website that adopts firewalls and data encryption techniques when transmitting highly confidential/ sensitive information (such as credit / debit card details) to authorized third parties such as payment gateway providers.

 c) Upon the completion of a transaction the sensitive information collected (such as credit / debit card details) shall be discarded and automatically erased from the system within 60 days.
d) CIOEL further warrants not to sell, rent or lease its customer lists to third parties.

6. CHILDREN’S PRIVACY
a) CIOEL’S services are not extended to individuals below 13 years of age. CIOEL shall not be held responsible for collecting personal data from users / visitors considered “children” under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA)

7. EXTERNAL LINKS
a) CIOEL may include embedded links to third party websites which are excluded under this Privacy Policy. Visitors / users are advised to review the privacy statements on those websites to understand their policies on the collection, usage, transferal and disclosure of personal data.

8. CHANGES TO THIS STATEMENT
a) CIOEL shall occasionally update this Privacy Policy to reflect company and customer feedback. It is advised for users/ visitors therefore, to periodically review the policy to be informed of how CIOEL is protecting the personal information disclosed and collected.

9. VISITOR / USER CONSENT
a) By using the website, all visitors and users shall consent to CIOEL’s Privacy Policy.

10.CONTACT US
a) In the event of any queries relating to this Privacy Policy, users / visitors may contact CIOEL by using the information set out in Contact Us