Privacy Policy – Last Updated: February 2011

The College of Psychologists of British Columbia (the “College”) recognizes and respects your need for privacy and security as you visit our website. The College of Psychologists of BC is committed to providing visitors with a website that respects their privacy The following policies govern the information gathering and privacy practices for our website.

Collection and Use of Personal Information

The College of Psychologists of BC’s website does not automatically gather any specific personal information from you, such as your name, telephone number or e-mail address There are instances in which you may elect to provide us with information that identifies you personally (“Personal Information”) through our website. If you fill out one of our feedback or request forms or send us email, you are transmitting the information that appears to you in the form or the message. This submission will typically include information such as your name, mailing address, email address, the kind of request you are making, and any other information necessary to fulfill your request. You never transmit Personal Information that you do not enter yourself. Personal Information cannot be collected unless you specifically elect to send it to us.

You should be aware of the inherent risks of interception when communicating with others on-line using unencrypted e-mail. Visit our Terms of Use Policy for further details.  Visitors’ personal information received via e-mail is provided only to our office personnel, who require the information to respond to inquiries. We do not use this information for any other purpose.

The College of Psychologists of BC uses “cookies” to improve the quality of your visit to the College of Psychologists of BC site by providing you with personalized information and features. Cookies are a software technology that enables our systems to recognize your computer and collect non-personal information about you. This type of information may include: type of browser used to access the Internet, type of operating system (i.e. Windows XP, Macintosh), and the domain of your Internet Service Provider. The College of Psychologists of BC does not know the name, e-mail address, telephone number, or home address of anyone who visits our site. The College of Psychologists of BC does not sell or rent any information that we gather through the use of cookies.

All personal information created, held or collected by The College of Psychologists of BC is protected under the federal Privacy Act.

Any Personal Information we may collect via our website is collected in compliance with the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act [RSBC 1996] c. 165. We collect only what is necessary for the operation and security of our website. If we use that information, it is only for the purpose for which it was collected, or for a use consistent with that purpose. Further, we keep information for only as long as necessary to fulfill the purpose for which it was collected. We do not disclose any personally identifiable user information to other organizations or individuals, without specific consent from the user or except as required by law.

Our servers automatically log information about visits to our website in the normal course of establishing and maintaining web connections. Server logs record statistical information, such as visitors’ IP addresses, type of operating systems, time and duration of visit, web pages requested, and identify categories of visitors by items such as domains and browser types. These statistics are reported in aggregate form to our web and communications staff, and are used to improve our website and ensure that it provides the optimal web experience for visitors.

We do not link server log information to any other data in a way that would enable us to identify individual visitors. We may review server logs however, for security purposes, for example, to detect intrusions into our system. The possibility therefore exists that server log data, which contains visitors’ IP addresses, could in instances of criminal malfeasance be used to trace and identify individuals. In such instances, raw data logs would be shared with appropriate investigative bodies authorized to investigate such breaches of security.

Links to other Sites

The College website may contain links to other websites and services. While we try to link only to sites and services that share our high standards and respect for privacy, please understand that we are not responsible for the content of, or the privacy practices employed by, other companies or websites. This Privacy Policy applies only to the College’s website.

Security

The security of your Personal Information is important to us. The College takes technical, contractual, administrative, and physical security steps to protect Personal Information that you provide to us. We instruct our employees with access to your Personal Information that it is to be used only in adherence with the principles set forth in this Privacy Policy and the applicable laws.

You may, at your discretion, contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner if you are dissatisfied with the response you receive from our privacy contact on a privacy concern with our website.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

The College may from time to time change its Privacy Policy as new services are added or old ones changed. Changes will be effective when notice of such change is posted at the College. Please check this Privacy Policy regularly for updates by checking the date of “Last Update” at the top of this document.

We regularly review our information-handling practices to ensure that we are abiding by this policy. Questions or comments regarding this policy, or the administration of the Privacy Act at the College of Psychologists of BC may be directed to the Privacy Officer, by calling 1- 604 736-6164, or writing to:

The College of Psychologists of BC
#404, 1755 West Broadway
Vancouver, B.C. V6J 4S5