Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

This Policy is intended to support transparency and responsible data handling in accordance with Jamaica's Data Protection Act, 2020 (the "DPA") and other applicable legal and regulatory requirements. By using the Site, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy.

2. Information We Collect

We collect only the information that is reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this Policy. The types of information collected may depend on how you interact with the Site.

2.1 Information You Provide Voluntarily

• When you use the Site, you may voluntarily provide personal information when you submit an enquiry or contact form, request information about programmes, admissions, tuition, services or housing, contact a department or office through the Site, register interest in a College activity, event or service, or subscribe to communications or updates where available.
• The information provided may include your name, email address, telephone number, mailing address if provided, programme or course of interest, school or organisation if supplied, the nature of your enquiry, and any additional information you choose to include in your message.

2.2 Information Collected Automatically

• When you visit the Site, certain technical information may be collected automatically, including Internet Protocol (IP) address, browser type and version, device type and operating system, date and time of access, pages viewed, links selected, referring websites, and general usage information.
• This information helps the College understand how the Site is used, maintain reliability and security, improve website content, and support basic analytics and performance monitoring.

2.3 Payment and Financial Information

The College does not knowingly collect payment card or banking information through the public website. Tuition, fees, and other payments are handled through approved College processes, offices, and systems. Users should not submit financial information through general website enquiry forms.

3. How We Use Personal Information

• We may use personal information to respond to enquiries and requests, provide information about programmes, admissions, tuition, housing, campus services and events, communicate with prospective students, applicants, parents, guardians, partners, alumni and other stakeholders, route enquiries to the appropriate College department, process or support service requests initiated through the Site, improve website content, accessibility, usability and security, monitor website performance and usage trends, maintain records of communications where necessary, support institutional planning and reporting in aggregate or anonymized form, and comply with legal, regulatory, audit, reporting or institutional obligations.

4. Legal Basis for Processing

• In accordance with the DPA, we process personal information only where a lawful basis applies. These bases may include your consent, processing necessary to respond to your request or enquiry, processing necessary for the performance of a task or function connected with College operations, processing required to comply with a legal or regulatory obligation, or processing that is otherwise permitted by applicable law.
• Where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw consent at any time by contacting the College using the details in Section 16. Withdrawal of consent will not affect processing already completed or processing that is required or permitted by law.

5. Disclosure and Sharing of Information

Knox Community College does not sell, lease, or rent personal information collected through the Site. We may share information only where necessary and appropriate.

• Relevant College faculty, staff, departments, campuses or Edu-business offices may receive information where they need it to respond to your enquiry or provide requested support.
• Service providers may process information on behalf of the College for website hosting, email services, IT support, analytics, website maintenance, security or related technical functions.
• Regulatory, law enforcement, governmental or other competent authorities may receive information where disclosure is required or permitted by law.
• The College expects authorized service providers to maintain appropriate confidentiality, security and data protection safeguards.

6. International Data Transfers

Some service providers used by the College, including cloud-based technology, email, analytics, hosting or security providers, may process or store information outside Jamaica. Where personal information is transferred or accessible internationally, Knox Community College will take reasonable steps to ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place, consistent with applicable legal requirements and sound data protection practice.

7. Data Retention

We retain personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, to respond to or document enquiries, to satisfy legal, regulatory, audit or institutional requirements, to resolve disputes, or to enforce applicable policies. When information is no longer required, it will be securely deleted, destroyed, archived in accordance with approved retention requirements, or anonymized so that it no longer identifies an individual.

8. Your Rights Under the Data Protection Act

Subject to applicable law and any relevant exemptions, individuals may have rights in relation to their personal information. These rights may include the following:

• To be informed about how personal information is collected and used, to request access to personal information held about you, to request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information, to request deletion where legally applicable, to withdraw consent where consent is the basis for processing, to object to certain types of processing, to request restriction of processing in appropriate circumstances, and to raise a concern or complaint regarding the handling of personal information.
• Requests concerning your personal information should be submitted using the contact details in Section 16. The College may need to verify your identity before responding to a request and will respond within the timeframe required by applicable law.

9. Cookies and Website Analytics

The Site may use cookies and similar technologies to support functionality, remember user preferences, analyze visitor traffic, monitor website performance, improve security, and understand how visitors use the Site. Cookies generally do not directly identify an individual, but they may be associated with technical information such as browser, device or usage data. You may disable or manage cookies through your browser settings; however, some website features may not function as intended if cookies are disabled. If the Site uses third-party analytics, embedded media, social media plugins or similar tools, those tools may collect information in accordance with their own privacy terms.

10. Direct Marketing and Communications

The College may send information about programmes, services, events or institutional activities where you have requested such information, where you have provided consent, or where communication is otherwise permitted by law. You may request that the College stop sending non-essential promotional communications by using the unsubscribe method provided, where available, or by contacting the College. Essential administrative, safety, academic, admissions or service-related messages may still be sent where necessary.

11. Data Security

Knox Community College implements reasonable technical, administrative and organizational measures designed to protect personal information against unauthorized access, accidental loss, misuse, disclosure, alteration or destruction. These measures may include access controls, staff confidentiality requirements, secure handling procedures, technology safeguards and periodic review of data protection practices. Although the College strives to protect personal information, no method of internet transmission or electronic storage can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

12. Children and Young Persons

The College recognizes that prospective students, parents, guardians and school representatives may interact with the Site and that some prospective students may be under the age of 18. The College does not knowingly collect personal information from children or young persons in a manner inconsistent with applicable laws. Where required, appropriate consent from a parent, guardian, school or other authorized representative will be obtained before processing personal information.

13. Third-Party Websites and Services

The Site contains links to external websites, social media platforms or services operated by third parties. Knox Community College is not responsible for the privacy practices, security, availability, accuracy or content of those external websites. Users are encouraged to review the privacy policies of any third-party site they visit.

14. Complaints and Concerns

If you believe that your personal information has been handled improperly, you are encouraged to contact Knox Community College first using the contact details below so that the matter can be reviewed. Where applicable, you may also have the right to submit a complaint to the Office of the Information Commissioner or another competent authority responsible for data protection matters in Jamaica.

15. Changes to This Privacy Policy

Knox Community College may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, technology, website features, College operations or data protection practices. Updates will be posted on the Site together with a revised "Last Updated" date. Continued use of the Site after an update indicates that you have read and understood the revised Policy.

16. Contact Information

For questions about this Privacy Policy, to exercise rights under the Data Protection Act, or to raise a privacy concern, please contact: