Michigan World Language Association (MIWLA) PRIVACY STATEMENT

The Michigan World Language Association (MIWLA) is an independent, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to promote the teaching and learning of foreign languages in the State of Michigan.  This privacy statement covers the site http://www.miwla.org.  Because this Web site wants to demonstrate its commitment to our users’ privacy, it has agreed to disclose its information practices.

1. What personally identifiable information the MIWLA collects.

2.  What personally identifiable information third parties collect through the Web site.

3.  What organization collects the information.

4.  How the MIWLA uses the information.

5.  With whom the MIWLA may share user information.

6.  What choices are available to users regarding collection, use and distribution of the information.

7.  What types of security procedures are in place to protect the loss, misuse or alteration of information under the MIWLA’s control.

8.  How users can correct any inaccuracies in the information.

If users have questions or concerns regarding this statement, they should contact Daryl Biallas by email at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .   

Information Collection and Use

Information Collection The MIWLA is the sole owner of the information collected at http://www.miwla.org.  The MIWLA collects information from our users at several different points on our Web site.

Registration In order to attend the annual conference and be a member of the MIWLA, a user must first complete the registration form.  During registration a user is required to give contact information (such as name and email address). We use this information to record membership and conference registration.  We also collect financial information (such as credit card number, expiration date).  This information is used for billing purposes and to complete the client’s membership and conference registration.  If we have trouble processing an order, the information is used to contact the user.  All financial data collected on the website is transmitted securely to a third party credit-card processing service (http://www.skipjack.com) and is not maintained in the MIWLA records.

Information Use

Member Information The MIWLA maintains a separate electronic database of members which includes membership number, name, contact information, language and level taught. This information is stored securely, separately from our website.

Third Party Advertising The MIWLA does not accept third party advertising. As a service to our members and exhibitors, a list of exhibitors who contract to present at the MIWLA conference is maintained with exhibitor-provided links.

Log Files The MIWLA does not maintain log files, however some basic user information is available by clicking the NedStat icon on the main page of the website. No personally identifiable information is collected.

Communications from the Organization

Special Offers and Updates Established members will occasionally receive information on products, services, special deals, and a Newsletter. Out of respect for the privacy of our users we present the option to not receive these types of communications. Please see the Choice and Opt-out sections.

Newsletter The Newsletter is the official publication of the MIWLA and is published twice per year, with an additional special publication of the conference program. If moving, please contact the Newsletter Editor with a change of address (indicate old and new address) at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Customer Service We communicate with users on a regular basis to provide requested services and in regards to issues relating to their membership we reply via email or phone, in accordance with the users wishes.

Sharing Information

Legal Disclaimer Though we make every effort to preserve user privacy, we may need to disclose personal information when required by law wherein we have a good-faith belief that such action is necessary to comply with a current judicial proceeding, a court order or legal process served on our Web site. 

Aggregate Information (non-personally identifiable) We share aggregated demographic information with our members, partners and advertisers, such as our membership distribution by grade level, language and geographic distribution.  This is not linked to any personally identifiable information.

Third Party Advertisers We share our mailing list (only name and preferred address) with educational institutions and exhibitors upon request and approval of the MIWLA Executive Treasurer. This service is complimentary to educational institutions and a nominal fee is charged to for-profit businesses. For example, an exhibitor may contact the MIWLA to send a catalog or a University may wish to send program information.

Third Party Intermediaries We use an outside credit card processing company to to bill members for goods and services should the member choose to pay by credit card and to process conference registration in a secure environment. These companies do not retain, share, store or use personally identifiable information for any secondary purposes.

Choice/Opt-out Our users are given the opportunity to ‘opt-out’ of having their information used for purposes not directly related to our site at the point where we ask for information.  For example, our conference registration and membership form has an ‘opt-out’ mechanism so members who don’t want any marketing material can keep their contact information private.  Users who no longer wish to receive our newsletter and/or promotional communications may opt-out of receiving these communications by sending an email to Daryl Biallas at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . Members may also send their request in writing to Daryl Biallas, 5415 Olde Saybrooke Rd., Grand Blanc, MI 48439.

Links This Web site contains links to other sites. Please be aware that we, the MIWLA, are not responsible for the privacy practices of such other sites or the content of those sites.  We encourage our users to be aware when they leave our site and to read the privacy statements of each and every Web site that collects personally identifiable information.  This privacy statement applies solely to information collected by this Web site.

Surveys & Contests From time-to-time our site requests information from users via surveys or contests.  Participation in these surveys or contests is completely voluntary and the user therefore has a choice whether or not to disclose this information.  The requested information typically includes contact information (such as name and shipping address), and demographic information (such as zip code).  Contact information will be used to notify the winners and award prizes and shared with the contest or survey sponsor.  Anonymous survey information will be used for purposes of monitoring or improving the use and satisfaction of this site and organization services to its members.  Users’ personally identifiable information is not shared with third parties unless we give prior notice and choice. Though we may use an intermediary to conduct these surveys or contests, they may not use users’ personally identifiable information for any secondary purposes.

Security This Web site takes every precaution to protect our users’ information.  When users submit sensitive information via the Web site, their information is protected both online and off-line.

When our registration/order form asks users to enter sensitive information (such as credit card number and/or social security number), that information is encrypted and is protected with the best encryption software in the industry - SSL.  While on a secure page, such as our order form, the lock icon on the bottom of Web browsers such as Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer becomes locked, as opposed to un-locked, or open, when users are just ‘surfing’. 

While we use SSL encryption to protect sensitive information online, we also do everything in our power to protect user-information off-line.  All of our users’ information, not just the sensitive information mentioned above, is restricted in our offices.  Only employees who need the information to perform a specific job (for example, our treasurer or other Executive Board members) are granted access to personally identifiable information

If users have any questions about the security at our Web site, users can send an email to Cindy Kendall at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or Daryl Biallas at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Correcting/Updating/Deleting/Deactivating Personal Information If a user’s personally identifiable information changes (such as zip code, phone, email or postal address), or if a user no longer desires our service, we provide a way to correct, update or delete/deactivate users’ personally identifiable information. This can usually be done by emailing our Executive Treasurer Daryl Biallas at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .  Or, contact us by telephone or postal mail at the contact information listed below. 

Notification of Changes  If we decide to change our privacy policy, we will post those changes to this privacy statement, the homepage, and other places we deem appropriate so our users are always aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances, if any, we disclose it.  We will use information in accordance with the privacy policy under which the information was collected. 

If, however, we are going to use users’ personally identifiable information in a manner different from that stated at the time of collection we will notify users via email. Users will have a choice as to whether or not we use their information in this different manner.  However, if users have opted out of all communication with the site, or deleted/deactivated their account, then they will not be contacted, nor will their personal information be used in this new manner.  In addition, if we make any material changes in our privacy practices that do not affect user information already stored in our database, we will post a prominent notice on our Web site notifying users of the change. In some cases where we post a notice we will also email users, who have opted to receive communications from us, notifying them of the changes in our privacy practices. 

Contact Information If users have any questions or suggestions regarding our privacy policy, please contact us at:

Phone:

Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Mail:

Daryl Biallas, MiWLA Executive Treasurer
5415 Olde Saybrooke Rd
Grand Blanc, MI 48439

Website: http://www.miwla.org