What kind of personal information does Admissiondesk use?

In order to use the services of Admissiondesk you need to create an account. When you do this you are asked for your name and email address. You might also be asked for your home address, and telephone, number. When you apply to school(s), you will be asked for additional information such as: payment information, guardian's information, academic history, employment history, admission test information, etc.

When you visit our websites, even if you do not create an account, we may collect certain information, such as your IP address, which browser you’re using, and information about your computer’s operating system, application version, language settings and pages that have been shown to you. If you are using a mobile device, we might also collect data that identifies your mobile device, device-specific settings and characteristics and latitude/longitude details. When you make an application, our system registers through which means and from which websites you have made your application.

We may also receive information about you when you use certain social media services.

Why does Admissiondesk collect, use and share your personal data?

• Schools: First and foremost, we use your personal data to complete and administer your online application and forward your details to the school you have applied for.
• Customer service: We provide international customer service. Sharing your details with our global customer service staff allows us to respond when you need us – including helping you to find appropriate programs and responding to any questions you might have about your applications.
• Account administration: We offer a user account facility on our website. We use the information you give us to administer this, allowing you to manage your information, applications, and manage your personal settings. Managing personal settings allows you to keep and share lists, see schools that you have searched for before, and see other information you have provided about schools and programs.
• Marketing activities: We also use your information for marketing activities, as permitted by law. For example:
• When you make a search with us or set up a user account, we or the schools on the Admissiondesk platform may use your contact information to send you news and information regarding similar school related products and services. With your consent – if consent is required under local law – we may also send you other regular newsletters by email. You can opt out, or unsubscribe, from marketing communications at any time using the "Unsubscribe" link in each newsletter, or you can administer your subscriptions through your account (if you've created one).
• Based on the information you share with us, individualized offers may be shown to you on the Admissiondesk website, in mobile apps or on third-party websites, including social media sites. These might be offers that you can book directly on the Admissiondesk website, or third-party offers or products we think you might find interesting.
• If we believe that a particular offer may be of interest to you, we may decide to make contact with you by phone.
• Other communications: There may be other times when we get in touch by email, by post, by phone or by texting you, depending on the contact information you share with us. There could be a number of reasons for this:
• We may need to respond to and handle requests you have made.
• If you have not finalized an application online, we may call or email you a reminder to continue with your application.
• When you use our services, we may send you a questionnaire or invite you to provide a review about your experience with Admissiondesk.
• We may also send you other material related to your application, such as how to contact Admissiondesk if you need assistance while you are away, and information that we feel might be useful to you in planning your departure or getting the best out of your study time.
• Market research: We sometimes ask our customers to take part in market research. Any additional personal details that you give us as part of the market research will be used only with your consent.
• Fraud detection and prevention: We may use personal data for the detection and prevention of fraud and other illegal or unwanted activities.
• Improving our services: Finally, we use personal data for analytical purposes, to improve our services, to enhance the user experience, and to improve the functionality and quality of our services.

How does Admissiondesk use social media?

We use social media to promote schools and to promote, improve and facilitate our own services. For example, we have integrated social media plugins into the Admissiondesk website. So when you click on one of the buttons and register with your social media account, information is shared with your social media provider, and possibly presented on your social media profile to be shared with others in your network.

In addition to implementing these buttons, Admissiondesk uses social media by maintaining accounts and offering apps on several social media sites. These social media services may allow you to share information with Admissiondesk. When you register with a social media app, you will be told which information will be shared with Admissiondesk. The information you choose to share with us may include the basic information that’s available in your social media profile, email address, status updates and your list of friends. This information is necessary to create a unique user experience either in the app itself or on our websites. It facilitates such things as personalizing our website to suit your needs, connecting you with your friends and analysing and enhancing our services.

We may also enable you to sign in to Admissiondesk services with your social media accounts. Your social media provider will be able to tell you more about how they use and process your data in such cases.

How does Admissiondesk share your data with third parties?

In certain circumstances, we may share your personal data with third parties.

• The school(s) you applied to: In order to process your application, we need to transfer relevant details to the school you have applied to. We want you to make an informed decision about your choice of education. Thus Admissiondesk may share your information with schools that you might have an interest in. This information may also be used by Admissiondesk or schools to give you personalised offers.
• Third-party service providers: We may use service providers (such as "data processors") to process your personal data strictly on our behalf. This processing would be for purposes such as facilitating payments, sending out marketing material or for analytical support services. These processors are bound by confidentiality clauses and are not allowed to use your personal data for their own purposes or any other purpose.
• Competent authorities: We disclose personal data to law enforcement and other governmental authorities insofar as it is required by law or is strictly necessary for the prevention, detection or prosecution of criminal acts and fraud.
• Business partners: We work with business partners around the world to distribute or advertise schools and to help our business partners distribute and advertise their education-related services. This may mean that their services are integrated into our website or they have been enabled to show a customised advertisement on our website – or we are advertising on theirs. When you create an account on one of our business partners’ websites, certain personal data that you give them may be forwarded to us. Certain business partners may receive your personal data from us if requested by you. When you create an account on a business partner's’ website, please read the privacy policies on these business partners’ websites for more information.

How can you control the personal data you have given to Admissiondesk?

Admissiondesk share your information with Schools and business partners in their respective countries. We base this sharing of information on your consent and not on any adequacy decision by the European Commission or any similar organisation. Your consent to this sharing is important to us and you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time.

You have the right to ask restriction of processing concerning your data or to object to processing as well as the right to data portability. If you have any concerns about how Admissiondesk process data please contact us at LINK. Otherwise you can contact the Swiss the Federal Data Protection Information Commissioner (FDPIC).

Can you have access to the data?

You always have the right to review the personal information we keep about you. You can request an overview of your personal data by emailing us at [email protected] Please write 'Request personal information' in the subject line of your email and include a copy of your identity card to help us prevent unauthorized individuals from accessing your personal data.

If the personal information we have for you is incorrect, we will update it at your request. You can also ask us to remove your personal data from our customer database by sending an email to [email protected] with 'Request for removal of personal information' in the subject line. However, we may need to retain certain information, for example for legal or administrative purposes, such as record keeping or to detect fraudulent activities. You can delete your user account at any time by signing into your account on the Admissiondesk website and choosing to remove your account.

For how long is data stored?

We store data for the purpose of helping you with choices regarding your education. Thus Admissiondesk will store the data until the end of your education or until we can presume that you are no longer making decisions regarding your potential education. We deem this to be approximately five years after your registration at Admissiondesk. If you want your personal data to be deleted in advance please contact us.

Retention of Records

For each electronic storage media, you should identify (perhaps in a supplementary schedule) the operating system, application and hardware requirements necessary to be able to run the data item, in the next paragraph you can identify how you will ensure that, as you upgrade software and hardware in the future, you retain the capability of accessing the stored data. If you use an independent storage vault solution, this is where you would pull it to your procedures.

Who is responsible for the processing of personal data on the Admissiondesk website and apps?

Admissiondesk AG controls the processing of personal data on its websites and mobile apps. Admissiondesk AG. is a private limited liability company, incorporated under the laws of the Switzerland and has its offices at Bahnhofstrasse 7, 6300, Zug, Switzerland and registered with the trade register of Zug under registration number CHE-435.851.615

If you have any suggestions or comments about this privacy notice, please send an email to [email protected]

How does Admissiondesk make use of mobile devices?

We have free apps for a variety of mobile devices and use versions of our regular website that have been optimised for mobile. These apps and mobile websites process the personal details you give us in much the same way as our website does. With your consent, we may send you push notifications with information about educational services.

Admissiondesk uses cookies, below you can read about what they are and how we use them.

What is a cookie?

A cookie is a small amount of data that is placed in the browser of your computer or on your mobile device. This Privacy and Cookies Policy applies to cookies and similar technologies (hereafter together referred to as “cookies”).

Why are cookies used?

Web pages have no memory. If you are surfing from page to page within a website, you will not be recognized as the same user across pages. Cookies allow you to be recognized as the same user across the pages of a website. Cookies also allow your choices to be remembered – choices such as the language you prefer, the currency you use and your search criteria. They will also make sure you are recognized when you return to a website.

Do all cookies do the same thing?

No, there are different types of cookie and different ways of using them. Cookies can be categorized according to their function, their lifespan and according to who places them on a website.

How are cookies used?

Admissiondesk’s website uses the following types of cookie:

• Technical cookies: We try to give our visitors an advanced and user-friendly website that adapts automatically to their needs and wishes. To achieve this, we use technical cookies to show you our website, to make it function correctly, to create your user account, to sign you in and to manage your application. These technical cookies are absolutely necessary for our website to function properly.
• Functional cookies: We also use functional cookies to remember your preferences and to help you to use our website efficiently and effectively, for example by remembering your preferred currency and language, your searches and the schools you viewed earlier. These functional cookies are not strictly necessary for the functioning of our website, but they add functionality for you and enhance your experience.
• Analytics cookies: We use these cookies to gain insight into how our visitors use the website, to find out what works and what doesn't, to optimize and improve our website and to ensure we continue to be interesting and relevant. The data we gather includes which web pages you have viewed, which referring/exit pages you have entered and left from, which platform type you have used, date and time stamp information and details such as the number of clicks you make on a given page, your mouse movements and scrolling activity, the search words you use and the text you type while using our website. We also make use of analytics cookies as part of our online advertising campaigns to learn how users interact with our website after they have been shown an online advertisement – which may include advertisements on third-party websites. However, we will not know who you are, and will only obtain anonymous data. Our business partners may also use analytics cookies to learn if their customers make use of accommodation offers integrated into their websites.
• Commercial cookies: We use third-party cookies as well as our own to display personalized advertisements on our websites and on other websites. This is called “retargeting,” and it is based on browsing activities, such as the schools you have been searching for, the schools you have viewed and the content you have been shown. Commercial cookies may also be used by selected third parties to display their products and services through our website.

How long do Admissiondesk cookies stay active?

The cookies we use have varying lifespans. The maximum lifespan we set on some of them is five years from your last visit to our website. You can erase all cookies from your browser any time you want to.

How can you recognize Admissiondesk cookies?

You can find our cookies in your browser settings.

Does Admissiondesk use third-party marketing and analytics cookies?

Yes, Admissiondesk uses the services of trusted and recognized online advertising and marketing companies. Admissiondesk may also use third-party providers for analytical purposes. To enable their services, these companies need to place cookies.

The providers we use are committed to building consumer awareness and establishing responsible business and data management practices and standards.

When it comes to online advertising and marketing companies, we strive to only work with companies that are members of the Network Advertising Initiative (NAI) and/or the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB). Members of NAI and IAB adhere to industry standards and codes of conduct. NAI and IAB members allow you to opt out of the behavioral advertising. Visit www.networkadvertising.org and www.youronlinechoices.com to identify the NAI members that may have placed an advertising cookie file on your computer. To opt out of an NAI or IAB member's behavioral advertising program, simply check the box that corresponds to the company from which you wish to opt out.

In order to control the collection of data for analytical purposes by Google Analytics, you may want to visit the following link: Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.

Who has access to Admissiondesk cookie data?

Only Admissiondesk has access to Admissiondesk cookies. Cookies placed by third parties can be accessed by these third parties.

How can you manage your cookie preferences?

Using your browser settings in, for example, Internet Explorer, Safari, Firefox or Chrome, you can set which cookies to accept and which to reject. Where you find these settings depends on which browser you use. Use the "Help" function in your browser to locate the settings you need.

If you choose not to accept certain cookies, you may not be able to use some functions on our website. However, we do not otherwise support “Do Not Track” browser settings. Opting out of an online advertising network does not mean that you will no longer receive or be subject to online advertising or marketing analysis. It means that the network from which you opted out will no longer deliver ads tailored to your web preferences and browsing patterns.

Does Admissiondesk use web beacons?

As well as using cookies, Admissiondesk sometimes uses web beacons. A web beacon is a tiny graphic image of just one pixel that’s delivered to your computer either as part of a web page request or in an HTML email message. Either directly or through service providers, we use these pixels as part of our online advertisements either on our website or on third-party websites to learn whether a user who is being shown an online advertisement also creates an account; to track conversion with partner websites and to analyze the traffic patterns of users to optimize the services we bring to you.

What security procedures does Admissiondesk put in place to safeguard your personal data?

In accordance with European data protection laws, we observe reasonable procedures to prevent unauthorized access and the misuse of personal data.

We use appropriate business systems and procedures to protect and safeguard the personal data you give us. We also use security procedures and technical and physical restrictions for accessing and using the personal data on our servers. Only authorized personnel are permitted to access personal data in the course of their work.

Your credit card details will remain hashed in our system for fraud detection purposes.

Personal Data Breach Notification Procedures

This procedure applies in the event of a personal data breach under Article 33 of the GDPR - Notification of a personal data breach to the supervisory authority - and Article 34 - Communication of a personal data breach to the data subject

All users and owners of Admissiondesk are required to be aware of, and to follow this procedure in the event of a personal data breach. All staff are responsible for reporting any personal data breach to the Data Protection Officer / Head of IT (CIO)

Procedure - Breach notification data processor to data controller

Admissiondesk reports any personal data breach or security incident to the data controller without undue delay. These contact details are recorded in the Internal Breach Register (GDPR REC 4.5). Admissiondesk provides the controller with all of the details of the breach.

The breach notification is made by email and phone call. A confirmation of receipt is made by email and phone call.

Procedure - Breach notification data processor to data subject

If the personal data breach is likely to result in high risk to the rights and freedoms of the data subject, Admissiondesk notifies those/the data subjects affected immediately.

The notification of the data subject describes the breach in clear and plain language and in accordance with the procedures above.

The services offered by Admissiondesk are not directed at children under 16 years old. The use of any of our services is only allowed with the valid consent of a parent or a guardian. If we receive information from a child under 16 years old, we reserve the right to delete it.

These terms and conditions are to be read in conjunction with the The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (Regulation (EU) 2016/679) and, in the event there is any discrepancy, the latter prevails.