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Non-personal information
we record.
If you do nothing during your visit but browse through the Web site,
read pages, or download information, our Web site's operating system
will automatically record some general information about your visit.
During your visit,
our Web operating system will record:
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1. The Internet domain
for your Internet service, such as "xcompany.com" or
"xcompany.net" if you use a private Internet access account,
or "yourschool.edu" if you connect from a college or
university domain.
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2. The type of browser
(such as "Netscape version X" or "Internet Explorer
version X") that you are using.
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3. The type of operating
system that you use (such as Macintosh, Unix, or Windows).
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4. The date and time you
visit our site, and the Web pages that you visit on our site.
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5. The address of the
previous Web site you were visiting, if you linked to us from
another Web site.
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We use this
information for statistical analysis, to help us make our site more
useful to visitors. This tracking system does not record information
about individual visitors.
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Cookies
On certain FSA web pages, we use "cookies" to help you use
our web sites interactively. A cookie is a small file that a Web site
transfers to your computer's hard disk, usually to keep track of you
while you are connected to that site.
The cookies on FSA
Web pages do not collect information about you, but only about your
browser "session." The cookie makes it easier for you to use
the dynamic features of these Web pages, without having to provide the
same information again as you move from one page to another. The cookie
and the information about your session will be destroyed automatically
shortly after you close your browser--it is not permanently stored on
your computer.
To protect your
privacy, be sure to close your browser completely after you have
finished conducting business with a web site that uses cookies. If you
are concerned about the potential use of information gathered from your
computer by cookies, you can set your browser to prompt you before it
accepts a cookie. Most Internet browsers have settings that let you
identify and/or reject cookies.
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Security and
Intrusion Detection
For security purposes and to make sure this service remains available
to all users, we use special software programs for monitoring network
traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change
information, or otherwise to cause damage to this government computer
system. These programs collect no personally identifiable information,
but they do collect information that could help us identify someone
attempting to tamper with this Web site.
Except for
authorized law enforcement investigations, we make no other attempts to
identify individual users or their usage habits. We only use raw
monitoring data logs for determining trends in usage patterns and in
diagnosing system problems.
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Information from
e-mail you send to us
If you decide to send us an electronic mail message (e-mail), the
message will usually contain your return e-mail address. If you include
personally-identifying information in your e-mail because you want us
to help you with a specific problem, we may use that information in
contacting other federal agencies or our partners (such as colleges,
lenders, or state agencies about your student aid. In other limited
circumstances, including requests from Congress or limited other
parties, we may be required by law to disclose information that you
submit.
Also, e-mail is not
necessarily secure against interception. If your communication is very
sensitive, or includes personal information such as data from your tax
return or student loan account, you may prefer to send it by postal
mail to:
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Federal
Student Aid
P.O. Box 84
Washington, DC 20044-0084
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Information
collected if you complete a form on our Web sites
On some of our Web pages, we offer interactive forms that allow you
estimate your college expenses or loan repayments. We do not collect
and store this information, nor can we identify who is filling out the
form.
On those Web pages
where we collect and store information that you submit, such as FAFSA
on the Web, we will provide a privacy warning before you begin
submitting personal information.
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Information
Collected from Interactive Forms
On some of our Web pages we offer interactive forms that let you voluntarily
submit personal information (such as your e-mail address, name, or
organization). This occurs when you are registering for various
conferences, workshops, or training sessions offered by ED, taking
student aid counseling quizzes, ordering publications from ED Pubs, or
submitting comments to various web discussion forums. In those cases,
all submitted information is used only for the expressed purposes for
which it is intended and is not made available to any third party.
However, when you submit a comment to an ED web discussion forum, if
you supply your name, e-mail address, or other personal information,
that information is posted along with your comment.
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More about
privacy and your student aid records
If you have applied for federal student aid or have received a federal
student loan, Federal Student Aid is authorized to maintain a record of
all transactions related to your application or loan.
Click here to
review the System of Records notices, which list the authorized
disclosures and the safeguards for Federal Student Aid systems under
the Privacy Act of
1974, as amended.
If you have
authorized us to share your financial aid information with the colleges
that you are thinking of attending, they will also store that
information (often in electronic form). The privacy of financial aid
records (and admission, enrollment, and other records) kept by an
educational institution is protected by the Family Educational Rights
and Privacy Act.
Click here to read the FERPA regulations.
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