Privacy Policy Overview

The OPTYCs website is a part of the ComPADRE Digital Library and managed by the American Association of Physics Teachers.

The OPTYCs website may be used without providing any personal information.

An individual may create an account on the OPTYCs website to register for events and programs, customize their site interaction, or take part in any member-only features. OPTYCs and ComPADRE does not otherwise disclose, give, or transfer personally identifiable information to third parties unless required by law.

Aggregated usage information is collected for statistical purposes and may be used to help improve the site. Usage information is collected such that an individual's use cannot be distinguished.

Personal Information Use

Personal data collected on this website is meant to personalize the experience of users and facilitate interactions within the OPTYCs community. Registered users may configure what personal information is available to other ComPADRE users in their profile settings. Any contributions made by a user to the OPTYCs website will be attributed to the appropriate account's profile.

OPTYCs does not otherwise disclose, give, or transfer identifiable information to third parties unless required by law.

Outside Links and Content

This site contains links to other sites. OPTYCs is not responsible for the privacy practices or content of such Web sites. If you have concerns regarding a website we link to, we encourage you to contact us regarding your concerns.

E-Mail

Registered users may agree to allow OPTYCs to send updates or further information to their e-mail account. A user's e-mail preferences can be managed on the Account Settings page.

Feedback

If a user provides contact information on the contact us page, it is used to respond directly to the user's questions or comments. We may also file comments to help improve the site. Your personal information would only be shared with third parties with your explicit permission.

Cookies

A cookie is a small piece of information that is sent to your browser when you access a Web page. A session cookie is a line of text that is stored temporarily in your computer's memory. Because a session cookie is never saved, it is destroyed when you close your browser. OPTYCs uses session cookies during user visits to save preferences. Certain OPTYCs applications require session cookies to function correctly. If you have session cookies disabled, you may not be able to use certain features of our site.

A persistent cookie is a more permanent line of text that is saved by your browser to a file on your hard drive. The only persistent cookie regularly used by OPTYCs is for registered users that choose to use the Auto-Login feature. Such cookies expire 30 days from login.

Web Site Usage

Usage patterns of the OPTYCs website are automatically logged to help diagnose problems, analyze trends, and improve the usability and performance of the site. User access is anonymous and IP addresses are not linked to personally identifiable information.

In addition to internal logs, Google Analytics is used for logging. No personally identifiable information is provided by OPTYCs.

All logged information is collected in aggregate, such that the usage of individuals cannot be distinguished. Such aggregated information is shared with the NSF for program evaluation. Additionally, aggregated information may be made available publicly, such as in program evaluation reports. Such aggregated information, such as the number of visitors to the OPTYCs website, does not include personally identifiable information.

Children's Guidelines

The OPTYCs website does not cater to visitors under 13 years old and will NOT store or require any personally identifiable information from users known to be under 13. If OPTYCs learns that a user under the age of 13 has provided personally identifiable information, that user's identifiable information will be removed from the database.

Security

The OPTYCs website has security measures in place to protect against the loss, misuse, or alteration of information under our control. If you have any questions about the security of our site, please contact us.

Account Deletion

To have your user account removed from our database, please contact us.

Legal Disclaimer

We may disclose personal information when required by law or in good-faith believe that such action is necessary in order to conform to the edicts of the law.

Notification of Changes

We will notify registered users that have subscribed to receive OPTYCs updates if a material change will be made to our privacy practices. Additionally, we will alert users on the front page of the OPTYCs website if our privacy practices change.

Policy Feedback

If you have questions or concerns regarding this policy, please contact us.

This policy was adopted on January 12, 2023.