Privacy Policy

Last Modified Date: March 31, 2021

This Privacy Policy (“Policy”) describes how Hillsdale College (“we,” “our,” or “us”) collects, uses, and shares information in connection with your use of https://shop.hillsdale.edu (the “Store”).  References contained in this Policy to “you” or “your,” means you, the individual user or visitor of the e-commerce Store.  Please refer to the heading entitled “Contact Us” if you have any questions or concerns. 

Please note that the Store is powered by our third party service provider Shopify.  For more information about how Shopify collects, uses, and shares information, please visit: https://www.shopify.com/legal/privacy/customers.

What Information Does Hillsdale College Collect?

The information that we collect from you depends upon your interactions with the Store.  For instance, if you choose to add items to your shopping cart while browsing the Store, our third party service provider will collect information about the items that you have placed into your shopping cart (“Shopping Cart Information”).  Should you choose to checkout and purchase the items in your shopping cart, as part of the checkout process, you will be asked to create a customer account with the Store or you may utilize express checkout.  In connection with creating a customer account, our third party service provider will collect your contact information, including your first name, last name, and email address (collectively “Account Registration Information”).  Alternatively, express checkout enables you to utilize a compatible digital payment method, such as Google Pay and shop pay, in which case we will collect your billing information from your payment service provider (“Express Checkout Information”).  When you complete the checkout process, we will collect your billing address, including your street address, city, province/state, zip code, telephone number (optional), and to the extent relevant for any physical item that is to be shipped, a mailing address, if different from your billing address (collectively, “Checkout Information”).  During this process, you will be asked to review and agree to our Terms of Use.  Regardless of whether you register for an account or use express checkout, our third party payment card processor will also collect and process your payment card information (“Payment Information”).

In connection with any account registration, you will be asked whether you want to opt-in to receive marketing and promotional email messages from Hillsdale College.  If you choose to opt-in, we will collect your name and email address (“Mailing List Information”) and an email message will be automatically generated and sent to the email address that you provided to us, which will ask you to confirm that you want to receive our marketing and promotional email messages by clicking a button or hyperlink within that email message.  Once you provide your confirmation, your Mailing List Information is added to our mailing list database.  You may unsubscribe from our mailing list at any time by following the instructions to unsubscribe from the bottom of each such email.

If you are an existing customer to our Store and choose to purchase an item, as part of the checkout process, our third party service provider will collect your account credentials, which consist of a username and a password.  In the event that you forget your password, our third party service provider will collect your email address and an answer to any security question, to the extent relevant. 

If you choose to contact us with a question via email, we will collect your name, email address, and any other pertinent details that you include in your communication to us. Alternatively, if you contact us by telephone, we will collect your name, address, telephone number, and any other pertinent information that you choose to provide us (collectively, “General Inquiry Information”).  If you are contacting us for customer support, we will also collect information about your order and any issue that you may have experienced.  

Our ecommerce Store utilizes internet cookies, which also collect information from you.  For more information on how Hillsdale College collects and uses information from internet cookies, please visit the section of this Policy titled “Contact Us.” 

How Does Hillsdale College Use the Information it Collects? 

We use the information that we collect from you in a variety of ways.  When you browse our ecommerce shop, the Shopping Cart Information is used to keep track of the items you have placed in your shopping cart in the event that you choose to purchase those items.  If you choose to purchase the items in your shopping cart, our third party service provider will use your Account Registration Information or Express Checkout Information, as the case may be, your Checkout Information, and your Payment Information to process and complete your order.  As soon as the sales transaction is processed, we will automatically generate and send you email communications regarding the status of your order.   Details regarding orders through the Store are maintained by Hillsdale College and used to render customer support. 

Please note that your use of the express checkout feature is subject to the terms and conditions applicable to eligible payment methods.  For more information, please consult the applicable bank or payment service. 

If you choose to opt-in to receive marketing and promotional information from Hillsdale College, we will use your email address to automatically generate and send you an email, which will ask you to confirm that you wish to receive our email marketing and promotional email messages.  If you click the button or hyperlink to confirm, we will store your Mailing List Information and Account Registration Information in our customer relationship database and add it to our mailing list.  Periodically, we will use your Mailing List Information to send you email messages about items, activities, or news that might be of interest to you from Hillsdale College.  You may unsubscribe from our mailing list at any time by following the instructions to unsubscribe at the bottom of each such email message.

In the event that you forget your password, our third party service provider will use the information that you provide in connection with that process to initiate their process for re-setting your password. 

When you contact us by email or telephone, we will use any General Inquiry Information that we collect from you for purposes of responding to your inquiry.  Your General Inquiry Information will also be stored in a customer relationship database.  

Internet Cookies

The Store utilizes internet cookies, which are small data files that are transmitted from the Store to your internet web browser.  For more information on the cookies that our third party service provider utilizes and the information that it collects and how it uses and discloses that information, please visit: https://www.shopify.com/legal/cookies

To the extent that we have access to our receive any of the information that is collected from our third party service provider’s internet cookies, we use that information to identify the products that are most popular among visitors to our Store.  We also use this information to evaluate the success of our marketing and advertising efforts. 

What Choices Do You Have Concerning Internet Cookies

Depending upon the type of internet web browser that you utilize to visit the Store, you may have the option in the internet web browser’s settings to block or reject internet cookies from being deployed to your internet browser.  For more information about the specific features that may be available to you for addressing internet cookies, please consult your internet web browser’s help file. Please be advised that should you choose to disable, block, or reject internet cookies, certain functionality of the Store will no longer operate properly. 

Does Hillsdale College Share the Information it Collects with Third Parties? 

Hillsdale College does not sell any of the information that we collect, receive, or are provided access to by our third party service provider in connection with your use of the Store.  Hillsdale College does use a number of third party service providers in connection with making the Store available to you that collect and receive information from us, including data and website hosting, payment card processing, marketing, and logistics and shipping service providers.  We only permit our third party service providers to collect or use the personal information that they collect from you, such as your name, email address, mailing address, and telephone number, for purposes of that third party service provider rendering their services to you. 

Hillsdale College does reserve the right to disclose your information if it is required in order for us to comply with a legal obligation, including without limitation in response to a subpoena, court order, grand jury, or a government regulator’s demand.  Hillsdale College’s response to any legal request or demand for information will be made on a case-by-case basis and as we deem appropriate in our sole discretion.  We reserve the right to cooperate with law enforcement where we determine in our exclusive discretion that such information must be disclosed in order to preserve and protect Hillsdale College’s rights or the safety of its students, staff, faculty, alumni, employees, and third parties. 

Your Options Regarding Information

Hillsdale College values your privacy.  If you would like to review, correct, update, or delete any  information that you have provided us through the Store, you may do so as follows.  To the extent that such information was provided to us through your user account with the Store, you may log into your user account to update your mailing address and view your order history.  To have your information deleted, or to update your email or password, you will need to contact us using one of the methods listed in the section of this Policy entitled “Contact Us.”  Please be sure to include “Privacy Request” in the subject line of your email message to us and make sure you provide us with enough detail to enable us to locate your information to fulfill your request.  Hillsdale College reserves the right in each case to verify any request and to deny a request where we are unable to verify the authenticity of the request. 

Revisions to this Policy

From time to time Hillsdale College reserves the right to revise this Policy in its sole discretion.  It is your responsibility to routinely review this Policy for changes.  Revisions to this Policy will become effective upon posting, unless otherwise required by applicable law.  To assist you in determining whether the Policy may have changed since the last time you reviewed the document, we will update the “Last Modified Date” listed at the top of the document each time we make a change.  In the event that we make a material change to the manner in which we collect, use, or disclose information, we will post a notice on the main page of the Store website to draw your attention to the fact that we have updated this Policy.  If you do not agree with any term or condition contained in this Policy, you must immediately cease your use of the Store. 

Do Not Track Signals or Requests from Web Browsers

We do not honor “Do Not Track” signals or requests from internet web browsers because at this time there is no universal standard for doing so. 

Policy Regarding Children’s Online Privacy

Hillsdale College takes the privacy of children on the internet very seriously.  We do not knowingly solicit any personal information or otherwise market to children who are under thirteen (13) years of age.  For purposes of this section, the term “personal information” has the same meaning set forth under the United States Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (15 U.S.C. § 6501, et. al.) and its regulations.  If you are the parent or legal guardian of a child under the age of thirteen (13) and you believe your child may have provided us with personal information, please contact us immediately using one of the contact methods provided at the bottom of this page. 

Third Party Hyperlinks

The Store is hosted by a third party service provider and may include hyperlinks to third party websites that are not owned, operated, or controlled by Hillsdale College.  Please note that Hillsdale College does not have any control over any content, information, business or privacy practices contained on any third party website.  Your use of any third party website is entirely at your own risk.  Under no circumstances will Hillsdale College be liable or held responsible for any content, information, business or privacy practices of any website that is not owned, operated or otherwise controlled by Hillsdale College. 

Contact Us

In the event that you have any questions or concerns about this Policy or desire to contact us with a data request, please contact us using one of the methods included below:

By Telephone: (517) 797-4669

By Email: shop@hillsdale.edu