This privacy notice outlines how and why the American University in Bulgaria (AUBG) collects, uses and stores your personal data, and your rights in relation to the personal data we hold. We may modify or amend this Privacy Notice. The most current version will always be available on our Website and, where appropriate, notified to you by e-mail. If you have any questions about such matters you can contact us at [email protected].
What personal data do we collect?
The personal information we collect from you is the following:
- your title, name (including former name), gender, date of birth;
- contact data including your home address, citizenship, email address, and phone number;
- your education record (i.e year of graduation and major and minor study);
- your business details including industry, position, organization;
- events you have attended;
- record of your financial donations;
- information on you as a scholar;
- communication data including your preferences in receiving a certain type of communication from us.
How do we collect your personal data?
We collect information about you when you:
- request information to be sent to you;
- attend or register for an alumni related event; registered at the AUBG Alumni Website;
- make a donation to AUBG via an online payment, bank transfer, check or at the AUBG Business Office; signed a donation/ sponsorship contract.
From the University:
- via a transfer from the University’s Registrars’ Office databases (if you were a student) to the alumni & development database.
From Third-Party Sources:
- from third party sources such as media articles, company or social network accounts (i.e. LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter – depending on your privacy settings) or other public sources for example the world wide web.
Note:* When we obtain personal data from third party sources, we will look to ensure that the third party has lawful authority to provide us with your personal data.
The basis for processing your information and how we use it
AUBG still processes your academic and financial record after your graduation from AUBG, in relation to compliance with our legal obligations. In this respect, we may use your personal data for the following:
- financial audits;
- compliance with our regulatory and legal obligations;
- compliance with anti-money laundering laws and safeguarding requirements;
- prevention and detection of crime;
- criminal investigations – assist with investigations (including criminal investigations) carried out by the police and other competent authorities
Receiving and processing your personal data for contact as detailed above is based on your consent and is exclusively used to maintain an engaged alumni community after your graduation.
AUBG may occasionally contact you by email, social media post and telephone to pursue the purpose mentioned above. The following type of communication will be sent to you based on your preferences:
- AUBG community updates;
- AUBG event invitations in Bulgaria and Abroad;
- AUBG Campaigns & Initiatives;
- Solicitation letters;
- Greeting cards.
We may also process your personal data where:
- we have your specific or, where necessary, explicit consent to do so.
Control and care over your data
We, as an institution with one of the highest rankings in Bulgaria, are striving to improve and upgrade our control systems – to include pseudonymization of the collected and processed data, access controls, defined within the university, and most importantly – applied due care by our staff and faculty members. All measures are implemented against inadvertent or deliberate manipulation, loss, or destruction, and access by unauthorized persons.
With whom we share your data?
Your personal data may be shared with public authorities, such as the Bulgarian Ministry of Education, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Foreign Affair, National Centre for Information and Documentation (NACID), official University representatives, educational consultants, employment screening services or Universities, internal and external auditors, etc. as part of our legal obligations.
In relation to maintaining and improving the academic, corporate, financial, estate and human resource management of the institution, as well as evaluating the performance and effectiveness of the university and its staff, AUBG may transfer your personal data if and when it finds it appropriate to use subcontractors, i.e. marketing companies for internal and external surveys, evaluation and performance measurement.
With respect to facilitating communication with you and optimizing fundraising initiatives, AUBG may use software providers like Mailchimp, Blackbaud, Basno, Qgiv.
In cases when we are asked to facilitate the communications between individual alumni, the aforementioned will be notified via email and asked for their written consent to do so. Unless permission is given, we will not release any personal contact details.
In any case, when AUBG needs to transfer your personal data to third parties, you will be notified, and asked for consent when the data transfer process requires us to do so. AUBG will share your personal data with high attention to the third parties’ level of technical and organizational ability to manage personal data as required by the GDPR standards.
How long we keep it?
Your academic and financial record will be retained as required by law.
AUBG considers relationships with alumni as ongoing and as such, we will maintain a record of your contact details until you tell us you no longer wish to keep in touch.
