ePEN PRIVACY POLICY

YOU ARE REQUIRED TO READ THIS PRIVACY POLICY AND THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF USE CAREFULLY BEFORE USING THIS SITE.

Before using this Site, please read this Privacy Policy and the Terms of Use for this Site carefully. By using this Site and its services, you acknowledge that you understand, accept and agree to the terms of this Privacy Policy and the Terms of Use for this Site. If you have any questions concerning this Privacy Policy or the Terms of Use for this Site, please contact Pearson at  PearsonAccessPrivacy@pearson.com.

Introduction

Pearson is under contract with certain education agencies (including state education agencies) and educational institutions or organizations ("Education Agencies") to provide services for designated educational assessment programs ("Assessment Programs").  Each Education Agency contracts with Pearson to provide this site pursuant to agreed specifications.  Some features of this site may not be accessible to all users.  This Privacy Policy explains Pearson’s privacy policy with respect to the personal information collected through this site.

Pearson handles student assessment and personally identifiable information in accordance with all applicable terms of the contract that it has for an Assessment Program with the applicable Education Agency.  The terms of such contract will control with respect to the protection of student assessment and personally identifiable information in the event of any conflict with the provisions of this Privacy Policy.

Purpose of this Site

ePEN is an assessment scoring tool with various features designed for use by a variety of education stakeholders, including Education Agency officials, educators, independent contractors, and Pearson employees.  The purpose of ePEN is: (a) provide access to assessment scoring tools; and (b) provide statistical reports regarding assessments scored with the tool.

Pearson collects and uses personal data through this Site in accordance with, and for the purpose of fulfilling, its Assessment Program contract with the Education Agency for which such personal data is collected. 

Access

Access to the ePEN Site related to each Assessment Program is restricted by password to users authorized by Pearson or the Education Agency sponsoring such Assessment Program.  Education Agencies are responsible for authorizing individual access to this Site when it is used for educator scoring, or providing Pearson with such authorized user information. 

Information Collection

Assessment Information.  Assessments to be scored through the ePEN system will be uploaded onto this Site by Pearson or by the Education Agency.  These assessments may contain personally identifiable student information, as designated by the Education Agency.  This Site collects score information recorded on this Site by users of this Site. 

Education Agency and School District Personnel:  If you using this site pursuant to a contract between Pearson and an Education Agency, then you will be required to provide Pearson with your name and e-mail address or other personally identifiable information, which Pearson will use to confirm authorization to access the site, before access will be granted.  This information is requested in order to comply with security policies. If Pearson receives inquiries or emails about or through this Site from users, Pearson may keep a record of the email, correspondence and comments, including the individual’s name, school district or organization name and email address in order to reply to the communication, perform Site support and issue resolution and maintain business records concerning this Site.

Independent Contractors and Pearson Employees:  Independent Contractors and Pearson employees that use this site may regularly be required to update their personal contact information or other data as requested by the site administrator

Information from Children:  This Site and our testing scoring systems are not intended for use by students.  Accordingly, this Site is not directed to children or anyone under the age of thirteen (13).

Information Access and Correction

Users may view, update and correct their own personal information by using the functions of this Site. Please contact Pearson at PearsonAccessPrivacy@pearson.com if you have difficulty accessing information through this Site or correcting any of your own personal information.

Information Use or Disclosure

Student assessment information will be used by Pearson for purposes of performing its contractual obligations to the applicable Education Agency for the Assessment Program for which such student assessment information is collected.

The personal information supplied by Users will be used by Pearson in connection with its educational assessment scoring activities, to perform contractual obligations and to comply with state and federal law, audit, security and internal Pearson control requirements.   

Except for the limited exceptions set forth in this Privacy Policy, and subject to applicable contractual requirements, Pearson will not share with, or disclose to, third parties, the names of users or other personally identifiable information collected through or in connection with this Site. Pearson may, however, use and disclose personally identifiable information:

• To the Education Agency for the Assessment Program for which such information was collected.
• In response to subpoenas, court orders or legal process, to the extent permitted or required by law;
• To protect user security, or the security of other persons, consistent with applicable laws;
• To address fraud or misuse of this site or other violations of the law, consistent with applicable laws;
• As required by law;
• In connection with the sale, joint venture or transfer of some or all of the assets of NCS Pearson, Inc.; and/or
• To affiliated companies and contractors providing services for Pearson who are obligated to take appropriate commercially reasonable steps to maintain the confidentiality of such information and use it solely for the purposes specified in this Privacy Policy.

Non-personally identifiable aggregated information collected through this website may be used for quality assurance and for research and development and may be disclosed to third parties in non-personally identifiable form upon receipt of written approval from the Education Agency for the Assessment Program for which such information was collected.

Security and Confidentiality

Subject to the other provisions of this Privacy Policy and the applicable contracts between Pearson and the applicable Education Agency, Pearson will take commercially reasonable steps to maintain the confidentiality of all personal information and student records collected and managed through this Site.  For example, this Site currently uses industry-standard SSL-encryption to protect user account and password information and uses a secure connection to Pearson servers, which are protected by firewalls to prevent unauthorized break-ins.  The administrative system and authentication mechanisms are protected through the use of SSL encryption of data transmitted via HTTP.  As other security methodologies become commercially available, Pearson may change its current security systems processes or substitute these systems with other security systems or processes. UNFORTUNATELY, NO DATA TRANSMISSION OVER THE INTERNET IS GUARANTEED COMPLETELY SECURE. GIVEN THE INHERENT OPERATION AND STRUCTURE OF THE INTERNET, ALL TRANSMISSIONS ARE DONE AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Precautions to be Taken by Users

User Information and access to this Site is password protected for the privacy and protection of user personal information and student assessment data. Users are required to keep confidential all user identification and passwords.  If storage of this information is required, it must be kept in a secure location. To protect data, users should always logoff when exiting this Site and not divulge or share user identification or passwords with anyone.  In the event the confidentiality of a password is compromised, a user should immediately change their password, and contact Pearson with any concerns or questions at PearsonAccessPrivacy@pearson.com.

Cookies

The use of cookies is a common practice for Internet facing web applications. Cookies are small text files that a website transfers to your computer's browser. Cookies will provide the website with non-personally identifiable information, but does identify your computer, browser and Internet specifications. This Site uses cookies to measure traffic patterns, personalize content and control security.

IP Addresses

An IP address is a number automatically assigned to your computer by your Internet service provider. This Site may collect IP addresses, the associated URLs, domain types, the browser type used to access the Site, the country, state and telephone area code where the users' Internet service provider's servers are located, the pages of this Site that users viewed during their visit and any search terms entered on the Site. Collection of IP addresses is generally for system administration purposes, to monitor the level of activity on the Site and for security reasons.

Links to Other Sites      

This Site may contain links to other websites related to the Assessment Program on the Internet, which may include Education Agency sites, or other Pearson websites. The information practices of those websites are not covered by this Privacy Statement or any other policies or terms applicable to this Site. You should read the terms and policies of those other websites before supplying information to that site or otherwise using the site.

Site and Content Ownership

The Site is owned and operated by Pearson. The content thereof is protected by copyrights owned by Pearson and/or its licensors and/or the Education Agency for the applicable Assessment Program.

Changes to the Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy and the Terms of Use for this Site may be revised from time to time through an updated posting. You should, therefore, check both this Privacy Policy and the Terms of Use periodically. Revisions are effective upon posting and your continued use of this site following the posting of such revisions will indicate your acceptance of such revisions.

Contact Information

If you have questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy, please contact us at PearsonAccessPrivacy@pearson.com.  If you want us to respond to your comment or question, please provide your contact information in your message.

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. or its affiliate(s).  All rights reserved.

Effective Date: November 14, 2011