September 1, 2004
The School’s Commitment to You
Safeguarding personal information of parents and students is a fundamental concern of British Columbia Christian Academy. The school is committed to meeting or exceeding the privacy standards established by British Columbia’s Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) and any other applicable legislation.
This Personal Information Privacy Policy describes the policies and practices of British Columbia Christian Academy regarding the collection, use and disclosure of personal information about students and parents, including the steps the school has taken to ensure personal and financial information is handled appropriately and securely.
British Columbia Christian Academy may add, modify or remove portions of this Personal Information Privacy Policy when it is considered appropriate to do so, and any such changes will be effective upon giving notice of the revised policy. You may ask for the most recent update of this Personal Information Privacy Policy at the school office. This Personal Information Privacy Policy may be supplemented or modified by agreements entered into between British Columbia Christian Academy and an individual from time to time.
Ten Privacy Principles
As part of British Columbia Christian Academy’s commitment, the Ten Privacy Principles govern the actions of the school as they relate to the use of personal information. This Personal Information Privacy Policy describes the Ten Privacy Principles and provides further details regarding British Columbia Christian Academy’s compliance with the principles.
Definitions
In this Personal Information Privacy Policy, the following terms have the meanings set out below:
“personal information” means any information about an identifiable individual, as further defined under British Columbia’s Personal Information Protection Act or other applicable laws. Personal information excludes the name, position name or title, business telephone number, business address, business email, and business fax number of an individual, as well as any publicly available information as designated under applicable laws, such as information available from a public telephone directory or from a public registry.
“Parent” means the parent, guardian, or other legal representative of a student.
“Student” means a prospective, current, or past student of British Columbia Christian Academy.
Principle 1 – Accountability
British Columbia Christian Academy is responsible for maintaining and protecting the personal information under its control. In fulfilling this mandate, the school designates (an) individual(s) who is(are) accountable for the school’s compliance with the Ten Privacy Principles. This individual is the Privacy Officer of the school.
You may contact our Privacy Officer as follows:
British Columbia Christian Academy
Attention: Privacy Officer
Address: 1019 Fernwood Ave., Port Coquitlam BC
Phone: 604-941-8426
Fax: 604-945-6455
Email: privacyofficer@bcchristianacademy.ca
Principle 2 – Identifying Purposes
British Columbia Christian Academy will, before or at the time personal information is collected, identify the purposes for which the information is collected, used and disclosed.
What Information is Collected?
British Columbia Christian Academy collects and uses personal information to provide students with the best possible educational services enunciated by the Mission statement of the school. Most of the information the school collects comes to the school directly from parents and students or is information regarding the student’s school activities, performance or behaviour, such as attendance records or grades. For example, when a student applies to register in the school, the school will ask you to provide the information that enables it to complete the registration process. This also includes information on academic, health, and personal matters needed by the school to provide the best possible education and co-curricular programs. British Columbia Christian Academy also collects information in connection with the use of its computer systems.
[Personal information may also be collected and used and disclosed in the course of the operation of building security systems, including video and other surveillance systems.]
Principle 3 – Consent
British Columbia Christian Academy will obtain consent of the individual for the collection, use or disclosure of personal information except where the law states exemptions, grants permission, or creates a requirement for collection, use, or disclosure of personal information.
Requirements for consent to collection, use or disclosure of personal information vary depending on circumstances and on the type of personal information that is intended to be collected, used or disclosed. In determining whether consent is required and, if so, what form of consent is appropriate, British Columbia Christian Academy will take into account both the sensitivity of the personal information and the purposes for which British Columbia Christian Academy will use the information.
Consent may be express, implied (including through use of “opt-out” consent where appropriate), or deemed. For example, if an individual provides his/her mailing address and requests information regarding a particular service, consent to use the address to provide the requested information may be implied.
On giving reasonable written notice to British Columbia Christian Academy, an individual may withdraw consent to the collection, use or disclosure of his or her personal information. Upon notice of withdrawal of consent, British Columbia Christian Academy will notify the individual of the likely consequences of withdrawing his or her consent and, except where otherwise required or permitted by law, British Columbia Christian Academy will stop collecting, using or disclosing the personal information as requested.
If a person provides British Columbia Christian Academy or its service providers or agents with personal information about an individual, the person represents that it has all necessary authority and/or has obtained all necessary consents from such individual to enable British Columbia Christian Academy to collect, use and disclose such personal information for the purposes set forth in this Personal Information Privacy Policy.
Principle 4 – Limiting Collection
British Columbia Christian Academy will limit the personal information collected to that information necessary for the purposes identified by the school.
Principle 5 – Use, Disclosure and Retention
British Columbia Christian Academy will only use, disclose and retain personal information for the purpose for which it was collected unless the individual has otherwise consented, or when its use, disclosure or retention is required or permitted by law.
How is Information Used?
British Columbia Christian Academy uses personal information as follows:
- to communicate with parents and students, process applications and ultimately to provide students with the educational services and co-curricular programs you expect.
- to enable the school to operate its administrative function, including payment of school fees and maintenance of non-educational school programs including parent and volunteer participation and fundraising.
- health, psychological, or legal information to provide certain specialized services in those areas or as adjunct information in delivering educational services.
- a school phone book with parent permission (with their permission).
- mailings to grandparents and alumni.
If for any reason personal information is required to fulfill another purpose, the school will, where appropriate, notify you and ask you for your consent before the school proceeds.
British Columbia Christian Academy may use anonymous information, such as information collected through surveys or statistical information regarding students, to constantly improve our school.
When May Information be Disclosed?
British Columbia Christian Academy may disclose an individual’s personal information to others in connection with the purpose for which it was collected, as consented to by the individual, or as required or permitted by law. The following are some examples of how British Columbia Christian Academy may disclose personal information.
When Authorized by You
- Other educational institutions routinely contact the school for personal information about students. For example, if a student moves to another school, college or university, student records are requested by the enrolling institution. Your permission to pass on these records is usually obtained when the student is registered and you authorize the school to disclose such information to other appropriate educational institutions for the ongoing education of the student.
- Contact information may be used to enable the school to provide the para-educational and administrative services usually operated by the school. These services include phoning committees, participation groups, parent meetings, fundraising, events, annual general meetings, etc.
In some cases, when communication is over the telephone, your consent to the use and/or disclosure of your information will be obtained verbally. In other cases such as when you communicate through e-mail, your consent will be obtained electronically.
When Required by Law
The type of information the school is legally required to disclose most often relates to family court issues, legal proceedings, court orders and government tax reporting requirements. Student information as per Form 1701 is annually filed with the Ministry of Education.
Only the information specifically requested is disclosed and the school takes precautions to satisfy itself that the authorities making the request have legitimate grounds to do so.
When Permitted by Law
The school is legally permitted to disclose some personal information in situations such as an investigation of illegal activities, reasonable methods to collect overdue accounts, a medical emergency or suspicion of illegal activities, etc. Only pertinent information is disclosed.
The school does not sell, lease or trade information about you to other parties.
Outside Service Suppliers
At British Columbia Christian Academy, the school sometimes contacts outside organizations to perform specialized services such as printing, student assessments, market research or data processing. [For example, the school gives its yearbook publisher the information required to produce the annual yearbook.] Suppliers of specialized services are given only the information necessary to perform those services, and British Columbia Christian Academy takes appropriate steps to ensure that such information is securely transferred and stored and is used only to fulfill the purposes for which it was disclosed to the service provider.