MAA Online Privacy Policy

Overview

Welcome to MAA Online, owned and produced by the Mathematical Association of America. The MAA is the leading membership organization for college mathematics educators. The MAA website is intended for public information, communication, and the consumption of goods and services provided by the Mathematical Association of America. This privacy policy describes the way that the MAA collects and handles information from visitors and members to its website.

The MAA may rewrite this Privacy Policy at any time. We will post any changes to this web page and mark the date of the revisions above, so be sure to check back periodically.

All products and services on MAA Online are made available subject to this Privacy Policy. By using the products and services, you agree, without limitation or qualification, to be bound by this Privacy Policy.

Questions regarding this statement should be directed to:

The Mathematical Association of America
1529 Eighteenth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036
202-387-5200 or 800-741-9415
email: webmaster@maa.org.

Frequently Asked Questions:

What Information Does MAA Online Collect?

Anonymous Information

The MAA Online servers automatically log certain information that MAA uses for statistical analysis of web site traffic. The information is stored as log files on the MAA.ORG server. The log files are regularly collected and analyzed by software to produce visitor trend reports. The information that is collected includes:

Your IP Address
Your City
Your State
The length of time you stayed on MAA Online
Where you came into the site
Where you left the site
The referring site that sent you to MAA Online
The type of browser you are using

This information is used to determine:

Traffic Patterns
Average visitor session length
Number of visitors to certain areas of the site
Tracking results of Promotional Campaigns
Other user trends

Server logs do not contain personally identifiable information on individual users, such as names, addresses, email address, occupation, etc. This type of data will only be collected in forms, surveys or event registrations on MAA Online.

Personally Identifiable Information

MAA Online also collects personally identifiable information that you voluntarily submit through online forms on our website, such as:

Name
Postal Address
Email Address
Business or Company Name and Address
Phone Number
Educational Background
Credit Card Information

Personally identifiable information is used for the following purposes:

To fulfill your order for membership or goods or services;
To process registrations for events, courses and other MAA activities
To conduct surveys and polls
To provide you with information on events, products and services, or other news that we think might interest you.

You can let us know that you do not wish to receive information by contacting us by P.O. Box 91112, Washington, DC 20090-1112, or by calling us at 1-800-331-1622.

How does MAA use the information it collects?

MAA collects information to provide you with the services you request and to improve our website.

If you join MAA or renew your MAA membership through our website, we use the personally identifiable information you provide in the membership application to send you MAA publications, information about member benefits and special offers, and other information that MAA believes is relevant and useful to its members.

MAA also uses this aggregate, anonymous data to perform statistical analyses of the collective characteristics and behavior of our site visitors; to measure user interests regarding specific areas of MAA Online; and to analyze how and where best to use our resources. Without such data, we would not know which parts of MAA Online are the most popular, and we would not be able to change and update the content and services appropriately.

MAA may be required by law enforcement or judicial authorities to provide information on individual users to the appropriate governmental authorities. In matters involving a danger to personal or public safety, MAA may voluntarily provide information to appropriate governmental authorities.

What department collects the information and who has access to it?

Data collected through MAA's website is collected and maintained solely by the MAA. More specifically:

Personally identifiable information.

When you provide personally identifiable information on MAA Online to register for a service, buy a product, or take advantage of a promotion, that information is collected and maintained solely by MAA, unless specifically stated otherwise at the point of collection. MAA will inform you at the point of collection if your personal data is being shared with another organization. If you do not want to share your information with that company, you can choose not to use that service. If you join the MAA or renew your membership through our website, you provide personally identifiable information on the membership application. MAA does not sell member e-mail addresses to third-parties.

What Are Cookies and How Does the MAA Use Them?

A cookie is a small text file containing a unique identification number that is transferred from a website to the hard drive of your computer. This unique number identifies your web browser—but not you—to MAA computers whenever you visit MAA Online. A cookie will not provide personally identifiable information about you, such as your name and address. The use of cookies is now an industry standard, and cookies are currently used on most major websites. Most web browsers are initially set up to accept cookies. If you prefer, you can reset your browser to notify you when you have received a cookie. You can also set your browser to refuse to accept cookies altogether. While MAA does not require you to use cookies, keep in mind that certain services will not function properly if you set your browser to refuse all cookies. Generally, cookies enable our server to remember visitors, allow entry into password-protected areas, and to help ensure accurate measuring of web traffic. Cookies can be deleted or rejected by changing the settings on your web browser. However, the deletion or rejection of cookies on a visitor's part may impact your ability to use parts of MAA Online effectively. Because advertisers or third party websites may use cookies in different ways, this statement regarding the use of cookies only covers MAA Online. In no way are cookies on the MAA website harmful to the machines on which they are placed or how the information is used.

How Do I Review and Make Corrections?

MAA Members may review and update the personally identifiable information that you have provided to the MAA, by logging into the membership section of MAA Online, or by sending a revision request by email to maaservice@maa.org or by mail at MAA Service Center, P.O. Box 91112, Washington, DC 20090-1112, or by calling us at 1-800-331-1622. MAA Online may display the email addresses of volunteers who serve as officers or on MAA committees. These volunteers are leaders of the Mathematical Association of America and may have chosen to place their contact information online so as to be more accessible to the public. If you are a volunteer or member who has been listed on MAA Online and you no longer wish to have your email address posted, please send an e-mail to webmaster@maa.org with a subject line of "Remove Email Address from MAA Online" and the page address where your email is listed in the body.

What is the opt-out policy for MAA Online?

MAA provides members the opportunity to opt-out of receiving communications from us and our partners. If you no longer wish to receive specific communications or services, you have the following options:

You can send an e-mail to: maaservice@maa.org

You can send mail to the following postal address: MAA, PO Box 91112, Washington, DC 20090-1112.

You can call the following telephone numbers: 800-331-1622 or 301-617-7800.

Links to Third Parties

MAA Online may contain links to third-party websites and/or content providers that include information or services that may be of interest to you. This privacy and security statement applies to the MAA website only. This statement does not extend to third-party websites and/or content providers, including related affiliate websites and/or content providers such as section websites, advertiser websites, and third-party service providers. MAA Online is not responsible for the privacy and security practices of those sites. We recommend that you review the privacy policy at each of these websites to determine how that site protects your privacy.

What Kinds of Security Procedures Are in Place?

In cases where private information is collected, such as mailing addresses, phone numbers, work location, credit card numbers, etc., all forms are secured through 128-bit Secure Socket Layers (SSL) encryption, the most widely accepted and tested form of data encryption. Of course, no transmission over the Internet can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. Therefore, you provide us with your information at your own risk.

In addition to Secure Socket Layer encryption during transmission, the MAA takes these additional precautions with your information:

All Web Servers are protected by state of the art, managed firewalls.
Data is protected at the server level by IP Address range from the MAA office in Washington, DC. This means that only necessary managers and web server support personnel have access to collected information.
Administrative Screens can only be accessed from the MAA office using Secure Socket Layers.

MAA Online cannot ensure that third-party websites linked to the MAA's website will provide equivalent security. You should check with the privacy policies of those web sites before submitting any personally identifiable information.

What you can do to better protect yourself on the Internet?

Know the risks.

The opportunity to network in an online community (chat room, forum, message board, etc.) is one of the best things about the Internet, but you should always be careful about disclosing personal information such as an actual name, member name, e-mail address, and so on. This information may be collected and used by others within the online community to send unsolicited e-mail messages outside MAA Online. Some of the messages you receive may be useful to you, but some may not.

Educate yourself.

Search the Web for as much information as you can about how to protect your privacy. Look for a privacy policy on the websites you visit. A good place to start is TRUSTe—an independent, non-profit organization with a mission to build trust and confidence in the Internet. The Federal Trade Commission has a website with useful information on being a savvy Internet user along with other privacy initiatives.

Comments and Questions

If there are any parts of this statement that require more explanation or clarification, please contact webmaster@maa.org. If you have any comments or suggestions regarding changes and updates, please contact webmaster@maa.org.