Privacy Policy

Effective Date: November 7, 2024

Sterling Academy of Dramatic Arts ("we," "us," or "our") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and disclose your personal information when you use our website, sterlingacademy.com (the "Site"), and our services.

1. Data Collection

We collect several types of information from and about users of our Site, including:

Personal Information: This includes information that can be used to identify you, such as your name, email address, phone number, postal address, and any other information you voluntarily provide when you register for a course, subscribe to our newsletter, contact us through our website, or participate in surveys or promotions.
Payment Information: When you make a purchase through our Site, we collect payment information, such as your credit card details or other financial information. This information is processed by our third-party payment processors, who are contractually obligated to protect your information. We do not store your complete credit card information on our servers.
Usage Data: We automatically collect certain information about your use of our Site, including your IP address, browser type, operating system, referring URLs, pages visited, and the dates and times of your visits. This information helps us understand how users interact with our Site and improve our services.
Cookies and Similar Technologies: We use cookies, web beacons, and other tracking technologies to collect information about your browsing activity. Cookies are small data files stored on your device that enable us to recognize your browser and remember certain information about your preferences.

For example, when enrolling in our "Shakespearean Performance Workshop," we collect your name, email, phone number, and emergency contact information. This ensures we can communicate effectively and maintain student safety.

2. Data Usage

We use the information we collect for various purposes, including:

Providing and Improving Our Services: We use your information to provide you with access to our Site, process your course registrations, deliver personalized content, and respond to your inquiries. We also use your information to improve our Site and services, develop new features, and troubleshoot technical issues.
Communicating with You: We may use your information to send you important notifications about your account, course schedules, tuition payments, and other service-related matters. With your consent, we may also send you marketing communications about our courses, promotions, and events.
Personalizing Your Experience: We use your information to personalize your experience on our Site, such as recommending courses that may be of interest to you and displaying content that is relevant to your interests.
Analyzing Usage Trends: We use aggregated and anonymized data to analyze usage trends, track the effectiveness of our marketing campaigns, and improve our Site and services.
Legal Compliance: We may use your information to comply with applicable laws, regulations, and legal processes.

Specifically, your information allows us to manage class sizes effectively, ensuring personalized attention during method acting sessions. We also use your contact details to inform you about upcoming industry showcases, creating networking opportunities.

3. Data Protection

We take reasonable measures to protect your personal information from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure. These measures include:

Data Encryption: We use industry-standard encryption technologies to protect your personal information during transmission and storage.
Secure Servers: We store your personal information on secure servers that are protected by firewalls and other security measures.
Access Controls: We restrict access to your personal information to authorized personnel who need to know the information to perform their job duties.
Regular Security Audits: We conduct regular security audits to identify and address potential vulnerabilities.

Our data protection protocols are reviewed bi-annually by Eleanor Vance, our Data Protection Officer, ensuring continuous improvement and adherence to best practices in data security. Regular security training is also provided to our staff to safeguard sensitive student information.

However, no method of transmission over the Internet or method of electronic storage is completely secure. Therefore, we cannot guarantee the absolute security of your personal information.

4. Data Sharing and Disclosure

We may share your personal information with third parties in the following circumstances:

Service Providers: We may share your information with third-party service providers who assist us with various aspects of our business, such as payment processing, website hosting, email marketing, and data analytics. These service providers are contractually obligated to protect your information and use it only for the purposes for which we disclose it to them.
Legal Requirements: We may disclose your information if required to do so by law or in response to a valid legal request, such as a subpoena or court order.
Business Transfers: In the event of a merger, acquisition, or other business transfer, we may transfer your information to the acquiring entity.
With Your Consent: We may share your information with third parties with your consent.

For instance, we share student contact details with our partnered talent agencies in Chicago for industry placement opportunities, only with explicit consent from the student. Also, for our international students, data is securely transferred following GDPR guidelines to ensure compliant data handling overseas.

5. Your Rights

You have the following rights with respect to your personal information:

Access: You have the right to access the personal information we hold about you.
Correction: You have the right to request that we correct any inaccurate or incomplete personal information.
Deletion: You have the right to request that we delete your personal information, subject to certain exceptions.
Objection: You have the right to object to the processing of your personal information for certain purposes, such as direct marketing.
Restriction: You have the right to request that we restrict the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances.
Data Portability: You have the right to receive your personal information in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format and to transmit it to another controller.

To exercise your rights, please contact us using the contact information provided below.

6. Data Retention

We retain your personal information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, including to provide you with our services, comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements.

For alumni, we retain transcripts and enrollment records for up to ten years to accommodate potential industry verifications. Financial records related to tuition are kept for seven years as mandated by tax regulations.

7. Cookie Policy

For more information about our use of cookies and similar technologies, please see our Cookie Policy.

8. Children's Privacy

Our Site and services are not directed to children under the age of 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of 13. If you are a parent or guardian and believe that your child has provided us with personal information, please contact us immediately.

9. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will post any changes on our Site and update the "Effective Date" at the top of this policy. Your continued use of our Site after the posting of changes constitutes your acceptance of the revised Privacy Policy.

10. Contact Information

If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us at:

Sterling Academy of Dramatic Arts
600 N Clark St
Chicago, IL 60654
Phone: (312) 555-ACT1 (2281)
Email: [email protected]

Data Protection Officer: Eleanor Vance