Omni Academy Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy (the “Privacy Policy”) describes how Omni Academy (“Omni Academy”, “we”, or “us”) collects, uses and discloses information from and about you when you visit and use www.omniacademy.org.za and Omni Academy's associated websites, applications and virtual learning environments/online campus platforms (collectively, the “Websites”), as well as your ability to control certain uses of that information. Omni Academy respects your privacy and is committed to protecting it through our compliance with this Privacy Policy. By accessing or otherwise using the Websites, you agree to Omni Academy's collection, use and disclosure of your information, as data controller, in accordance with this Privacy Policy, which is incorporated into Omni Academy's Terms of Use.

We regularly review our compliance with this Privacy Policy and whenever we receive a formal complaint, we will make best efforts to contact the person who made the complaint to attempt to resolve his or her concerns. If you have any concerns about the use of your information, or the contents of this Privacy Policy, please feel free to contact us.

1. Collection of Information

Legal Basis for Collecting and Processing Personal Information
Omni Academy collects and processes your personal information when we have lawful bases for doing so. These lawful bases include when you provide consent, when we have a contractual obligation to collect or process your personal data, and when we have a legitimate interest (e.g., to communicate with you regarding the short courses/programs (each, a “Course”), to use data for analytics purposes, to prevent fraud, to report possible criminal acts or threats to public security to a competent authority) in processing your personal information.

Information You Provide
Omni Academy collects information from you when you choose to provide it to us. For example, we may collect your information when you submit a form requesting information about a Course or about other courses offered at other schools, otherwise provide information to us through the Websites, or otherwise contact us. The information we collect may include personal information, such as your contact details, government issued identifier, or other information that can be used to identify you or can be attributed to you, or non-personal information. In some cases, you may choose not to provide us with your information, but we may require it when necessary to perform a contract or to comply with a legal obligation. We also may use information about you for reasons not described in this Privacy Policy where the reason is compatible with the purpose for which we originally collected your information and where such use is lawful.

Information Automatically Collected
When you visit the Websites or interact with e-mails that we send to you, we may passively collect information from you and store that information on our server logs, including your internet protocol address (“IP address”), browser type, operating system, device identifier, device model, software

version, or mobile or ISP carrier information. We also use Cookies and other technologies to collect information about your visit to the Websites, such as the date and time of your visit, the information you searched to find the Websites, or your activity on the Websites. “Cookies” are small files which may be stored on your computer during your use of the Websites and contain data about your use of the Websites. We may use session Cookies (which expire when you close your browser) or persistent Cookies (which stay on your computer until you delete them) to understand more about your activity on the Websites or on other websites.

Tracking Options  

You may adjust your browser or operating system settings to limit this tracking or to decline or delete Cookies, but you may be unable to access or use certain areas of the Websites. Check the “Help” menu of your browser or operating system to learn how to change your tracking settings or Cookie preferences. On your mobile device, you can adjust your privacy and advertising settings to limit your tracking for advertising or control whether you receive more relevant advertising. Note that our systems may not recognise Do Not Track headers or requests from some or all browsers.

Third-Party Cookies

 You may adjust your browser or operating system settings to limit this tracking or to decline or delete Cookies, but you may be unable to access or use certain areas of the Websites. Check the “Help” menu of your browser or operating system to learn how to change your tracking settings or Cookie preferences. On your mobile device, you can adjust your privacy and advertising settings to limit your tracking for advertising or control whether you receive more relevant advertising. Note that our systems may not recognise Do Not Track headers or requests from some or all browsers.

Information Collected from Other Sources
We may collect or receive information about you from other sources with which you interact (e.g., Facebook), companies that are our partners, or other third parties to update or supplement the information that you provide or that we collect automatically. We may use this information to help us maintain the accuracy of the information we collect, to target our communications so that we can inform you of products, services or other offers that may be of interest to you, and for internal business analysis or other business purposes.

Our Combination of Your Information
We may combine the information we receive from and about you, via the Websites and from third parties, to help us tailor our communications to you and to improve the Websites.

Failure to Provide Personal Information
Failure to provide certain information may make it difficult or impossible for you to access some services through the Websites (for example, to register for and complete courses). You will need to ensure that personal information submitted to us is accurate and up-to-date (for example, we need a current email address to communicate with you about the Course in which you are enrolled).

2. How We Use Your Information

Omni Academy may use the information that we collect from and about you to:

  • Provide our services, including the set up and management of accounts and profiles.
  • Personalize your experience on the Websites and in any Course in which you choose to enroll and help us to better respond to your individual needs.
  • Develop new products or services or to conduct analysis to enhance current products and services.
  • Engage in behavioural marketing and remarketing to users of the Websites and students, and marketing to potential students with similar interests when you consent to such marketing or for the legitimate purpose of communicating with you regarding a Course.
  • Review the usage and operations of the Websites and to analyse and improve the Websites (we continually strive to improve the Websites based on the information and feedback we receive from you).
  • Contact you for the following purposes:
    • marketing,
    • advising you on Course information,
    • respond to your inquiries,
    • assisting you in completing your Courses, including communicating with you about your use of the Websites to complete a Course (you may not opt out of receiving these communications while participating in the Course), or
    • other legitimate business purposes (as specified above).
  • Protect the security of the Websites.
  • Verify your identity.
  • As otherwise described at the point of collection or for purposes which you expressly permit us to use the information.

Omni Academy also may use de-identified information in an aggregated or anonymized manner to help us analyse the use of the Websites. This Privacy Policy does not limit our use or disclosure of de-identified information, and we reserve the right to use and disclose such information to our partners, advertisers, and other third parties at our discretion. We will retain your personal information for as long as necessary to provide you with the services through the Websites or to otherwise administer and maintain the services and our Websites.

3. How We Disclose Your Information

Omni Academy may share your information with other entities or individuals in the following circumstances:

  • Select Partners and Affiliates: We may share your information with our select partners and affiliates that we believe may have offers of interest to you.
  • Service Providers: We may share your information with our service providers that provide business, professional, or technical support functions for us. These service providers are only provided access to your information to the extent necessary to process your information and/or provide services to Omni Academy, and may not use or share your information for any other purposes. Omni Academy may disclose limited information about you to Service Providers to serve relevant advertising on third party platforms to you or to other audiences. If you do not want Omni Academy to disclose your information to Service Providers (including affiliated third parties which may not share the Omni Academy name) for their direct marketing or any other purpose, you may opt out of such disclosure by contacting us at info@omniacademy.org.za
  • Your Employer: We may share your information with your employer, if the employer is paying for your Course (information disclosed in this case shall include Course performance information, unless otherwise expressly agreed in writing with Omni Academy).
  • Legal Matters; Safety: We may access or share your information to satisfy any applicable law, regulation, legal process, or governmental request; in connection with an investigation on matters related to public safety; as permitted by law; or otherwise as required by law. We may disclose your information to protect the security of the Course, the Websites, servers, network systems, and databases. We also may disclose your information as necessary if we believe that there has been a violation of our Terms of Use (including investigation of potential violations thereof), any other legal document or contract related to the Websites, or the rights of any third party.
  • Fraud; Security: We may access and disclose your information to detect, prevent, or otherwise address fraud, security or other technical issues.
  • Consent; Other: We may share information with third parties when we have your consent, or otherwise as described to you at the point of collection.
  • Sale or Transfer of Business or Assets: Omni Academy may sell or purchase assets during the normal course of our business. If another entity acquires us or any of our assets, information we have collected about you may be transferred to such entity. In addition, if any bankruptcy or reorganization proceeding is brought by or against us, such information may be considered an asset of ours and may be sold or transferred to third parties. Should such a sale or transfer occur, we will use reasonable efforts to try to require that the transferee use your information in a manner that is consistent with this Privacy Policy.

  • De-Identified Aggregate or Anonymous Information: Omni Academy may also share de-identified aggregate or anonymous information with third parties for their marketing or analytics uses. For example, we provide Google Analytics with de-identified data so that they may provide us with a better understanding of visitors’ interactions with the Websites, including actions a visitor takes while accessing the Websites or sites to which a visitor navigates after leaving the Websites. Learn more about Google Analytics' use of de-identified data, and how to opt out of such use with a browser add-on, here

4. Information Security and Data Retention

We are committed to protecting the security of your information. We maintain what we believe to be appropriate physical, electronic, and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure your information and to prevent unauthorized access, maintain accuracy, and ensure appropriate use of your information. The accuracy, safety, and security of your information also depend on you. Where we have given you (or where you have chosen) a password for access to certain parts of the Websites, you are responsible for keeping this password confidential. We ask that you not share your password with anyone. Even though we do our best to protect your information, the transmission of information via the internet is not completely secure, and we cannot guarantee our security measures. We are not responsible for any unauthorized access to or acquisition of your information.

We will retain your personal information for as long as necessary to provide you with the services through the Website or to otherwise administer and maintain the services and our Website.

5. Your Rights Regarding Your Personal Information

You may access and/or update your personal information through your user profile. In some instances, you may have the right to (a) request that Omni Academy export a full listing of your personal information in a commonly used electronic form (b) withdraw your consent to Omni Academy to process your personal information; and (c) request that Omni Academy restrict the processing of or delete your personal information. Certain personal information, however, is necessary for us to provide information to you about the Course or to provide services to you through the Websites or otherwise. If you choose not to provide this personal information or request that Omni Academy delete or restrict the processing of this personal information, you may not be able to participate in the Course, and we may not be able to provide you with other services, including those provided through the Websites or advertised about the Course.

If you believe these rights regarding your personal information have been infringed upon, please contact us as set forth in the “Additional Information” section. You also have a right to lodge a complaint with data protection authorities.

To the extent the above rights apply in your country, they may be limited in some situations, for example, if Omni Academy is under a legal requirement to retain certain information. If you wish to make a request described in this paragraph, or if you are otherwise unable to access and/or edit your personal information through your user profile, you may contact us at info@omniacademy.org.za

6. Additional Information

Education Records

If you would like to inspect and review your education records, you may submit a request through our contact page. Requests for access will receive a response within 45 days, although certain records may be excluded from education records made available for inspection (within the bounds of the law and our confidentiality undertakings with third parties). You may also request amendment of records that you believe are inaccurate, misleading or in violation of your rights.

Public Forums; Publicly Available Content

Any information you may disclose through the Websites, such as on message boards, in chat rooms, or on other public areas on the Websites, may be viewed by others, such as your classmates and facilitators. Please exercise caution when disclosing personal information in these public areas. You are responsible for ensuring the accuracy of all information submitted to the Websites, and you agree to only publish or share information about a third party with the third party’s consent. Your content may be made available, and may be accessed, viewed, stored, collected, or used by other users of the Websites, such as your classmates and facilitators, subject to your restrictions and the Terms of Use. If you do not want Omni Academy to store metadata associated with your content, please remove the metadata before uploading your content.

Third-Party Content, Links, and Plug-Ins

The Websites may also offer you the ability to interact with social plugins from social media sites, which may allow us and/or the social media site to receive data from or about you, to better understand who is using the Websites, how people are using the Websites, how to improve the effectiveness of the Websites, our services and related content, to help us or those third parties serve more targeted advertising to you across the Internet, and to allow “Like” buttons and “Share” buttons to work. In some cases, we may know that you clicked on a social plugin, such as a Twitter Follow button, or receive other information from the social media sites. Similarly, if you have previously provided personal information to a third party operating a plug-in on our Websites, then such third party may recognize you on our Websites. Your use of social network plugins is subject to each social media site’s privacy policy, which may be different from ours. As with linked websites, we have no control over the information that is collected, stored, or used by social network plugins.

Changes to This Policy

We review our privacy practices from time to time and reserve the right to make changes to this Privacy Policy at any time. If we do make changes, we will give notice via the Website features or by emailing you. We recommend that you check the contents of the Privacy Policy whenever you have any new questions about privacy and our use of data, referring to the date of the last amendment listed at the bottom of the Privacy Policy.

Questions or Concerns About This Policy

If you have any questions or comments about this Privacy Policy, please use the contact us feature on our Website, or email us at info@omniacademy.org.za . To make a request to delete or access the data Omni Academy has about you, visit our contact us page.

Date of Last Amendment: 12th August 2019