Privacy Policy

ACT, Inc. ("ACT") adheres to the policies and practices described in this Privacy Policy for the treatment, use and protection of the personal information provided to us by and on behalf of users of ACT's English WorkKeys assessments who are located in the European Union and by visitors to the website located at www.englishworkkeys.com or www.act.org/englishworkkeys/ (the "Website"). All data that you provide in using the assessments or the Website will be processed in automated and non-automated systems located in the United States for which ACT is responsible. The policies set forth in this document do not apply to any other products or services of ACT, nor to its general websites at www.act.org or www.workkeys.com, which are directed at users in the United States.

Testing Information

When you register to use the English WorkKeys assessments, ACT collects personally identifiable information necessary to enable us to register you for testing. ACT collects a registrant's full name, date of birth, email address, city, country, first language and other personally identifiable information relevant to testing. Most or all registrants are undergoing testing in connection with their employment or studies at an educational institution, and therefore, ACT additionally collects the employer or educational institution name and contact information for you at such location including phone number and fax. At the time of registration, you will be issued a password consisting of random characters to be used in all future testing with ACT. All of the information described above collected by ACT is called "Testing Information" in this Privacy Policy. We use Testing Information in order to register and test you, to evaluate your test data against appropriate standards for your workplace or level of study, and to compile and report your test results to your employer or educational institution and/or to you. Both automated and non-automated processing systems are used in evaluation of your tests.

During registration and at any other time during testing when ACT collects personal information, you will be informed whether the information is required or optional. Those information fields marked with an asterisk are mandatory and your registration or current testing sequence will not be accepted if you do not provide this information.

Website Information

Prospective customers and other visitors to the Website are invited to fill out information forms in order to request more information about ACT and the English WorkKeys assessments. These information forms require that you provide personal information such as name, title, company name, address and contact information, as well as any specific questions you wish to ask (if applicable). Information submitted to ACT via the Website is called "Website Information" in this Privacy Policy. ACT uses Website Information to respond to your requests.

Use and Disclosure of Personal Information

ACT does not sell, rent or trade Testing or Website Information, and these types of information are not disclosed to third parties except with your consent, or as set forth below:

Prior to testing, ACT may contact your employer or educational institution to verify your status as a testing candidate and your appropriate test levels. After testing, ACT will share your Testing Information including test results and further reports based on such test results with your employer or educational institution for use by that party.

ACT may employ third party contractors to perform functions on our behalf, which may include assisting us in processing your Testing and Website Information. ACT may share this information with such contractors in order to assist us in using the data for the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy. These contractors are contractually required to maintain the confidentiality of the information and are restricted from using the information for any purposes other than those authorized by ACT.

ACT may provide your personal information to government agencies or others as necessary to comply with the law. In addition, ACT may release your personal information as permitted by law in the unlikely event ACT deems release necessary to protect your health and safety, or to legally protect ACT, its customers or service providers.

In the event that ACT merges with another business entity or all or a portion of ACT, or substantially all the assets of ACT, is sold to another business entity, Testing and Website Information will likely be among the assets transferred to such business entity.

In addition to the uses outlined above, ACT may internally use your Testing and Website Information to provide user support as it renders testing services, to maintain and improve internal business systems and procedures, to resolve disputes and to establish and verify your identity. In addition to the uses outlined above, ACT may internally use your Testing Information for test development, research and analysis and other legitimate business purposes consistent with the uses described in this Privacy Policy. Testing Information will be stored on ACT's systems until ACT is no longer rendering services to you or until you request that your data be deleted.

Non-Personal and Aggregate Information

ACT may also anonymize Testing Information by removing any information which might allow a specific person to be identified or contacted, and combine this non-personal information with that of other users of ACT's products and services. This anonymized information may be used internally by ACT or shared with others in the form of published or non-published reports.

When you access testing materials via the Internet or visit the Website, certain non-personal information is automatically logged about your visit. This information may include your operating system, screen settings, Web browser software, and referring website, if any. It is used for system improvement and administration, security, statistical analysis purposes, and other internal business purposes.

Cookies

Cookies are small text files that a Website can send to a user's browser for storage on the hard drive. Cookies can make use of the Web easier by saving and administering status, preferences and other user information. Most browsers are initially set to accept cookies but users can change the setting to refuse cookies or to be alerted when cookies are being sent. For instructions on how to change cookie settings, look in the Help menu on your Internet browser. When you access testing materials via the Internet, we use session cookies in order to properly route users through the testing materials. Although disabling cookies will not interfere with your ability to access the Website, users will need to accept cookies in order to access and use Internet-based testing materials.

Accessing and Deleting Your Personal Information

You may at any time exercise your rights of access, correction, cancellation or objection by contacting ACT at the e-mail address or postal address noted below. ACT will modify your data in our files or otherwise comply with your request to the greatest extent possible given our system configurations within time periods allowed by applicable law. Please note that we are unable to modify scores or results in completed tests as a result of these inquiries. If you request that ACT delete your personal information, ACT may make the information unavailable for use rather than fully deleting it from our systems.

ACT, Inc.
English WorkKeys Program
101 ACT Drive
Iowa City, Iowa 52243-0168

E-mail address: englishworkkeys@ACT.org

Information Sent to United States

You should be aware that the information you submit will be received by our servers within the United States. Although ACT will collect and use your Testing and Website Information only as stated in this Privacy Policy, laws generally applicable to the protection of personal data in the United States may not be as stringent as those in the European Union.

Security

ACT has adopted reasonable and appropriate administrative, technical and physical measures to protect the security of Testing and Website Information as required by applicable law. We employ information security techniques to appropriately protect confidential information from unauthorized access by users inside and outside ACT. ACT restricts access to its data center and server rooms to authorized personnel. ACT limits access to Testing and Website Information to those employees that have a legitimate business need to access such information. ACT and its supporting systems, which are currently located in the United States, employ industry standard practices to safeguard Testing and Website Information, including passwords, firewalls and Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption technology.

In the event there is a breach of the security measures used by ACT, ACT will take reasonable and appropriate action to minimize damage resulting from the security breach. However, ACT cannot guarantee that unauthorized individuals will not obtain access to ACT systems through illegal measures, despite our security measures.

Copyright Protection

ACT's English WorkKeys assessments are the property of ACT and are protected under U.S. and foreign copyright law. You may not reproduce, have reproduced, distribute, display, prepare derivative works, sell, have sold, offer to sell, exploit, or take any other actions in violation of ACT's copyright with regard to ACT's English WorkKeys assessments or other intellectual property accessible through the Website or the testing process. By registering for testing with ACT, you agree to abide by the restrictions above.

Changes to the Privacy Policy

ACT may change this Privacy Policy at any time by posting revisions to our Website. Your use of ACT testing materials or the Website constitutes acceptance of the provisions of this Privacy Policy and your continued usage after such changes are posted constitutes acceptance of each revised Privacy Policy. Prior to making any decision that would result in ACT using your personal information in a manner materially different from that stated at the time it was collected, ACT will notify you and you will have a choice as to whether or not we use your information in this different manner.

Last revised November 12, 2004