Privacy Policy

1. Information We Collect

We collect information you provide directly when you apply, enroll, schedule a clinic appointment, donate, or otherwise communicate with us. This includes:

• Identifying information: full name, date of birth, and government identification when required for enrollment, transcripts, or clinical records.
• Contact information: mailing address, telephone number(s) including mobile, and email address.
• Health information: medical history, current symptoms, treatment notes, and emergency contact, collected through the WUC TCM Medical Center intake process and protected under HIPAA where applicable.
• Educational records: academic transcripts, grades, attendance, and program progress, protected under FERPA.
• Payment information: processed by third-party providers (Cognito Forms, PayPal); we do not store full payment card numbers on our servers.
• Website usage: standard server logs (IP address, browser type, pages visited) used for security and analytics.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect for the following purposes:

• Course and program communications: class registration confirmations, schedule changes, exam dates, graduation notices, and academic advising.
• Clinic appointment reminders: confirmation of bookings, reminders before scheduled visits, and follow-up care notices for patients of the WUC TCM Medical Center.
• Administrative contact: tuition statements, financial aid, transcript requests, accreditation correspondence, and other official communications.
• Legal and regulatory compliance: reporting required by the California Acupuncture Board, ACCSC, IRS, USCIS (for E-Verify), and other government agencies as applicable.
• Site security and improvement: protecting wuc.edu from abuse and improving the quality of our online resources.

4. Information Sharing and Disclosure

We do not sell your personal information. We share information only in the following limited circumstances:

• Service providers that help us operate our services (for example, Cognito Forms for applications, SuperSaaS for clinic scheduling, Twilio for SMS, Moodle for course delivery, and PayPal for donations), each bound by contractual confidentiality obligations.
• Regulatory and accrediting bodies (California Acupuncture Board, ACCSC, IRS, USCIS) when reporting is required by law or accreditation standards.
• Legal compliance when responding to valid legal process (subpoena, court order) or to protect the rights, safety, or property of WUC, our students, patients, or the public.
• With your explicit consent for any other purpose disclosed at the time of collection.

5. Data Protection and Security

We maintain administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect your personal information from unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction:

• Encryption in transit: all data submitted through wuc.edu is transmitted over HTTPS using TLS 1.2 or higher.
• Access controls: staff access to personal records is limited to those with a legitimate business or clinical need, authenticated by individual credentials.
• HIPAA compliance: patient health information collected by the WUC TCM Medical Center is handled in accordance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and applicable California law.
• FERPA compliance: student education records are handled in accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
• Retention: records are retained only as long as required for educational, clinical, regulatory, and audit purposes, then securely destroyed.

No system is fully impervious to intrusion. While we work to protect your information, we cannot guarantee absolute security.

6. Your Rights (California Residents)

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), California residents have the right to:

• Request access to the personal information we hold about you.
• Request correction of inaccurate personal information.
• Request deletion of personal information, subject to retention obligations under education, health, and tax law.
• Opt out of the sale of personal information — WUC does not sell personal information.
• Non-discrimination for exercising any of these rights.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the information below. We will respond within the timeframe required by applicable law.

7. Children’s Privacy

Our programs are designed for adult learners and adult patients. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 years of age. If you believe a child under 13 has provided us with personal information, please contact us so that we can take appropriate action.

8. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, or applicable law. The “Last Updated” date at the top of this page indicates when the Policy was most recently revised. Material changes will be communicated through the wuc.edu website. Continued use of our services after a revision constitutes acceptance of the updated Policy.