Policies
Privacy Policy
What personal information we collect, why we collect it, who sees it and the choices you have.
Who we are
In short: The Association runs this site and is responsible for your information.
The Divine Word University Alumni Association Inc. (“DWUAA”, “we”, “us”) runs dwu-alumni.org to connect graduates of Divine Word University and its predecessor institutions. DWUAA is a not-for-profit association based in Papua New Guinea.
This policy explains what personal information we collect, why, who we share it with and the choices you have. By using the site you agree to this policy. For any privacy question or request, email info@dwu-alumni.org.
Information we collect
In short: What you give us when you join, pay, post or contact us, plus basic technical data.
Information you give us
| When | What we collect |
|---|---|
| Creating a member profile | Name, surname, previous name, email, mobile number, DWU institution attended, course studied, year of completion, province of origin and current province, biography and work telephone. Optional: marital status, spouse name, number of children, employer, position title, website, LinkedIn profile, profile photo and cover image, and your notification preferences. |
| Buying a membership, shop item or event ticket | Billing name, address, phone, email, your chapter, delivery details for merchandise and any order notes. Card details are entered directly with our payment processor, Stripe. |
| Making a donation | Name, email, amount, the campaign you support and whether you chose to give anonymously. |
| Using the community | Posts, comments, forum topics, messages, photos and videos, group memberships, connections, likes, poll votes and event bookings. |
| Storing files in My Files | The documents you upload, their names and sizes. |
| Listing a business | Business name, category, IPA registration number, contact details, description and logo. |
| Contacting us | Your name, email, subject and message. |
Information collected automatically
- Your IP address, browser, device and the pages you visit, kept in server logs for security and troubleshooting.
- Cookies and similar technologies (see Cookies).
- Your last-active time and online status, which other logged-in members can see.
How we use your information
In short: To run your account, process payments, connect members and keep the site safe.
- To create and run your member account and profile.
- To process memberships, renewals, shop orders, event tickets and donations, and send receipts.
- To confirm you are a DWU graduate and apply the benefits of your membership level, including voting rights.
- To let members find and contact each other through the directory, groups, forums and messages.
- To send Association news, event invitations and notices by email or WhatsApp if you have opted in. You can opt out at any time.
- To reply to your enquiries.
- To keep the site secure, prevent fraud and fix problems.
- To meet our legal and financial record-keeping duties.
We do not sell your personal information and we do not use it for third-party advertising.
What other people can see
In short: Members see your name, photo and the profile details you choose to share.
Your profile name, photo and any profile fields you complete may be visible to other logged-in members. Some content — public group posts, forum topics, Business Directory listings and campaign supporter lists — may be visible to anyone visiting the site.
You can change what you share from your profile settings, and you can choose to donate anonymously. Files in My Files are private to you and site administrators.
Cookies
In short: Only essential, payment and performance cookies — no advertising trackers.
Cookies are small files stored by your browser. We use:
- Essential cookies to keep you logged in, remember your cart and protect forms against spam.
- Payment cookies set by Stripe to prevent fraud during checkout.
- Performance cookies set by our caching system so pages load faster.
You can block or delete cookies in your browser, but logging in, checkout and donations may not work without them.
How long we keep information
In short: As long as your account is active, and payment records for seven years.
- Member profiles: while your account is active, and deleted or anonymised within 90 days of a deletion request.
- Orders, payments and donation records: 7 years, for financial and audit purposes.
- Website backups: the newest eight weekly backups; older ones are removed automatically.
- Contact form messages: up to 2 years.
- Posts, comments and My Files documents: until you or an administrator remove them.
Your choices and rights
In short: View, correct, download or delete your information by asking us.
You can:
- View and update your profile and account details at any time after logging in.
- Change your notification and email preferences.
- Ask for a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
- Ask us to correct information that is wrong.
- Ask us to delete your account and personal information, except records we must keep by law.
- Withdraw consent to WhatsApp or email updates.
Email info@dwu-alumni.org to make a request. We will reply within 30 days.
Security
In short: Encrypted connections, Stripe payments and limited access to member data.
The site uses an encrypted (HTTPS) connection, card payments are handled by Stripe and access to member data is limited to authorised Association officers. No online service is completely secure, so please use a strong password and keep it private.
Children
In short: The site is for adult graduates only.
The site is for DWU graduates and is not intended for anyone under 18. We do not knowingly collect information from children.
Changes to this policy
In short: Updates are posted here with a new date.
We may update this policy from time to time. Changes will be posted on this page with a new “Last updated” date, and significant changes will be announced to members.