This Privacy Policy outlines how we manage and safeguard the privacy of our readers on HBCUSONLINEDEGREES.COM, a part of the FocusQuest business network. For any inquiries regarding your account, please reach out to info@focusquest.com. 
 

 Acceptance of Terms  

By accessing the website and providing your personal information, you acknowledge and consent to the privacy policy and terms and conditions of use set forth by FocusQuest. If you disagree with these terms or policies, kindly refrain from using the website or submitting personal information.  

General 

FocusQuest, Inc (“FQ”) values the privacy of all individuals who visit HBCUSONLINEDEGREES.COM (“Website”) or engage with our registration forms, contests, or interactive advertisements. This Privacy Policy outlines the information we gather and how we employ it. It also delineates actions you can take if you prefer not to share your personal information when visiting our website or interacting with our advertisements. 

By utilizing the website, you agree to abide by the terms outlined in this Privacy Policy. Should you disagree with any of the terms or practices described herein, please refrain from using our website. 

We conscientiously collect only relevant information essential for our interactions with you. Once the necessity for the information we collect ceases to exist, we will take reasonable measures to delete or de-identify it. Until you request otherwise as detailed in the “Opt-out” section below, or until we ascertain that the information is no longer necessary, we may retain the information we collect indefinitely. 

Personally Identifiable Information 

Personally identifiable information includes data that either identifies you or can be used to contact you, such as your name, physical or email addresses, or telephone numbers. We may collect this information during your registration with FocusQuest or through emails, online forms, orders, and surveys. If you choose not to submit your personal information, we will not collect it. While providing personal information is optional, failure to do so may restrict your access to certain features of our website. 

In the event that you do submit personal information, we may: 

• Store and process it to enhance our understanding of your needs and improve our products and services. 
• Utilize it to communicate with you for account-related, informational, marketing, and promotional purposes. 
• Disclose it to third parties listed on FocusQuest’s college search tool, who may contact you for information, marketing, and promotional purposes based on your preferences. 
• Share it with third parties, including legal authorities, if we believe disclosure is legally mandated or necessary to identify, contact, or take legal action against individuals causing harm or interfering with the rights or property of FocusQuest or its users. 
• Disclose it as necessary to enforce our terms and conditions. 
• Share it with independent contractors engaged to assist with or perform any of the above activities. 

  
Furthermore, if you submit personal information, we may: 

• Distribute your information to third parties not listed on the registration page who can provide information on student loans, special offers, United States armed services, college admissions, volunteering opportunities, and camps. 
• Provide it to select appropriate advertisers. 

By utilizing our service to request information from our advertising clients and partners, you grant permission to focusquest.com and these parties (or their partners and vendors) to contact you via any means deemed appropriate – including email, telephone, mail, or text messaging – to fulfill your information request, irrespective of your listing in the National Do-Not-Call Registry. 

How We Use the Information We Collect 

We may use the information we collect, including personal information, for the following purposes: 

• Providing products and services requested by you. 
• Offering customer support, including responding to your requests and questions and resolving problems or complaints. 
• Verifying the information provided by you. 
• Communicating with you. 
• Confirming your identity and eligibility to use the Services. 

• Establishing and managing your account, if applicable. 
• Conducting research and analysis to develop and improve the Services and other products and services we may offer. 
• Understanding and anticipating your use of or interest in our products, services, and content, as well as the products, services, and content offered by others. 
• Developing and displaying products, services, and content tailored to your interests on the Services and other online properties. 
• Measuring the overall effectiveness of our online advertising, content, and programming, and other activities. 
• Offering you personalized information and products, services, promotions, contests, or scholarships from us, our affiliates, or our third-party business partners. 
• Managing our business and operations. 
• Assisting us in optimizing our sites and the services we offer. 
• Providing you with a customized browsing experience. 
• Protecting the security and integrity of the Services. 
• Carrying out our obligations and enforcing our rights under this Privacy Policy, the Terms of Use, and any other applicable agreements and policies. 
• Using or posting user contributions as permitted in our Terms of Use. 
• Fulfilling any other purposes for which you provide your information and for any other purpose as described to you at the time your information is collected or for which your consent is given. 

Aggregating Third Party Information with Personal Information 

We may merge publicly available information from third-party sources with the personal information you choose to provide us. For instance, if you provide us with your name or address, we may append your telephone number and email address obtained from other sources to your personal information. However, any information that personally identifies you, including information we add to the personal information you provide, will be treated as your personal information and will be subject to the terms of this Privacy Policy. 

Members and Users Located Outside of the United States of America 

 If you are situated outside the United States, we have taken measures to safeguard the personal information of all website users and, where applicable, endeavor to comply with local data protection and consumer rights laws. Should you be uncertain whether this privacy policy contradicts the local regulations where you are situated, we advise against submitting your personal information to the website. Additionally, users in the European Union should note that their information will be transferred to the United States, whose data protection laws have been deemed inadequate by the European Union. Users and members of the website located in countries outside the United States who submit personal information hereby consent to the general use of such information as provided in this privacy policy and to the transfer of that information to and/or storage of the information in the United States. We will take reasonable steps to protect the privacy of your personal information in accordance with this privacy policy and the requirements of applicable law. 

Updating Your Personal Information 

 We take reasonable steps to ensure that all Personal Information we collect, use, or disclose is accurate, complete, up to date, stored in a secure environment, and accessed only by authorized personnel for permitted purposes. 

Accessing and Correcting Your Information 

 The method(s) for accessing your information will depend on which of our websites and services you have visited or used. Depending on the website and service, you may be able to view or edit some of your information online by logging into the Services and visiting your account profile page. Alternatively, you may contact us at info@focusquest.com to request access to, correct, or delete any personal information you have provided. However, we may request verification of your identity and other details to assist us in responding to your request. We will endeavor to respond to your request within a reasonable timeframe. 

 We cannot delete your personal information without also deleting your user account, if applicable. Once your user account is deleted, it cannot be reinstated. We may decline a request to change or delete information if such action would 

 We may decline a request to change or delete information if such action would violate any law, impede our ability to enforce agreements, contradict our Terms of Use or any other applicable agreement, or result in inaccurate information. After deleting your user account, your personal information may remain in our archived database and records. 

To request the removal of your personal information from our blog or forum, please contact us at info@focusquest.com. In some instances, we may be unable to remove your personal information, in which case we will notify you of the reason for our inability to do so. If you delete or request the deletion of your user contributions from the Services, copies of your user contributions may remain viewable in cached and archived pages, or may have been copied, stored, or reposted to another website by other users of the Services. 

Any updates or requests to update your personal information will be applied in our own records but will not be reflected in the records of educational institutions or other third parties to which we have already shared your information. If you wish to update the information shared with educational institutions and other third parties, you will need to contact them separately. 

Children (under 13) 

We do not knowingly collect, use, or retain any personal information from visitors to our website who are under thirteen (13) years of age for any purpose whatsoever, including internal or external marketing purposes. HBCUSONLINEDEGREES.COM is not directed at individuals under 13 years of age, and FocusQuest does not intend to collect any personally identifiable information from such individuals. 

Non-Personally Identifiable Information Collected Automatically 

FocusQuest may gather data about you that does not personally identify you, such as your age, gender, interests, preferences, type of internet browser, and computer operating system. This information may be shared with third parties, including advertisers, business partners, and sponsors, to customize the content and advertising on the website for better user experience. 

Tracking Tools 

To enhance your experience on the Website, we utilize tracking tools like “Cookies” to store information on your computer. For instance, after registration, a Cookie may recognize you and prevent the need for re-registration. Cookies are also used to tailor the Website to your interests and preferences. Most internet browsers allow you to manage Cookies. We recommend allowing FocusQuest to leave Cookies on your computer for the best experience on the Website. 

Google, a third-party vendor, uses Cookies to serve ads on the Website. Google’s use of the DoubleClick Cookie enables it to serve ads based on your visits to the Website and other websites on the internet. You can opt out of Google’s Advertising Policy by visiting the Google ad and content network privacy policy. 

Links to Other Websites 

The Website may contain links to other websites. We are not responsible for the information practices of these sites and do not endorse them in any way. 

Security 

We prioritize the security of your personal information. However, we cannot guarantee the security of any information you disclose online, and you do so at your own risk. While we make efforts to protect your Personal Information, we cannot fully ensure its security once transmitted to us. Once we receive your Personal Information, we will take reasonable measures to secure it on our systems. 

Business Transfers 

In the course of expanding our business, we may sell some of our assets, including information about our members and users. Additionally, if FocusQuest or a significant portion of its assets is acquired, customer information will be part of the transferred assets. 

Opt-out 

If you no longer wish to receive materials, offers, or correspondence from FocusQuest after registering or providing your Personal Information, you can unsubscribe by sending an email to info@focusquest.com with the subject line “unsubscribe,” including your name and email address in the email. To stop receiving materials or correspondence from third parties, you must contact them directly or unsubscribe from their email correspondences, subject to their privacy policies and terms of use. 

Contact Us 

For any inquiries regarding this Privacy Policy or to update or delete your Personal Information from our records, please reach out to: 

FocusQuest, Inc 

8429 Lorraine Road 

Suite 336 

Lakewood Ranch, FL 34202 

Phone: 301-302-0544 

Email: info@focusquest.com 

Changes to the Policy 

We reserve the right to change our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use at any time. Any changes will be reflected on this page, with the date of the change noted at the beginning of the document. By using the Website after we change our Privacy Policy or Terms of Use, you accept the changes.