PLU Division of University Relations

Confidentiality Acknowledgement – Donor and Constituent Information

By signing below, I acknowledge my compliance with the terms and conditions listed in this document, and will follow Pacific Lutheran University’s policies when acquiring, managing and disseminating any information pertaining to the constituents of this university (constituents include, but are not limited to: faculty, staff, alumni, parents, students, businesses, foundations, churches, partners, etc.).

My right to access and use information in University Relations is subject to the terms and conditions of this acknowledgment.

  • Information provided will be limited to what is needed to carry out an authorized university-related task, treated as confidential, and shared only with others who have the same need to know. Advancement/Alumni information, both electronic and hard copy, is confidential and must not be released without approval of the Vice President for University Relations or a designee.
  • No solicitation of gifts using Advancement/Alumni information may be attempted without the express coordination of the Vice President for University Relations or a designee.
  • Database information has been compiled on a confidential basis by Pacific Lutheran University for its exclusive use. It is not available for private or individual purposes of any kind, including commercial solicitations or the expression of personal, political, social or economic views. This policy applies to all university personnel and students. This confidentiality acknowledgement applies to all written/printed, electronic and verbal information related to Pacific Lutheran University.
  • Database information that is provided must not be saved and/or maintained by individuals or departments as a separate database outside of Banner. All updates and/or corrections of information must be forwarded to Donor Relations for processing.
  • The lifecycle of data derived from University Relations is two weeks. Once the data is older than two weeks it needs to be removed from any place the information is stored as it compromises data integrity and security.
  • Alumni and Student Connections reserves the right to disclose basic alumni information to other alumni for the sole purpose of social interaction between individuals. Alumni information may include workplace, work phone number, spouse’s name, and children’s names in addition to those data elements defined as directory information by the current PLU student FERPA policy. Every effort will be made to ensure the privacy of those alumni who have requested non-disclosure.

Pacific Lutheran University respects the privacy of its Alumni and other constituents, and limits access to the Advancement/Alumni database information to authorized university individuals who are acting on behalf of the university. For more information about PLU’s commitment to data security, please read the Administrative Systems Policy online at www.plu.edu/helpdesk/policies/all-computer-network-use.

Alumni and Donor Data Policy

Alumni and donor data is used only for university purposes, such as promoting alumni events and programming; fundraising; and institutional research, such as accreditation, academic department assessment and other statistical measures that help program development. Pacific Lutheran University will not sell alumni and donor data. In addition, alumni contact information, demographic data and donor information is kept on our secure enterprise system and is not available to the public.

Why do we keep alumni and donor data?

To share news and events with alumni and donors. If we do not have email addresses, we cannot send e-newsletters and information about PLU’s athletic teams, academic departments, upcoming events, class notes and other good news from alumni and friends.

To measure the success of our programs. By knowing where our alumni work and what their job titles are, we are able to see how we are preparing graduates for the workforce. Staying in contact with our alumni and their employers is one of the ways we make sure our programs are best serving our students.

To share with accreditation committees. Pacific Lutheran University is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU). We look to alumni information to prove to these accreditors that our programs are indeed helping students to build their lives around what matters. We don’t share individual alumni information, but we do report how many of our alumni pursue graduate degrees and the types of career paths that our alumni take.

To ask for support. Throughout the year, we will share with alumni and donors opportunities to support the areas of the university that matter most to them. Gifts from annual donors enable PLU to provide increased scholarship support, essential resources and funding for special projects. In addition, gifts from alumni are used as a key indicator of alumni satisfaction by outside evaluators like US News and World Report.

What data do we collect?

In addition to primary contact information consisting of home address, home phone, email, so that we can communicate regularly with alumni and donors, we work to collect the following information:

  • Personal information that carries over from student records: degree(s), major(s), gender, birth date, ethnicity, campus organization involvement and athletic affiliation
  • Work information: company name, job title, business address and industry
  • Family information: spouse name, spouse work information, children’s names, children’s educational information and birth dates
  • Donor information: information regarding any donation they’ve made to PLU or for which they receive credit
  • Alumni information: including communication preferences, volunteer activities and event attendance

How do we keep the data secure?

All alumni and donor contact information, demographic data, and donor information is kept on our secure enterprise system. Staff with access to the data have passed a background check.