Degree Program Privacy Policy

Information We Collect

We collect information you provide directly to us, together with information reasonably needed to deliver and administer the service. This may include:

• your name, contact details, mailing address, date of birth and identification information;
• copies of government-issued identification where required for identity or degree documentation;
• your qualifications, employment, self-employment, volunteer service, responsibilities, achievements and other relevant experience;
• information in your intake form, dossier, supporting evidence and correspondence with CIE;
• payment status, transaction references and refund information received from payment providers; and
• application, assessment, award, verification and graduate-support records.

We do not intentionally collect information that is not reasonably needed for the service. Please avoid sending highly sensitive personal information unless it is relevant to your application or CIE specifically requests it.

How We Use Your Information

CIE may use personal information to:

• review preliminary suitability and recommend an appropriate degree pathway;
• register and administer your application and verify your identity;
• prepare, review and manage your professional dossier and communicate with you about it;
• submit relevant information to FAFMI for official assessment and award administration;
• process payments, refunds, document preparation, notarization, delivery and verification requests;
• maintain appropriate academic, financial and administrative records;
• protect CIE, applicants and systems against fraud, misuse or security risks; and
• comply with legal, accounting, regulatory or other legitimate obligations.

For applicants protected by UK or EU data-protection law, CIE normally relies on steps requested before entering a contract, performance of its agreement with you, legal obligations, and legitimate interests such as secure administration and fraud prevention. Where consent is legally required for a particular use, CIE will rely on consent.

CIE may use authorized staff, contractors, professional advisers and appropriate internal or third-party systems to support administration, communications, document handling and service delivery. Applicants are given an opportunity to review and approve their dossier before submission, and no automated system makes the final academic award decision.

Who We Share Information With

We share personal information only where reasonably necessary for the service, including with:

• FAFMI, for official assessment, degree issuance and related academic administration;
• payment and financing providers, including Klarna where you choose that option;
• notaries, document-authentication providers and postal or courier services where applicable;
• service providers supporting hosting, communications, document handling, IT, security or administration;
• professional advisers; and
• government, regulatory or legal authorities where disclosure is required by law.

CIE aims to disclose only the information reasonably necessary for the relevant purpose and expects service providers handling information on CIE's behalf to protect it appropriately.

International Processing

CIE is based in the United States, FAFMI is based in France, and some service providers may operate in other countries. Your information may therefore be stored, accessed or processed outside your country of residence. Where applicable law requires safeguards for international transfers, CIE will use an appropriate lawful mechanism or other required protection.

Security and Retention

CIE uses reasonable administrative, technical and organizational measures to protect personal information against unauthorized access, loss, misuse or disclosure. No electronic system can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

We retain information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected and for legitimate academic, verification, financial, administrative, dispute-resolution or legal requirements. Identification documents and working application files are not retained longer than reasonably necessary, while certain award, verification, payment or legal records may need to be retained for longer periods.

Your Privacy Rights

Depending on where you live, applicable privacy law may give you rights to access or correct personal information, request deletion, restrict or object to certain processing, receive certain information in a portable format, withdraw consent where processing is based on consent, or opt out of direct marketing.

These rights are not absolute. CIE may need to retain certain academic, financial, verification or legal records even where deletion is requested. We may ask for reasonable proof of identity before acting on a request and will respond in accordance with the law applicable to that request.

If your jurisdiction provides a data-protection or privacy supervisory authority, you may also have the right to make a complaint to that authority.

Website Cookies and Tracking

CIE uses only the technical information and cookies or similar technologies reasonably necessary to operate, secure and provide requested website functions in connection with this program. CIE does not use applicant information for targeted advertising and does not use non-essential advertising or analytics tracker cookies for this program.

Changes to This Policy

CIE may update this policy if its services, systems, partner arrangements or legal requirements change. The current version will be made available through the CIE website and will show its effective date.

Contact Us

Questions about this policy, or requests concerning your personal information, may be sent to:
Email: info@cie.world

Scope note: This policy applies to personal information processed in connection with CIE's experience-based degree service. General use of cie.world may also be subject to CIE's general website privacy practices.