Privacy Policy

Last updated November 2024

At Ox-Bow School of Art and Artists’ Residency, we take your online security very seriously, and we're committed to protecting your privacy and personal information. We've compiled this statement to explain how we collect, use, and secure your information.

I. Information We Collect & How We Use It

Ox-Bow requests and collects personal information from our students and supporters at various site locations and instances, including, but not limited to, when you request a catalog, sign-up for an e-newsletter subscription, request information about any of our offerings, sign-up and/or pay for a class, apply for opportunities, make a donation, sign up for or participate in an event, communicate with us via social media, donate to or bid on auctions, make a retail purchase, or otherwise contact Ox-Bow. These are currently the primary ways in which we gather information, however, we may also collect data through other channels in the future.

The types of personal information we may collect from you can vary according to the method through which it was attained. It may include, but is not limited to, the following:

A. Information You Provide to Us

We receive and store any information you knowingly provide to us, such as:

  • Full name/Preferred name

  • Email Address

  • Phone Number

  • Mailing Address

  • Billing information and payment details (such as billing address, credit card details, and other sensitive financial information, specifically for the purpose of completing your transaction)

  • A record of your Ox-Bow courses, purchases, and/or donation history

  • Information provided by you when using our asset submission form (such as social media handles, website URL, pronouns, images, and bios/artist statements)

  • Location and geographic information that could be collected if you use our mobile site 

  • Other details that you may submit to us, or that may be included in the information provided to us by third parties

B. Information Collected Automatically

We use third-party website analytics tools (including MailChimp, Wufoo, Squarespace, Social Media platforms, and Google Analytics) that automatically collect non-personally identifiable information from your browser to our server logs whenever you interact with our Site. Such information includes, but is not limited to, IP address, pages viewed, site navigation patterns, details about the devices used to access the Internet and our Site, and geo-location tracking information if you are accessing our Site from a mobile device. It is obtained by automated means, such as cookies and web beacons. "Cookies" are text files that are transferred to your computer's hard drive as you navigate our Site and other sites. We use cookies to help us compile aggregate data about site traffic and site interaction; and to help us understand your preferences based on previous or current site activity, which enables us to provide you with improved services, site experiences, and tools in the future. You may be able to adjust the preferences on your browser or device to change your device's acceptance of cookies, but doing so may limit our ability to provide content tailored to you.

We may collect and store non-personally identifiable usage information (including frequency and number of visitors to our Site). Such data is used only in aggregate form and in a manner that assures your anonymity. We may provide this anonymous, aggregate information to our partners; and our partners may additionally use such information in order to determine general usage patterns and trends in an effort to provide you with an improved online experience.

C. Email & Other Communications

We may contact you via email to send you necessary order-related/registration-related messages, such as order confirmation and shipment confirmation notices. We may also send you newsletters and additional email messages about our products, programs, and events that we feel may be of interest to you. If you no longer wish to receive these and other promotional communications from us, you may select the unsubscribe link. You may also customize your communication preferences by emailing communications@ox-bow.org.

D. How We Use Your Information

All of the personal information we collect from our customers is for the purpose of the reasoning described above, as well as:

  • processing, verifying, validating, and completing your transaction

  • creating, managing, and maintaining your relationship to Ox-Bow

  • providing requested live customer support and services

  • record keeping of your purchase, registration, and donation history

  • enabling communication via our Site, blog, and social networks

  • sending email as appropriate (See Section C: Email & Other Communications)

E. Students at Ox-Bow

Ox-Bow offers core academic courses and workshops. Ox-Bow is affiliated with the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC). When registering for a core academic course at Ox-Bow, students who are not an SAIC student will have a student id number for SAIC generated. Ox-Bow will share registration information, such as name, address, course, room and board choice with SAIC. Students enrolling in a for-credit course will be billed by SAIC directly, thus SAIC may request financial information directly from the student. Non-Credit students pay for their courses and related fees directly to Ox-Bow. Ox-Bow will share payment status and type, such as check or credit card payment with SAIC but will not share actual account processing information with SAIC, unless requested by the student.

Our workshops are not accredited through SAIC and therefore workshop students (Art on the Meadow or Ox-Bow House) make payment directly to Ox-Bow and information is not shared or processed through SAIC. 

F. For-Credit Students at Ox-Bow and consequently SAIC, are protected by the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

This Act, with which Ox-Bow and SAIC comply, was designated to protect the privacy of educational records, to establish the right of students to inspect and review their educational records, and to provide guidelines for the correction of inaccurate or misleading data through informal and formal hearings.

Students also have the right to file complaints with the FERPA office concerning alleged failures by the institution to comply with the act. School policy explains in detail the procedures to be used by SAIC for compliance with the FERPA provisions. Copies of this policy may be found in the Office of the Registrar. The Office of Registration and Records also maintains a directory of records listing all educational records maintained on students at SAIC.

Questions concerning FERPA may be referred to the academic records officer, located in the Registration and Records office at SAIC.

FERPA Student Information Release Authorization Form can be found here.

FERPA affords students certain rights with respect to their education records. These rights include the following:

  •  The right to inspect and review the student’s education records within 45 days of the day SAIC receives a written request for access. Students should submit to Registration and Records a written request identifying the record(s) they wish to inspect. The Director of Registration and Records makes arrangements for access and notifies the student of the time and place where the records may be inspected. If the records are not maintained by the Registration and Records office, the Director shall advise the student of the correct official to whom the request should be addressed.

  •  The right to request the amendment of the student’s education records that the student believes are inaccurate or misleading. Students may ask SAIC to amend a record that they believe is inaccurate or misleading. They should write to the Director of Registration and Records, clearly identifying the part of the record they want changed and specifying why it is inaccurate or misleading. If SAIC decides not to amend the record as requested by the student, SAIC notifies the student of the decision and advises the student of his or her right to a hearing regarding the request for amendment. Additional information regarding the hearing procedures is provided to the student when notified of the right to a hearing.

  •  The right to consent to disclosures of personally identifiable information contained in the student’s education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent. One exception which permits disclosure without consent is disclosure to school officials with legitimate educational interests. A school official is a person employed by the college in an administrative, supervisory, academic or research, or support staff position (including law enforcement unit personnel and health staff); a person or company with whom SAIC has contracted as its agent to provide service instead of using SAIC employees or officials (such as an attorney, auditor, collection agent, or insurance company); a person serving on the Board of Trustees; or a student serving on an official committee, such as a disciplinary or grievance committee, or assisting another school official in performing his or her tasks. A school official has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an education record in order to fulfill his or her professional responsibilities with SAIC operations and functions.

Directory Information

FERPA prohibits access by non-school personnel to information about individual students without the student’s written authorization, except that which is considered public information. SAIC hereby designates the following as public or “directory information.” Such information may be disclosed by SAIC for any purpose, at its discretion (Ox-Bow will not share the following information with administrative personnel. For example, if you would like to contact a former fellow student we are happy to email them on your behalf but will not give you’re their contact information directly):

  •  Student name(s)

  •  Student address(es), electronic address (e-mail) and telephone number

  •  Dates of admission/attendance

  •  Degrees and awards received

  •  Previous institutions attended

  •  Date and place of birth

  •  Expected graduation date

  •  Current term hours enrolled and enrollment status (full-time, part-time, not enrolled, withdrawn and date of withdrawal)

Prevent Release of Directory Information

To Prevent Release of Directory Information, you must submit a written request to the Office of Registration and Records at SAIC no later than the 10th day of the semester (fifth day of summer session). Such requests for nondisclosure are honored so long as you are continuously enrolled or unless you sooner revoke the request in writing.

G. For-Credit Transcripts must be requested through the SAIC registrar

For more information on requesting your SAIC transcript please visit: https://www.saic.edu/registration-records

H. Under 13?

The Ox-Bow website (ox-bow.org) is intended for users who are 13 years of age and older. If you are under the age of 13, you are not permitted to submit any personal information to ox-bow.org. We will promptly delete any personal information from a person under the age of 13 should we discover that we have collected such information from a person under the age of 13 without verification of parental consent. If you believe we may have collected information from a person under the age of 13, please promptly contact oxbow@ox-bow.org so we can correct.

II. Information Sharing

Ox-Bow does not share the personal information of its users with any unaffiliated third parties for their promotional purposes. We share your personal information with unaffiliated third parties only as described below:

A. Payment, Shipping, Referral, & Other Programs

We use a third party payment processor to ensure the payment of your purchased products. We may use other third parties for other services from time to time. These third parties have no authority to use your personal information for their own promotional purposes.

B. Legal Disclosure

We reserve the right to disclose personal information to our service providers, the government, law enforcement agencies, or other third parties under certain circumstances where a formal request has been made (such as in responding to a court order, subpoena, or judicial proceeding), as Ox-Bow, in our sole and absolute discretion, deems necessary and appropriate. Moreover, in the event of a sale, merger, or transfer of some or all of Ox-Bow’s assets, or dissolution or bankruptcy, your personal information may be transferred to an unaffiliated third party as part of or apart from other transferred assets or assets. Any transfer will then be governed by and be the responsibility of any purchaser of or successor to the transferred assets or assets. We shall notify you by a notice on the home page of any change in the information practices governing your personal information as a result of any transfer of assets or any asset change in ownership, and your choices in how your information is used.

C. Links to Third Party Websites

This Site contains links to other websites and ox-bow.org takes no responsibility for the privacy practices or the content of these other websites. We encourage you to read the privacy policies of each website you visit prior to disclosing your personal information.

D. User-Generated Content & Information Disclosure

Any personal information or image content you voluntarily disclose online in a manner that other users can view (including, but not limited to: social media platforms and on the Ox-Bow News page) becomes publicly available, and can be read, collected, and used by other members of this forum to send you unsolicited messages. Ox-Bow is not responsible for the personal information users select to disclose in these forums.

III. How We Protect Your Information

The Ox-Bow website (ox-bow.org) utilizes some of the most advanced technology available today for Internet security purposes. When you access our checkout using industry standard Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology, your information is protected with both server authentication and data encryption, ensuring that your data is safe, secure, and available only to Ox-Bow.

Ox-Bow and our website (ox-bow.org) uses Square for all of our secure online credit card transactions for non-credit course payments, ticket sales and online donations. Ox-Bow may sometimes request secure invoices through Square. We use the secure programs Google Forms, Bamboo, Jotform, Wufoo, Salsa/Bloomerang, and Submittable and to process forms, applications, and surveys.

In addition, ox-bow.org is hosted on a secure server to prevent interference or outside access to keep us all safe!

IV. Accessing Your Personal Information & Preferences

You can access, update, or change your personal information and communication preferences by contacting oxbow@ox-bow.org, communications@ox-bow.org, or by unsubscribing to the e-newsletter. Additionally, some information may require you to contact the SAIC Registrar’s Office at saic.registrar@saic.edu. (But don’t worry Ox-Bow will let you know if it is necessary to also contact SAIC). You can choose not to provide us with any or all of the information we specify or request, but then we may not be able to process your request.

V. Your California Privacy Rights

Under California's "Shine the Light" law, California residents who provide personal information in obtaining products or services for personal, family, or household use are entitled to request and obtain from us once a calendar year information about the customer information we shared, if any, with other businesses for their own direct marketing uses. If applicable, this information would include the categories of customer information and the names and addresses of those businesses with which we shared customer information for the immediately prior calendar year (e.g. requests made in 2012 will receive information regarding 2011 sharing activities).

To obtain this information from Ox-Bow please send an email message to oxbow@ox-bow.org with "Request for California Privacy Information" on the subject line and in the body of your message. We will provide the requested information to you at your email address in response. Not all information sharing is covered by the "Shine the Light" requirements, and only information on covered sharing will be included in our response.

VI. Privacy Policy Updates

Ox-Bow may, at any time and without notice, modify and update this Privacy Policy by revising it on the Site. Your continued use of the Site constitutes your acceptance of any such revisions. You should therefore periodically visit this page to review the current Privacy Policy.

VII. Contact Us

We welcome your questions, comments, and concerns about this Privacy Policy and Site. You can reach us at:

Main Campus: 3435 Rupprecht Way, Saugatuck, MI 49453
Ox-Bow House: 137 Center Street, Douglas, MI 49406

oxbow@ox-bow.org
communications@ox-bow.org

(800) 318-3019