This website is intended for general use and is viewable on the internet throughout the world. If you are visiting this website from the European Union (EU), personal information you provide to the University may not be subject to the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).  The GDPR replaces the Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC and was designed to strengthen data privacy protections for EU residents. Should you have additional questions or need information regarding GDPR’s impact and its application to personal information provided to the University visit the GDPR Website.

 

The UMass Amherst Alumni Association web site and related online services are provided by the UMass Amherst Alumni Association to encourage communication among alumni for personal and professional networking and university-related activities.  By utilizing the web site at www.umassalumni.com or accessing related online services (the “Service”, the “Site” or “Sites”), you signify that you have read these Site Policies (“Policies”) and agree to use the Sites in a manner consistent with all applicable laws and regulations and in accordance with the policies and guidelines outlined below.  The University of Massachusetts Amherst Alumni Association (the “Alumni Association”) reserves the right to modify these Policies at any time and will publish notice of any such modifications online at this Site.  The Alumni Association encourages you to review the most current version of the Policies periodically.  Your continued use of the Sites will constitute your agreement to these Policies, including but not limited to any modifications.  Please note that you will be referred to as “User” from time to time throughout these Policies.

PRIVACY POLICY
In an effort to properly balance the benefit of providing information to our alumni with the desire to protect individual privacy, the Alumni Association has taken reasonable precautions to secure the personally identifiable information available through online services on the Site.  The Alumni Online Community is password-protected to allow access by registered UMass Amherst alumni only. Furthermore, the Alumni Directory, membership applications, event registrations and online financial transactions are located on a secure web site that incorporates the latest encryption technology.

The Alumni Association may collect and use personally identifiable information of individuals for purposes of supporting Alumni Association programs, services or operations, and may at times provide this information to third party entities conducting commercial or philanthropic activities approved and sponsored by the Alumni Association.  The Alumni Association reserves the right to use this information to contact a user of this site (“User”) regarding account status, changes to the Policies, or other matters relevant to the Sites or the information collected.

When a User subscribes to an email list or provides an email address for other purposes, the subscriber’s email address is recorded and used for future Alumni Association email distributions.  The address may also be used for general University of Massachusetts Amherst email announcements. A subscriber's email address will never be disclosed to a third party entity external to the UMass Amherst community.

Personally identifiable information that is voluntarily disclosed by the User through the interactive portions of the Service, along with any substantive information disclosed in the User’s communication, can be collected and correlated by third parties and may result in unsolicited messages from other users or third parties.  Such activities are beyond the control of the Alumni Association and the Alumni Association assumes no liability for these activities.  The User should exercise caution when deciding to disclose personally identifiable information.

Certain aggregate information may be collected by the Alumni Association to gather broad demographic statistics, analyze site usage trends, evaluate site performance and recommend improvements to the Site.  Individual user information is not identified in this process.

The Alumni Association may disclose to third party entities certain aggregate information or related data.  This information will NOT include personally identifying information except as specifically authorized by you or in the good faith belief that the disclosure is reasonably necessary to comply with the law or legal process, to enforce these Site Policies and/or the Terms & Conditions of Use for related online services, or to protect the personal and informational safety of users or the public in exigent circumstances.   This information may also be released as necessary to protect the rights or property of the Alumni Association or as the Alumni Association determines is reasonably necessary to maintain or efficiently operate online services.

Non-personal information and data may be automatically collected with “cookies” through the standard use of the Sites.  Cookies are small text files employed by various web sites to recognize repeat users, facilitate ongoing site access and usage, track usage behavior and compile aggregate data to allow content improvements and targeted advertising.  The Site limits the use of cookies to storing an active login session that will enhance the User’s experience during their site visit.  If a User does not want information collected through the use of cookies, most browsers will allow the User to deny or accept the cookie feature; however, users should note that cookies may be necessary to obtain access to certain features available on the Site.

The Site may be linked to other sites or resources that are not maintained by the Alumni Association.  In addition, the Alumni Association may sometimes permit third party entities to offer subscription and/or registration-based services through the Site.  The Alumni Association provides these site links only as a convenience to our alumni.  The inclusion of any link does not imply an endorsement by the Alumni Association of any of the policies of the other sites, nor does the Alumni Association assume any liability for the actions, content or privacy policies of any linked sites.
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POLICY AND GUIDELINES FOR PROPER USE
All information contained on the Sites remains the property of the Alumni Association and may not be reproduced in whole or in part by any person or entity without the written permission of the Alumni Association.  The Sites are provided to encourage communication among alumni for personal and professional networking and university-related activities.  Communications among alumni are not intended for publication or retransmission in any media.  Furthermore, the use of the Sites to reproduce or store personally identifiable information in a retrieval system by any means, electronic or mechanical, or the use of addresses or other information contained in the Sites for any public, private, commercial or political purpose is strictly prohibited. 
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RULES FOR ONLINE CONDUCT

All information, data, text, software, music, sound, photographs, graphics, video, messages or other materials or communications (“Content”), whether publicly posted or privately transmitted, are the sole responsibility of the person from which that Content originated.  This means that you, and not the Alumni Association, are entirely responsible for all Content that you post or otherwise transmit using the Sites. 

By accessing the Sites, you agree to use it in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations and abide by the following rules for online conduct:

  1. Users will not reproduce, duplicate, copy, sell, resell, transmit, upload, download or exploit any portion of the Sites, use of the Sites, or access to the Sites, for any ,  commercial, public or political purpose, including but not limited to advertising, solicitation, cold-calling or mass mailing. 
  2. Users will not post or otherwise transmit any of the following Content on the Sites:
    • Material that defames, abuses or threatens others
    • Statements that are bigoted, hateful or racially offensive
    • Material that advocates illegal activity
    • Material that discusses illegal activities with the intent to commit them
    • Unauthorized copyrighted material
    • Material that contains vulgar, obscene or indecent language or images
    • Advertising or any form of public, commercial or political solicitation
  3. Users will not post or otherwise transmit any Content that you do not have a right to transmit under any law or under contractual or fiduciary relationships (such as inside information, proprietary and confidential information learned or disclosed as part of employment relationships or under nondisclosure agreements).
  4. Users will not post or otherwise transmit any Content that infringes any privacy, publicity, patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other proprietary rights of any person or entity, including but not limited to communications that violate other users’ privacy, such as granting access to the Sites or distributing information obtained from the Sites to non-alumni.
  5. Users will not post or otherwise transmit any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional materials, “junk mail,” “spam,” “chain letters,” “pyramid schemes,” or any other form of solicitation, or use any distribution lists to any person who has not given specific permission to be included in that type of process.
  6. Users will not impersonate any person or entity, including but not limited to any Alumni Association official, alumnus, student or other, falsely state or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with a person or entity, or manipulate identifiers in order to disguise the origin of any Content transmitted through the Sites.
  7. Users will not post or otherwise transmit any Content that inaccurately implies endorsement, approval or sponsorship by the Alumni Association or any of our offices or officers.
  8. Users will not post or otherwise transmit any material that contains software viruses or any other computer code, files or programs that interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of any software or equipment.
  9. Users will not interfere with or disrupt use or enjoyment of the Sites or servers or networks connected to the Sites.
  10. Users will not intentionally or unintentionally violate any applicable local, state, national or international law, including but not limited to regulations relating to the export or transmission of technical data, regulations promulgated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, any rules of any national or other securities exchange, and any regulations having the force of law.
  11. Users will not collect or store personal data about other users except as expressly permitted under these Site Policies (“Policies”).
  12. Users will not access or attempt to access any other user’s account.

Upon discovery, the Alumni Association reserves the right to remove any Content posted or transmitted to the Sites that violates the above rules, but is under no obligation to do so.  The Alumni Association does not routinely screen or monitor all Content and cannot guarantee that Content in violation of the Rules of Online Conduct will not be posted or transmitted.  For this reason, Users should report any abuses or misuses of the Sites to the Alumni Association.

If the Alumni Association determines that a User’s participation in the Sites may create a liability for the Alumni Association or the university, or that the User has violated policies set forth herein, the Alumni Association reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to take actions against the User.  The Alumni Association reserves the right to expel a User and to deny a User further access to the Site if such User violates these Rules of Online Conduct or any applicable laws or regulations. 
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ADVERTISER INFORMATION AND LINKS
Your correspondence or business dealings with, or participation in promotions of, advertisers found on or through the Sites, including but not limited to payment and delivery of related goods or services, and any other terms, conditions, warranties or representations associated with those dealings, are solely between you and the advertiser.  The Alumni Association is not responsible or liable for any loss or damage of any sort incurred as the result of any of those dealings or as a result of the presence of those advertisers on the Sites.

The Sites may provide, or service providers or other third parties may provide, links to other World Wide Web sites or resources.  Because the Alumni Association has no control over those sites and resources, the Alumni Association is not responsible for the availability of those sites or resources, and does not endorse and is not responsible or liable for any Content, advertising, products, or other materials on or available from any of those sites or resources.  Further, neither the Alumni Association nor any of its service providers is responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with use of or reliance on any Content, goods or services available on or through any of those sites or resources.
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DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES
YOU EXPRESSLY UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT:

  1. YOUR USE OF THE SITES IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK.  THE SITES ARE PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS.  EACH OF THE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION AND ITS SERVICE PROVIDERS EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT;
  1. NEITHER THE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION NOR ANY OF ITS SERVICE PROVIDERS MAKES ANY WARRANTY THAT (i) THE SITES WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS; (ii) THE SITES WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY, SECURE OR ERROR-FREE; (iii) THE RESULTS THAT MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE USE OF THE SITES WILL BE ACCURATE OR RELIABLE; (iv) THE QUALITY OF ANY PRODUCTS, SERVICES, INFORMATION OR OTHER MATERIAL PURCHASED OR OBTAINED OR TRANSACTIONS ENTERED INTO BY YOU THROUGH THE SITES WILL MEET YOUR EXPECTATIONS; OR (v) ANY DEFECTS IN THE SITES’ SERVICE WILL BE CORRECTED;
  1. ANY MATERIAL OBTAINED THROUGH THE SITES IS DONE AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION AND RISK AND THAT YOU WILL BE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE TO YOUR COMPUTER SYSTEM OR LOSS OF DATA THAT RESULTS FROM THE DOWNLOAD OF ANY MATERIAL; AND
  1. NO ADVICE OR INFORMATION, WHETHER ORAL OR WRITTEN, OBTAINED BY YOU FROM THE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION OR ANY OF ITS SERVICE PROVIDERS OR THROUGH OR FROM THE SITES CREATES ANY WARRANTY NOT EXPRESSLY STATED IN THESE POLICIES.
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LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
YOU EXPRESSLY UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT NEITHER THE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION NOR ANY OF ITS SERVICE PROVIDERS IS LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, GOODWILL, USE OR DATA OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES (EVEN IF THE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION OR ITS SERVICE PROVIDERS HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES AND REGARDLESS OF THE FORM OF ACTION WHETHER IN CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER TORT, STRICT PRODUCT LIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE, EVEN IF THE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION OR ITS SERVICE PROVIDER HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES), RESULTING FROM:

  1. THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE SITES;
  1. THE COST OF PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES RESULTING FROM ANY GOODS, DATA, INFORMATION OR SERVICES PURCHASED OR OBTAINED OR MESSAGES RECEIVED OR TRANSACTIONS ENTERED INTO THROUGH OR FROM THE SITES;
  1. UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO OR ALTERATION OF YOUR TRANSMISSIONS OR DATA;
  1. STATEMENTS OR CONDUCT OF ANY THIRD PARTY ON THE SITES;
  1. CHANGES TO THE POLICIES OF THE SITES;
  1. FAILURE BY THE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION OR ITS DESIGNEE TO ENFORCE THESE POLICIES;
  1. TERMINATION, SUSPENSION OR UNAVAILABILITY OF THE SERVICE OR ANY PART OF THE SERVICE OR ANY ASSOCIATED FEATURES OR FUNCTIONS; OR
  1. ANY OTHER MATTER RELATING TO THE SITES.

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TRADEMARK INFORMATION 
The Alumni Association logos and the Alumni Association trademarks and service marks and names are trademarks or service marks of the University of Massachusetts Amherst Alumni Association and the University of Massachusetts Amherst.  Without the Alumni Association’s prior written permission, you may not display or use in any manner these Alumni Association marks.

COPYRIGHT INFORMATION
The Alumni Association respects the intellectual property of others, and we ask users to do the same.  If you believe that your work has been copied in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, please provide the Alumni Association’s copyright agent the following information:

  1. An electronic or physical signature of the person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright interest;
  2. A description of the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed;
  3. A description of where the material that you claim has been infringed is located on the Site;
  4. Your address, telephone number and email address;
  5. A statement by you that you have a good faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent or the law; and
  6. A statement by you, made under penalty of perjury, that the above information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on the copyright owner’s behalf.

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GENERAL INFORMATION
Notices to you may be made via either email or regular mail.  The Alumni Association may also, but is not required to, provide notices of changes to these Policies or other matters by displaying notices or links to notices to you generally on the Sites.

These Policies and the relationship between you and the Alumni Association are governed by the laws of the State of Massachusetts without regard to its conflict of law provisions.  This is a services contract and not a contract for the sale of goods.  The United Nations Convention of Contracts for the International Sale of Goods does not apply to these Policies.  Regardless of any statute or law to the contrary, any claim or cause of action arising out of or related to use of the Sites or these Policies must be filed within one year after that claim or cause of action arose.

The failure of the Alumni Association to exercise or enforce any right under or provision of these Policies does not constitute a waiver of that right or provision. If any provision of these Policies is found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, the court should endeavor to give effect to the parties’ intentions as reflected in the provision, and the other provisions of these Policies remain in full force and effect.

The section titles in these Site Policies are for convenience only and have no legal or contractual effect.

These Policies constitute an agreement only between you and the Alumni Association and, other than the Alumni Association service providers; there is no third party beneficiary to any of the obligations under these Policies.

These Policies constitute the entire agreement between you and the Alumni Association and govern your use of the Sites, superseding any prior representations, proposals, inducements, assurances, promises, agreements and any other communications between you and the Alumni Association with respect to the subject matter of these Policies.  Neither the course of conduct between you, the Alumni Association and/or its service providers, nor trade practice modifies these Policies.