Application Procedures

Equilibrium school is committed to safeguarding the personal information entrusted to us by our students and staff. We manage your personal information in accordance with the FOIP Act and other applicable laws.

Equilibrium School is committed to following the guidelines set out in FOIP Act to ensure that personal information about our students and staff is protected. This Privacy Policy outlines the principles and practices we follow in protecting your personal information.

What is personal information?

Personal information is information about an identifiable individual. It includes information such as personal characteristics (for example, gender, age, home address, home phone number, home e-mail address), educational background, work experience, and opinions or evaluations. Personal information is distinguished from business contact information (for instance, position name or title, business telephone number, business address, business e-mail address, business fax number), which is not protected by FOIP where it is used to contact an individual in relation to the individual's business responsibilities.

What personal information does Equilibrium School collect?

Equilibrium School collects the information that it requires in order to carry out its daily business.

Examples of personal information that Equilibrium School might collect about our students and staff include:

• Personal contact information, including home address and telephone number.
• Information submitted when applying for work with Equilibrium School, such as written references, Security Clearance, educational history.
• Financial information, such credit card numbers, if tuition fees were paid by credit card.

How does Equilibrium School collect personal information?

Usually, Equilibrium School will collect personal information directly from students and staff. Equilibrium School will only collect information from a third party with obtained consent of student, or if Equilibrium School is authorized by law to collect personal information from a third party.

Equilibrium School may be required to collect information from third parties in certain circumstances. For example, individuals who wish to be registered are outside of Canada and are applying to attend our class through a third party like study abroad agency.

How does Equilibrium School use personal information?

Examples of how personal information is used are:

• To assess whether applicants meet the initial requirements for registration with Equilibrium School.
• To communicate with students and staff about registration, discipline, or other matters relating to daily operations of the school.
• To provide information and notices to our students and staff.
• To facilitate payment of fees.
• To facilitate complaints.
• To carry out Equilibrium School's daily operations.

Is personal information shared with anyone other Equilibrium School employees?

For the most part, Equilibrium School uses personal information for internal purposes. Therefore, it is primarily Equilibrium School's employees who will have access to personal information about students and staff.

External consultants or contractors may also have access to personal information, if access is necessary for the performance of their duties. For example Equilibrium School's accountants may have access to information about our membership when they conduct their annual audit. In addition, our computer consultants may have access to personal information from time to time.

Equilibrium School may also be required to disclose personal information to an external party without first obtaining consent for disclosure, where such disclosure is required or permitted by FOIP, or other legislation. For example, request to be made by police or child services. Disclosure without consent can only occur if it is authorized by FOIP, or by another statute, Regulation or legislative instrument.

Equilibrium School may also disclose personal information as permitted by law, including under the following circumstances:

• In response to a subpoena, warrant, or court order.
• Pursuant to a lawful request by a government agency.
• To report fraudulent activity or other deceptive practices to another professional regulatory body, or to a governmental or law enforcement agency.
• To act in urgent circumstances to protect the personal safety of members or of the public.

How do Equilibrium School protect your privacy?

1. We take every reasonable effort to prevent unauthorized access, loss, misuse, disclosure, or modification of personal information.
2. One way that we protect personal information is by training our staff to appreciate the importance of privacy and the confidentiality of personal information.
3. In addition, we ensure the security of the personal information in our possession by taking the following measures:
4. We implement physical safeguards of personal information, including ensuring that areas in which information is stored are secure.
5. We implement technical safeguards such as password protection to secure personal information that is stored in electronic form.
6. We implement administrative safeguards by restricting access to personal information to those with a need to access the information.
7. All Equilibrium School  staff coming into contact with personal information are trained to safeguard the information and follow strict confidentiality policies.
8. We maintain information only for as long as we require it. Information about our students and staff is retained for a minimum period of 10 years, at which time the information will be destroyed.
9. We use security measures when destroying personal information. We destroy paper files containing personal information by shredding them. We destroy electronic information by permanently deleting it and by ensuring that hardware is discarded in accordance with commonly accepted security standards.

Accessing and correcting personal information

Individuals have a right to access records containing their personal information. Equilibrium School will give individuals access to the personal information we hold about them subject to certain lawful restrictions (such as where your information would reveal personal information about another individual, or where the information is being collected for an investigation pursuant).

In addition, you may request correction of an error or omission in personal information held by Equilibrium School. We make every reasonable effort to ensure that our student and staff information is accurate and complete. We rely on our students and staff to notify us if there is a change in their personal information.

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