Privacy Statement


Texas State University is committed to protecting your personal privacy. This Privacy Statement discloses our information gathering and dissemination practices for our website, www.txst.edu The statement outlines the information we may collect, how we protect it, how we may use that information, and how you can elect to change your information.

1. Collection of Information 

While using our web pages, you do not have to identify yourself or divulge personal information. We may collect general information from your web browser that does not identify you personally. This may include data such as IP address, the name of the web page from which you entered our site, which of our web pages you visited and for how long, as well as other general behavior data.  

We aggregate this information to help us better focus on the needs and interests of our visitors and improve the overall functionality of our website. As you use our website, we will not collect any personal information unless you provide the information to us voluntarily.  

2. Cookies 

When you visit our website, we and our third-party partners store information on your device in the form of cookies. We use these cookies to track your device's usage of our website over long periods of time. 

Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify a browser’s settings to decline cookies entirely or decline third-party cookies if you prefer. If you choose to decline cookies, you may not be able to fully experience all features and content of our website. 

3. Advertisements and Third-Party Content 

We utilize third-party tools such as those provided by Google, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram to perform tracking specifically for the targeting and tracking of our advertisement campaigns. These tools allow us to target ads based on where users have been on our website and the demographic information known by the tool provider.  

Using third-party tracking also allows us to learn more about our website users and gauge the effectiveness of our social media outreach. While we do not share information that could identify you personally, these third parties may be able to associate your device with information provided on other web sites. This may enable them to leverage your Texas State browsing history and target you for advertising on other sites. 

Most of the social media platforms we work with can identify you personally if you have an account with them. Your privacy in these cases is governed by your own agreement to the terms of service of the social media platform. You can disable saving third-party cookies in your browser's settings or use your browser's private mode (such as Chrome's Incognito Window) to minimize the data shared and stored in your browser. 

4. Logs and Network Monitoring 

Texas State University maintains log files of all access to its site and monitors network traffic for the purposes of network diagnostics, information security, and site management. Log analysis tools are also used to identify system problem areas, or to help determine technical requirements. 

This information is not used in any way that would reveal personally identifying information to outside parties unless legally required to do so in connection with law enforcement investigations or other legal proceedings. 

5. Information You Provide to Us 

If you voluntarily provide Texas State with personally identifying information such as by filling out a web-based form, that information may be used in one of the following ways:  

  • To contact you in response to your request.  
  • To provide you with information about Texas State services, events, or news.  
  • To customize our website experiences when you visit and tailor them to your needs.  
  • To process your request internally or conduct the regular business of Texas State.  

The information you provide may be sent to another person or office that is more appropriate to handle your request. It may also be shared with a third party, but only for the purposes listed above. Third parties are approved by our Information Security Office and information sharing is managed by an appropriate Information Security Plan, in compliance with university policy and local, state, and federal law. 

No information you provide will be used in any way that would reveal personally identifying information to unaffiliated entities unless legally required to do so in connection with law enforcement investigations or other legal proceedings. We don't personally identify you to anyone outside Texas State and the third-party partners mentioned in section 3 above.  

6. Links 

This site contains links to other, external, sites not owned or operated by Texas State University. Texas State University is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of such websites. 

7. Legal Considerations  

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) offers students the ability to request a privacy hold to restrict the dissemination of their directory information. This does not cover browsing activity and targeted advertising; it prevents Texas State from identifying you as a student or putting you on a list of students unless there is a justifiable business need to do so.  

Since Texas State is a public institution, some information collected from our website, server log information, emails, and web-based forms are subject to the Texas Public Information Act.  

8. Your Consent to This Privacy Statement 

By using our website, you signify that you agree with the terms of our current Privacy Statement as posted in this area of the web site. If you do not agree with any term in this Statement, please do not provide any personal information on this site. If you do not provide personal information on this site, you may not be able to do certain things, like access particular areas of the site, request certain types of information, or send us email. 

9. Our Commitment to Security 

We maintain physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards to protect against the loss, misuse, or alteration of the information under our control. Safeguards include restricted access to computer systems and files, firewalls, encryption, and secure authentication methods. 

For example, when our online giving form asks you to enter personally identifiable information for online transactions, your information is protected using Transport Layer Security protocol (TLS encryption). Any information you supply is encrypted when you send it from your browser to our server. 

Only employees who need the information to perform a specific job are granted access to personally identifiable information. If you are uncomfortable sharing your personal data on the Internet, please contact us using the information provided in section 12 below, entitled, “How to Contact Us.” 

10. Privacy Rights 

Texas State's Privacy Rights Notice describes your rights with respect to the information you supply to Texas State University via any paper or electronic form(s). 

11. Changes to this Statement 

We may occasionally decide to change our privacy statement, especially as new features are added to our website. If there are changes to this statement, we will post those changes here, so you are always aware of what information we collect, and how we use it.  

12. How to Contact Us 

If there are any questions about this privacy statement, the practices of this site, or dealings with this website, you can contact us by email at webprivacy@txstate.edu. 


Effective February 2024