Drexel University is committed to protecting the privacy and confidentiality of the personal information entrusted to us by Drexel students, faculty and professional staff, as well as research participants and patients.

Drexel has adopted policies, practices and standards to safeguard personal information in adherence to applicable privacy and data protection laws and regulations.

A major goal of Drexel’s privacy policies, procedures and related services is to respect the rights of individuals regarding the collection, handling, use, disclosure and processing of their personal information, while allowing the flow of information in support of the University’s academic, research and healthcare mission. We achieve this goal by ensuring our compliance with the various — and sometimes competing — federal, state, local and international laws, rules and regulations aimed at protecting citizens, consumers, patients and other individual groups from threats to their personal information, including but not limited to identity theft, improper access, and unauthorized disclosure.

What Is Privacy?

Privacy is your individual right to be free from intrusion into your personal information. Privacy and data protection laws protect your right to control how information about you is accessed, used or shared. However, there are limitations to your privacy rights; some information must be shared in order to provide you with a service or perform certain administrative functions. For example, a student’s information may be used by their school without their express permission to register them for a new term or post their course grades.

Because we all have different perspectives on how much personal information we’re comfortable with sharing, privacy is a nuanced concept that means different things to different people.

It’s important to remember that privacy is about you and your right to control who has access to you and your information.

What Is Confidentiality?

Confidentiality refers to how identifiable data is treated. It is the obligation to protect data that was shared in confidence against unauthorized uses or disclosures. Although privacy and confidentiality are used interchangeably, it is important to note that privacy is about your individual rights to restrict access to your information and confidentiality is an ethical obligation on the part of the recipient of your data to protect the data itself.

If you have any questions regarding the privacy and confidentiality of personal information — It's Okay to Ask!

Report a Privacy Incident

Types of Data Agreements

Privacy Policies

Privacy Program Plan