Web Site Privacy Policy

The Maryland Prepaid College Trust operating as the College Savings Plans of Maryland (CSPM), has created this privacy statement in order to demonstrate our firm commitment to privacy. The following discloses our information gathering and dissemination practices for this Web site: www.collegesavingsmd.org.

We use your IP address to help diagnose problems with our server, and to administer our Web site. We use cookies to save your password so you don't have to enter it each time you visit our site, and for other purposes. We do not link IP addresses to anything personally identifiable. This means that a user's session will be tracked, but the user will be anonymous.

Our Electronic Application Form requires purchasers to give us contact information (like their name, address and email address), unique identifiers (like their social security number), financial information (like their account or credit card numbers), information regarding their beneficiary (like name, age, address and social security number) and optional demographic information (like their zip code, age, or income level). We use contact information from the Electronic Application Form to send the purchaser information about their account including email confirmations, mailings regarding an active account, welcome packages and annual reports. The purchaser's contact information is also used to contact them when necessary. Financial information that is collected is used to bill the purchaser for application fees. Unique identifiers (such as social security numbers) are collected to verify the purchaser and beneficiary's identity, to ensure proper payment of benefits, for tax purposes and for use as account numbers in our record system. Additional beneficiary information is collected to verify the beneficiary's identity, to ensure proper payment of benefits and for tax purposes. Demographic and profile data is also collected at our site.

If you submit an Electronic Application, we may enter the information you send into our electronic database. You may also be contacted by us for additional information. If we use a business partner to help us deliver the services to you, your personal information submitted in the electronic application will be shared with our business partner in order to provide you with the service you have requested.

This site contains links to other sites; www.collegesavingsmd.org is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of such Web sites.

Our site uses an information request form for visitors to request information regarding the CSPM's programs. We collect visitor's contact information (like their e-mail and mailing address) and optional demographic information (like their ZIP code, age, or income level). Contact information from the information request form is used to send information about the CSPM programs to our visitors. The visitor's contact information is also used to get in touch with the visitor when necessary or requested. Demographic and profile data are also collected at our site.

We use a site counter which display ads on our site. These ads may contain cookies. While we use cookies in other parts of our Web site, cookies received with banner ads are collected by the ad companies and we do not have access to this information.

We will never willfully disclose individually identifiable information about our users to anyone outside of the CSPM family without first receiving that user's permission, thus preventing this information from appearing in unauthorized mailings and other solicitations.

Public Forums

From time to time this site makes chat rooms, forums, message boards, and/or news groups available to its users. Please remember that any information that is disclosed in these areas becomes public information, and you should exercise caution when deciding to disclose your personal information.

Security

This site has security measures in place to protect the loss, misuse, and alteration of the information under our control. Some of the forms on our site encrypt the information you send across the Internet to us and the information we send back to you. If a form requests confidential information, such as your credit card number or social security number, we will use encryption technology to protect your privacy. If you want to transmit information to us outside the form, that transmission may not be encrypted and is not necessarily secure against interception. If your communication to us outside the form is very sensitive or confidential, you may want to call us at the telephone number listed below or send that communication by regular mail to the address listed below rather than ordinary e-mail.

Please see our Security Policy for additional information.

Choice/Marketing Opt Out

Our site provides users the opportunity to opt out of receiving other communications from us at the point where they request information about the CSPM and its programs.

You have the following options for removing your information from our database in order to not receive future communications about other products and services.

1. You may send e-mail to mpct@collegesavingsmd.org

2. You may send mail to the following postal address:

College Savings Plans of Maryland
217 E. Redwood Street
Suite 1350
Baltimore, MD 21202
3. You may call the following telephone number: 1-888-4MD-GRAD.

Please note, however, that if a purchaser desires to terminate a contract or otherwise request a refund, such termination MUST be made in writing and submitted to the CSPM at the address listed above. Please see the Application Booklet for further information.

Correct/Update

You have the following options for changing and modifying information previously provided.
1. e-mail mpct@collegesavingsmd.org
2. send mail to the following postal address:

College Savings Plans of Maryland
217 E. Redwood Street
Suite 1350
Baltimore, MD 21202

3. call the following telephone number: 1-888-4MD-GRAD.