Essential CEU Institute
Essential CEU Institute
Sign in Get started

Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy (this "Privacy Policy") explains how Essential CEU Institute, LLC, a California limited liability company (referred to as "Essential," "we," "our," "us," and similar terms) collects information from Users (each referred to as "you," and similar terms), and how we use and share that information. By using the Essential Platform, you agree to the terms of this Privacy Policy. Your use of the Essential Platform is also subject to the Terms of Service posted at this link: https://essentialceu.institute/terms-of-service. Capitalized terms are defined in the Terms of Service unless they are defined in this Privacy Policy.
  1. Where this Privacy Policy Applies. This Privacy Policy applies to all use of the Essential Platform and the Services.
  2. Changes to this Privacy Policy. We may make changes to this Privacy Policy from time-to-time. All changes will be effective when posted on the Essential Platform, unless we specify a later date. If we make any material changes to this Privacy Policy, we will notify you through the Essential Platform, by email, or other communication. We encourage you to read this Privacy Policy periodically to stay up-to-date about our privacy practices. As long as you use the Essential Platform, you are agreeing to this Privacy Policy and any updates we make to it. If you do not agree to the terms, you may not continue to use the Essential Platform, and your only option will be to terminate your User Account as provided in the Terms of Service.
  3. Information We Collect.
    1. User Account Information. When you sign up for a User Account, you may give us your name, email address, phone number, governmental identification numbers for professional licenses, credit card number or other payment information, mailing address, the team you work for, and other information that we request or require. If you decide to create a User Account using your Facebook account, we will also get basic information from your Facebook profile like your name, gender, profile photo, and Facebook friends, and any other information Facebook provides to us on your behalf.
    2. Communications. If you contact us directly, we may receive additional information about you that you provide to us.
    3. Learner Content and Support Information. When you participate in a course, webinar, evaluation, survey, discussion, or other activity, or when you contact us for assistance, we may collect the information you submit. This may include questions, written responses, feedback, course evaluations, support requests, and other communications. Please do not include confidential, highly sensitive, medical, financial, or other unnecessary personal information in these submissions unless Essential specifically requests that information through an appropriate method.
    4. Health-Related and Protected Information. The Essential Platform is not designed or offered for the receipt or processing of protected health information on behalf of a HIPAA-covered entity or business associate. Essential does not represent that the Essential Platform or Services are HIPAA compliant and does not enter into Business Associate Agreements in connection with ordinary Platform use.
      Please do not provide protected health information or directly identifiable medical, clinical, behavioral, or health-related information in course submissions, evaluations, surveys, support requests, emails, or other communications with Essential. If you discuss a professional experience or case example, you should remove names and other details that could reasonably identify the individual.
      If you voluntarily submit health-related or other sensitive information despite these instructions, the information may be processed as described in this Privacy Policy, including through our website, communication, support, and AI-enabled service providers. We will handle such information using the safeguards generally applicable to information submitted through the Essential Platform, but we cannot provide HIPAA-specific protections or assurances where no Business Associate Agreement applies.
    5. Usage Data. To provide the Services to you, and to help us understand how you use the Essential Platform and to help us improve it, we automatically receive information about your interactions with the Essential Platform and other Usage Data. "Usage Data" may include the pages or other content you view, your actions within the Essential Platform, the dates and times of your visits, the Services you use, the educational content you view, and your performance on tests, evaluations, and other interactions with the Services.
    6. Performance Data. To provide the Services through the Essential Platform to you, your Administrator and other Team Members, we will collect Performance Data when you use the Essential Platform and the Services. "Performance Data" includes the following in a way that may be personally identifiable to you when shared: the dates and times of your visits, the Services you use, the Certificates you earned, the educational content you view, and your performance on tests, evaluations and other interactions with Services and the Essential Platform.
  4. How We Collect Information.
    1. Cookies and Similar Technologies. We collect information through the use of "cookies", tracking pixels, beacons and similar technologies to understand how you navigate through the Essential Platform and interact with Essential advertisements, to learn what content is popular, and to save your preferences. Cookies are small text files that web servers place on your device; they are designed to store basic information and to help websites and apps recognize your browser. You should consult your web browser(s) to modify your cookie settings. Please note that if you delete or choose not to accept cookies from us, you may be missing out on certain features of the Essential Platform and your use of the Services may be negatively affected.
    2. Information from Your Administrator. We may also receive information about you from your Administrator. That information may include the information described above as well as any other information that your Administrator provides to us.
  5. How We Use Information We Collect. We use the information we collect from all Users to: 
    1. Communicate with you, including for marketing and promotional purposes;
    2. Personalize your Essential Platform experience;
    3. Provide you with customer support;
    4. Facilitate transactions and payments;
    5. Provide each User with information on how all Users as a whole perform on certain educational evaluations, and how the User performed relative to all Users;
    6. Provide Administrators with Performance Data and Usage Data on their Team Members and other Team Accounts;
    7. Provide you with Performance Data;
    8. Provide, improve, expand, and promote the Essential Platform; and
    9. Analyze how Users use the Essential Platform.
    10. Use of Artificial Intelligence and Technology-Assisted Tools. We may use artificial intelligence and other technology-assisted tools to help us create, review, organize, maintain, and improve educational materials; administer the Essential Platform; analyze Platform usage; identify technical or service issues; respond to learner questions; and provide customer support.
      Learner submissions, questions, feedback, technical-support requests, and other communications may be received, organized, analyzed, summarized, drafted, or otherwise processed with the assistance of AI-enabled services. AI-enabled tools may assist our team in preparing or improving a response, but they do not replace human involvement when a matter requires individualized evaluation, professional judgment, or a decision by Essential.
      We do not use AI-enabled tools as a substitute for qualified professional judgment, subject-matter expertise, regulatory interpretation, or human accountability. Additional information about our use of AI and human oversight appears in our Terms of Service.
  6. How We Share Your Information
    1. Usage Data Shared with Other Users. We will share aggregated Usage Data with other Users. For example, we may share the average score and percentile ranks on certain evaluations with all Users in a way that is not directly identifiable to other individual Users.
    2. Information Shared with Administrators. We may share your Performance Data and Usage Data with your Administrator and other Team Members and Administrators under your Subscription, and that Performance Data and Usage Data may be identifiable to you when we share it.
    3. Payment Method. When you add a credit card or other payment method to your User Account, a third party that handles payments for us will receive your payment information and will use it to pay the Subscription Fees and other charges to us.
    4. Third Party Services. Service Providers and Third-Party Technologies. We may provide information to third-party service providers that perform services for us or support the operation of the Essential Platform. These may include website-hosting providers, learning-management systems, payment processors, email and communication platforms, analytics providers, customer-support services, security providers, and AI-enabled technology providers.

      AI-enabled service providers may process learner submissions, questions, feedback, technical-support requests, and other communications on our behalf for purposes such as organizing or summarizing information, assisting with draft responses, improving educational or administrative materials, troubleshooting, quality review, and supporting Platform operations.

      The information processed by a service provider may be subject to that provider’s technical processes, security safeguards, data-retention practices, and contractual terms. We evaluate the nature of the service and the information involved when selecting and configuring third-party tools. Where appropriate and reasonably available, we use contractual, administrative, or technical measures intended to limit a service provider’s use of personal information to the services it performs for Essential.

      The Essential Platform may also allow you to connect with websites, products, or services that we do not control. If you choose to use those services, information may be provided to the third party as necessary to facilitate your request. We do not control the independent privacy practices of third parties acting on their own behalf, and we encourage you to review their privacy policies before using their services.

  7. Information Others Collect. Other websites, mobile applications and services that you interact with may collect information from you after you leave their website, including information related to your use of the Essential Platform and the Services. We do not control any third party or their collection of your information. Please review the respective party's privacy policy to understand their collection and use of your information.
  8. Your Choices
    1. Email Subscriptions. You can unsubscribe from our promotional emails but we will still send you transactional and relational emails about your User Account and use of the Essential Platform.
    2. Editing Your Information. You can review and edit certain account information by logging in to your User Account. You may terminate your User Account as provided in the Terms of Service. If you choose to terminate your User Account, or if your User Account is terminated under the Terms of Service, we will deactivate it for you but we may retain information from your User Account for a certain period of time that is reasonably necessary, and disclose it in a manner consistent with our practices under this Privacy Policy for User Accounts that are not closed. For example, after your User Account is terminated, we may still share your Performance Data and Usage Data with your Administrators and other Team Members who have the same Administrator. We also may retain information from your User Account to collect any fees owed, resolve disputes, troubleshoot problems, analyze usage of the Essential Platform, assist with any investigations, prevent fraud, enforce our Terms of Service, or take other actions as required or permitted by law.
    3. Data Security. We are committed to protecting the data of the Essential community. Even though we take reasonable precautions to protect your data, no security measures can be 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee the security of your data.
    4. Data Retention. We retain personal information for as long as reasonably necessary to provide the Essential Platform and Services; maintain User Accounts, Performance Data, and Certificates; satisfy educational, licensing, accreditation, contractual, tax, accounting, recordkeeping, and legal obligations; resolve disputes; prevent fraud or misuse; enforce our agreements; and protect the rights, safety, and security of Essential and others.
      Retention periods may vary depending on the type of information, the purpose for which it was collected, applicable legal or regulatory requirements, and the settings and capabilities of the technology used to process it. Information processed by a service provider, including an AI-enabled service provider, may remain in that provider’s systems for a limited period in accordance with the provider’s applicable settings, contractual commitments, backup processes, security practices, and legal obligations.
      When information is no longer reasonably required for these purposes, we may delete it, deidentify it, or retain it in an aggregated form that does not reasonably identify an individual.
    5. Questions and Choices Concerning AI-Assisted Processing. If you have questions or concerns about the use of AI-enabled services in connection with information you submit to Essential, please contact us before providing confidential, highly sensitive, medical, financial, or other information that is not necessary to receive our Services. Because AI-enabled tools may be incorporated into ordinary administrative, technical, educational, and customer-support processes, we may not be able to provide every feature or service without some technology-assisted processing. When reasonably practicable, we will consider a request to use an alternative communication or review method. We cannot guarantee that an alternative method will be available in every circumstance.
  9. Privacy Questions and Requests. If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, our use of AI-enabled services, or the information we maintain about you, you may contact us at Heidi@essentialCEU.institute or by mail at:
    Essential CEU Institute, LLC
    Attn: Privacy Inquiry
    PO Box 157
    Capitola, CA 95010