1. Who We Are
Oasis Theological Institute is the data controller for the personal data collected through this platform. We are a biblical education and leadership training institute offering online courses, certificates, and related educational services.
2. What Personal Data We Collect
We collect and process the following categories of personal data:
- Identity & contact data: name, email address, phone number (if provided), and profile information.
- Account & authentication data: login credentials, user ID, and authentication tokens.
- Enrollment & academic data: courses enrolled in, attendance records, quiz and assignment scores, completion status, and certificates earned.
- Payment data: transaction history, billing address, and payment method details (processed securely by Paddle; we do not store full card numbers).
- Technical & usage data: IP address, browser type, device information, and platform usage patterns (e.g., pages visited, time spent).
- Support & communication data: messages sent to our support team, feedback, and survey responses.
3. How We Use Your Data
We use your personal data for the following purposes:
- Providing the service: creating and managing your account, processing enrollments, delivering course content, tracking progress, and issuing certificates.
- Payment processing: handling transactions, billing, tax compliance, and invoicing through our Merchant of Record, Paddle.
- Security & fraud prevention: detecting unauthorized access, protecting against abuse, and ensuring platform integrity.
- Customer support: responding to inquiries, resolving issues, and providing account assistance.
- Product improvement: analyzing usage trends to improve course content, platform features, and user experience.
- Legal compliance: meeting regulatory obligations and responding to lawful requests from authorities.
4. Legal Basis for Processing
We process personal data on the following legal bases:
- Contract performance: processing necessary to provide the courses and services you have enrolled in.
- Legitimate interests: platform security, fraud prevention, product improvement, and direct communication about your account.
- Consent: where you have explicitly opted in (e.g., marketing communications).
- Legal obligation: compliance with tax, financial, and other applicable laws.
5. Who We Share Data With
We do not sell your personal data. We share data only with trusted recipients in the following categories:
- Merchant of Record (Paddle): for payment processing, subscription management, tax compliance, invoicing, and customer service related to orders. Paddle acts as an independent data controller for payment data.
- Service providers: hosting providers, analytics platforms, email delivery services, and support tooling — all bound by confidentiality and data protection obligations.
- Professional advisers: legal and accounting professionals when necessary for our business operations.
- Authorities: when required by law, court order, or to protect our legal rights.
6. Data Retention
We retain your personal data only as long as necessary for the purposes outlined in this notice:
- Account and enrollment data: retained for the duration of your active account plus a reasonable period thereafter to resolve disputes, enforce agreements, and comply with legal obligations.
- Payment records: retained for the period required by applicable tax and financial regulations (typically 7 years).
- Academic records and certificates: retained indefinitely to preserve the integrity and verifiability of credentials issued.
When data is no longer needed, we securely delete or anonymize it.
7. Your Rights
Depending on your location, you may have the following rights regarding your personal data:
- Access: request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
- Rectification: request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data.
- Erasure: request deletion of your personal data in certain circumstances.
- Restriction: request limitation of processing in specific situations.
- Portability: request transfer of your data to another service provider.
- Objection: object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
- Withdraw consent: withdraw consent at any time where processing is based on consent.
To exercise any of these rights, please contact us through the support channels in your student dashboard. We will respond within one month of receiving your request.
8. Security
We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your personal data, including encryption in transit (TLS/SSL), access controls, secure authentication, and regular security reviews. While we take these precautions, no internet-based service can be guaranteed 100% secure.
9. Cookies & Tracking
We use cookies and similar technologies to:
- Essential cookies: required for the platform to function (e.g., session management, authentication).
- Analytics cookies: help us understand how users interact with the platform so we can improve it.
You can manage cookie preferences through your browser settings. Disabling essential cookies may affect platform functionality.
10. International Data Transfers
Our platform and service providers may process data in countries outside your jurisdiction, including the United States. Where data is transferred internationally, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as standard contractual clauses or adequacy decisions, to protect your data in accordance with applicable laws.
11. Children’s Privacy
Our Services are not directed to individuals under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 13. If you believe we have inadvertently collected such data, please contact us immediately so we can delete it.
12. Changes to This Notice
We may update this Privacy Notice from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. The most current version will always be posted on this page. We encourage you to review it periodically.
13. Contact Us
If you have questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Notice or how we handle your personal data, please contact us through the support channels available in your student dashboard.