Policies Governing the Rice Portal
The Rice Portal ("Portal") is an online community provided by Rice University (“Rice”) to facilitate communication among alumni, parents, students, faculty, staff and friends for personal or university-related purposes.
Privacy and Security
Rice has taken all reasonable precautions to secure the personal information available through this Portal. The Portal is password protected to allow access by registered users only. Furthermore, the Portal resides on a secure website that incorporates the latest encryption technology. Although these precautions should effectively protect any personal information available through the Portal from abuse or outside interference, a certain degree of privacy risk is faced any time information is shared over the Internet. Therefore, individual users have the ability to control the nature and amount of information available to other registered users.
To learn more about Rice University’s policy on protecting personally identifiable information, visit Rice Policy 808 at https://policy.rice.edu/808 .
For more information about privacy practices for Rice University websites and online applications, please visit https://privacy.rice.edu.
General Data Protection Regulation
Individuals in the European Economic Area have rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and should be aware that information collected by Rice websites or online applications will be processed in the United States.
Individuals in the European Economic Area should also refer to the European Economic Area Privacy Notice, which supplements this privacy notice, and is available at www.gdpr.rice.edu.
Policy and Guidelines Governing Use of the Rice Portal
To safeguard the operation of the Rice Portal, Rice adheres to guidelines and policies that govern conduct, particularly conduct that occurs in an online environment. Please see Rice Policy 832 at https://policy.rice.edu/832. As members of the extended university community, university constituents are expected to adhere to these policies.
Rice Alumni Online Directory
Information available through the Rice Alumni Online Directory and Rice Business Alumni Directory may be used for specific personal and university-related purposes only. Use of these directories for any commercial, public or political mailing is strictly prohibited. Prohibited uses of the information in these directories include but are not limited to:
- Advertising and solicitations for commercial services.
- Cold-calling of any kind or mass-mailings (sometimes known as "spamming").
- Activities that are illegal or fraudulent.
- Uses that inaccurately imply endorsement, approval, or sponsorship by Rice University, the Association of Rice Alumni, or their officers.
- Uses that can be confused with official communications of Rice, the Association of Rice Alumni, or their officers.
- Mailings of any kind using a false identification.
- Activities that violate other alumni users' privacy, such as granting access to the system or distributing information obtained from the services to non-alumni.
- Posting of obscene materials or use of obscene or vulgar language, as defined by the university, hate speech or harassment, or use of abusive or threatening language of any kind, will constitute a violation of these policies governing use of Rice Alumni Online Directory.
- Creation of profane, fraudulent, or obscene aliases. All aliases adopted by Rice Alumni Online Directory users are subject to approval by the university and/or Rice Alumni.
Owlmanac Online and the Rice Portal
Rice University is not responsible for screening communications, nor will the university actively monitor the use of the Rice Portal. The university, however, reserves the right to reorganize or delete any postings or messages and may at its discretion reassign a topic's ownership. The university expects community members to exhibit the same level of respect for others in this forum as in any other university-related venue. For this reason, it is essential that users of the Portal report any abuses or misuse of services to the helpdesk . If Rice determines that a user's participation in the Portal may create a liability for the university or that the user has violated the policies set forth herein, the university reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to take actions against the user. Rice reserves the right to expel a user and to deny a user further access to the Portal if such user violates these policies or any applicable laws or regulations. The university may deny access to the Portal to any individual at any time.
Liability and Indemnity
The reliability of the information available through the Rice Portal is largely dependent upon the actions of registrants. Rice can make no representations about the accuracy, reliability, completeness or timeliness of this information. Rice does not warrant that the Portal website will operate error-free or that the site and its server are free of computer viruses or other harmful material. To the fullest extent permitted by law, Rice disclaims all warranties, including the warranties of merchantability, non-infringement and fitness for particular purpose. In no event shall Rice be liable for any damages whatsoever, including, without limitation, incidental, consequential, or punitive damages, resulting from the use of or inability to use information or materials available on the Rice Portal website. By using this website, you agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Rice University and its respective agents from and against any and all losses, claims, damages, costs, and expenses that may arise from your use of the website or your breach of these policies. Rice will provide notice to you of any such action or claim, and reserves the right to participate, at your expense, in the investigation, settlement, and defense of any such action or claim.
Please Note
Rice University reserves the right to discontinue any or all online services at any time or to revise the terms and policies of this acceptable use agreement. If the policies are revised, the updated policies will be posted on the Rice Portal website. You should review the policies periodically, particularly after any updates, to ensure that you are familiar with them. Participation in the Rice Portal is a privilege. By using the system, you agree to abide by the policies outlined herein. If you cannot accept these policies, please do not use the Rice Portal.