1. Introduction

Stratford Academy values the privacy and trust of its students, applicants, website visitors, and users. This Privacy Policy explains how Stratford Academy collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal information when you visit our website, submit an inquiry, enroll in a course, make a payment, access our learning platform, or communicate with our team.

By using Stratford Academy’s website, services, forms, learning resources, or communication channels, you agree to the practices described in this Privacy Policy.

2. About Stratford Academy

Stratford Academy is an online EdTech platform that provides career-focused education, professional training, and online learning programs in areas such as Data Science, Cybersecurity, Artificial Intelligence, Cloud Computing, DevOps, Full Stack Development, Business, and related technology fields.

Our services may include online classes, recorded sessions, learning materials, assignments, projects, mentorship, academic support, career guidance, and placement assistance where applicable.

3. Information We Collect

Stratford Academy may collect personal information that you voluntarily provide when you:

• Submit an inquiry form.
• Register for a course or program.
• Make a payment or choose a financing option.
• Attend online classes or learning sessions.
• Communicate with our admissions, support, academic, or career teams.
• Upload documents for verification, enrollment, or academic purposes.
• Use our website, LMS, or digital learning tools.

The information we may collect includes:

• Full name.
• Email address.
• Phone number.
• Country, city, or address details.
• Educational background.
• Professional experience.
• Course or program interest.
• Payment or billing-related information.
• Identity or verification documents, where required.
• Communication records, including emails, calls, chats, or support requests.
• Attendance, assignment, project, and learning progress records.
• Technical information such as IP address, browser type, device information, cookies, website activity, and platform usage data.

4. How We Use Your Information

Stratford Academy may use collected information for the following purposes:

• To respond to inquiries and provide program information.
• To process admissions, registrations, and enrollments.
• To provide access to courses, LMS, classes, learning materials, and academic resources.
• To communicate important updates, schedules, reminders, and support messages.
• To manage student accounts, attendance, progress, assessments, and certification eligibility.
• To provide academic support, mentorship, resume guidance, interview preparation, and career-related assistance where applicable.
• To process payments, invoices, refunds, installment plans, or financing-related communication.
• To verify identity, eligibility, documents, or enrollment status.
• To improve website performance, course quality, user experience, and student support.
• To comply with legal, regulatory, administrative, accounting, or security requirements.
• To prevent fraud, misuse, unauthorized access, policy violations, or illegal activity.

5. Payment and Financial Information

Payments made through Stratford Academy’s website or approved payment channels may be processed by third-party payment gateways, banks, financing providers, or payment processors.

Stratford Academy does not control the internal systems, approval decisions, security practices, or policies of third-party payment or financing providers. Any information submitted to such providers may also be governed by their own privacy policies and terms.

We may store limited payment-related records such as transaction status, invoice details, payment confirmation, billing history, or program fee records for administrative, accounting, compliance, and support purposes.

6. Cookies and Website Tracking

Stratford Academy’s website may use cookies, tracking technologies, analytics tools, or similar methods to improve website functionality, understand visitor behavior, enhance user experience, and support marketing or communication activities.

Cookies may collect information such as pages visited, time spent on the website, device type, browser type, referral source, and general usage patterns.

Users may choose to disable cookies through browser settings. However, disabling cookies may affect certain website features or user experience.

7. Communication and Marketing

By submitting your information to Stratford Academy, you consent to receiving communication from us through email, phone, SMS, WhatsApp, or other communication channels for purposes related to:

• Course inquiries.
• Admissions and enrollment.
• Program updates.
• Class schedules.
• Payment reminders.
• Academic support.
• Career support.
• Promotional offers or educational updates.

You may request to opt out of non-essential marketing communication. However, Stratford Academy may continue to send important administrative, academic, billing, policy, or service-related communication where necessary.

8. Sharing of Information

Stratford Academy does not sell personal information to unauthorized third parties.

We may share necessary information with trusted service providers or partners only when required to deliver our services, including:

• Learning management systems.
• Payment processors.
• Financing partners.
• CRM and communication platforms.
• Cloud storage or IT service providers.
• Academic instructors, mentors, or evaluators.
• Career support or placement assistance teams.
• Verification, compliance, or administrative service providers.
• Legal, regulatory, or government authorities when required by law.

Such sharing is limited to legitimate educational, operational, administrative, technical, compliance, or service-related purposes.

9. Data Security

Stratford Academy takes reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational measures to protect personal information from unauthorized access, misuse, disclosure, alteration, loss, or destruction.

However, no digital platform, internet transmission, or electronic storage method can be guaranteed to be completely secure. Users are responsible for keeping their login credentials confidential and for immediately notifying Stratford Academy of any suspected unauthorized access or misuse.

10. Student Records and Learning Data

Stratford Academy may maintain student records related to enrollment, attendance, coursework, assignments, assessments, project submissions, academic progress, certification eligibility, communication history, and support activity.

These records may be used for academic administration, quality assurance, student support, certification verification, compliance, dispute resolution, and internal reporting.

Certificates, completion records, or academic documents may be issued only after successful verification of academic, administrative, and payment requirements.

11. Third-Party Links and Platforms

Stratford Academy’s website, LMS, emails, or learning resources may contain links to third-party websites, tools, platforms, software, payment gateways, financing providers, or external resources.

These third-party platforms operate independently and are governed by their own privacy policies and terms. Stratford Academy is not responsible for the privacy practices, content, security, decisions, errors, or service interruptions of third-party providers.

Users are encouraged to review third-party privacy policies before submitting information to them.

12. Data Retention

Stratford Academy may retain personal information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes described in this Privacy Policy, including education delivery, student support, administrative records, payment records, legal compliance, dispute resolution, fraud prevention, and business operations.

Some records may be retained even after course completion, withdrawal, account closure, or termination of services where required for legal, accounting, compliance, academic, or operational purposes.

13. User Rights and Requests

Subject to applicable law and internal verification, users may request to:

• Access personal information held by Stratford Academy.
• Correct inaccurate or outdated information.
• Update contact details.
• Request deletion of certain personal information where legally permissible.
• Withdraw consent for non-essential marketing communication.
• Raise privacy-related concerns or complaints.

Stratford Academy may require identity verification before processing such requests. Certain records may not be deleted where retention is required for legal, contractual, academic, payment, compliance, or dispute-resolution purposes.

14. Children’s Privacy

Stratford Academy’s services are generally intended for adult learners and individuals seeking professional education or career-focused training. If a minor uses our services, such use must be with the consent and supervision of a parent or legal guardian.

We do not knowingly collect personal information from minors without appropriate consent where legally required.

15. International Users

As an online education platform, Stratford Academy may serve learners from different countries. By using our website or services, users acknowledge that their information may be processed, stored, or accessed in jurisdictions where Stratford Academy, its systems, service providers, or partners operate.

Privacy protections and data laws may vary depending on location.

16. Updates to This Privacy Policy

Stratford Academy may update, revise, or modify this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal requirements, technology, or operational practices.

The updated Privacy Policy will be posted on the official Stratford Academy website. Continued use of our website, platform, or services after updates means you accept the revised Privacy Policy.

17. Contact Information

For questions, concerns, or requests related to this Privacy Policy, please contact Stratford Academy through the official communication channels listed on our website.

18. Consent

By accessing Stratford Academy’s website, submitting information, enrolling in a course, making payment, using our LMS, attending classes, or communicating with our team, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agreed to this Privacy Policy.