Davenport University takes the privacy of our students very seriously. In signing up for Google Apps for Education (which we have renamed PantherMail) we went through an exhaustive review of vendors, features and privacy policies to make sure we selected the best solution for our students.
As with any vendor, concerns about privacy may arise. This page was authored to address the most common concerns.
Below you'll find answers to the most common questions from Davenport students.Many other FAQs are available at Google's Help Center or on Google's FAQ for Educational Institutions.
Question: Do I have to participate in PantherMail? Can I use my personal email as my primary email?
Answer: All students are issued a PantherMail account. If you do not wish to use it, you may login and set up mail forwarding as described in Google's Help Center. You may not opt completely out of PantherMail as it is the official means of communication between Davenport University and our students. If you set up forwarding you are responsible for making sure the messages reach your forwarded Inbox. Davenport recommends you use PantherMail without forwarding to make sure all messages reach you in a timely manner.
Q: Will advertising show up on my PantherMail account?
A: No advertising will appear on your PantherMail account while you are a student at Davenport University as described by Google (see Education Edition of Google Apps). If you wish to keep your account after you graduate, advertising may appear at that point.
Q: I have a personal Gmail account from Google. Can I combine that with my PantherMail account?
A: You cannot combine other Gmail accounts with your PantherMail account (other than by setting up forwarding). PantherMail is provided by Google but does not reside on the same servers, or abide by the same rules as a regular Gmail account.
Q: Does Google's privacy policy grant them access to my account at any time?
A. No. Google is providing a service, persuant to an agreement with Davenport. Google has a document detailing the access given to a domain administrator of an account. Davenport University is the domain administrator of PantherMail. Google is not the domain administrator of PantherMail.
Q: Is Google reading my email?
Google is NOT reading your email.
Q: Does Google keep my personal information in a database?
A. Google keeps your first name, last name and email address in a database. This information is required to provide an email account. No other contact information is stored by Google.
Q: Does Google share my information with third parties?
A: Only in the following circumstances (which are detailed in Google's privacy policy):
- The law requires it (such as under the Patriot Act)
- You give permission for Google share your information. Creating your account DOES NOT imply that you have given Google permission to share your data. If they want your permission, they will ask you at a later date.
- For the processing of information. If this occurs, the third party is subject to the same stringent privacy policy to which Google holds themselves. An example: If Google hosts their web services at a data center owned by another company then that data center is subject to the same strict privacy policy.
Q: What kind of access does Davenport University have to my email account?
A: As described by Google, Davenport University (the "Domain Administrator") has the following access to your account.
- View statistics regarding your account, such as information concerning your last login or data storage usage
- Change your account password, suspend or terminate your account access and your ability to modify your account
- Access or retain information stored as part of your account, including your email, contacts and other information
- Receive account information in order to satisfy applicable law, regulation, legal process or enforceable governmental request.
These access rights belong to Davenport not to Google. Davenport is your domain administrator as described by Google in their March 1, 2012 privacy notice. The access rights described above grant Davenport much less access to student email than we had under the previous system. Google is granting students more autonomy, with better privacy protections, than our previous system.
Q: Can I talk to Google about my privacy concerns?
A: Yes. Students, staff, alumni and faculty can talk to Google directly about privacy if they wish.