1. Introduction

Upper Room Christian Citadel Ministry (URCCM) Theological Seminary & Bible College respects your privacy and is committed to protecting the personal information entrusted to us.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, share and protect personal information when you visit www.urccitadelministry.org.ng, submit an application, register for a programme, make a donation, contact us or otherwise interact with URCCM.

We process personal information in accordance with applicable Nigerian data protection laws, including the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023, and other applicable regulations.

2. Information We May Collect

Depending on how you interact with URCCM, we may collect information including:

Personal Identification Information

• Full name.
• Gender, where required.
• Date of birth, where required for an application.
• Postal or residential address.
• State, city or country.
• Photograph, where required.

Contact Information

• Email address.
• Telephone number.
• Postal address.

Admission and Educational Information

When applying to URCCM, we may collect:

• Educational qualifications.
• Employment or ministry information.
• Church or denominational information.
• Programme preferences.
• Academic records.
• Application documents.
• References or recommendations.
• Other information required for admission or student administration.

Payment and Donation Information

Where you make a payment or donation, we may collect:

• Payment amount.
• Transaction reference.
• Payment date.
• Payment status.
• Purpose of payment.
• Limited payment-related information provided by our payment service provider.

URCCM does not necessarily store complete debit or credit card details. Such information may be handled directly by an authorised third-party payment processor.

Website and Technical Information

When you use our website, certain information may be collected automatically, including:

• IP address.
• Browser type.
• Device type.
• Operating system.
• Pages visited.
• Date and time of visits.
• Referring website.
• Website usage and diagnostic information.

3. How We Collect Information

We may collect personal information when you:

• Complete an application form.
• Register for a course, seminar or programme.
• Make a donation or payment.
• Subscribe for information or announcements.
• Contact URCCM.
• Submit an enquiry.
• Create or use a student or college portal account.
• Attend programmes or events.
• Voluntarily submit information through our website.

Information may also be collected automatically through cookies and similar technologies.

4. How We Use Your Information

URCCM may use your personal information to:

• Process admission applications.
• Manage student registration and academic administration.
• Communicate with applicants and students.
• Administer courses, seminars and programmes.
• Process donations and payments.
• Issue receipts or payment confirmations.
• Respond to enquiries.
• Provide ministry, educational and administrative services.
• Send important notices and programme information.
• Maintain accurate ministry and student records.
• Improve our website and online services.
• Detect or prevent fraud and misuse.
• Maintain website and information security.
• Meet legal, regulatory and accounting obligations.
• Protect the legitimate interests of URCCM, its students, staff and users.

Where required by law, we will obtain your consent before using your information for purposes requiring consent.

5. Legal Basis for Processing

Depending on the circumstances, URCCM may process personal information on the basis of:

• Your consent.
• Performance of an agreement or provision of a service you requested.
• Compliance with a legal obligation.
• URCCM's legitimate interests, where those interests do not improperly override your rights.
• Protection of vital interests where applicable.
• Other lawful bases permitted under applicable Nigerian law.

6. Cookies

Our website may use cookies and similar technologies to provide essential website functions, remember preferences, improve performance, maintain security and understand how visitors interact with the website.

Cookies may include strictly necessary cookies, preference cookies, analytics or performance cookies, and security cookies.

Where legally required, non-essential cookies will be used based on your consent. You may manage cookies through your browser or through any cookie-management facility made available on the website. Disabling certain cookies may affect some website features.

7. Sharing Your Information

URCCM does not sell your personal information.

We may share personal information where reasonably necessary with:

• Banks and payment processors.
• Website hosting and technology providers.
• Email and communication service providers.
• Professional advisers.
• Educational or administrative service providers.
• Government agencies or regulatory authorities where legally required.
• Law-enforcement agencies where disclosure is required by applicable law.

Service providers handling information on behalf of URCCM are expected to process it only for authorised purposes and apply appropriate safeguards.

8. International Data Transfers

Some technology, hosting, email, cloud or payment service providers used by URCCM may operate outside Nigeria.

Where personal information is transferred outside Nigeria, URCCM will take reasonable steps to ensure that the transfer is made in accordance with applicable data protection requirements and that appropriate safeguards are applied where required.

9. Data Security

URCCM takes reasonable administrative, organisational and technical measures to protect personal information against unauthorised access, accidental loss, misuse, disclosure, alteration and destruction.

However, no internet-based system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, and users should also take reasonable precautions when accessing online services.

10. Retention of Personal Information

We will retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, academic and administrative record keeping, financial and accounting purposes, legal and regulatory obligations, resolving disputes, and protecting the rights and interests of URCCM.

Information that is no longer reasonably required will be deleted, anonymised or securely disposed of, subject to applicable record-retention requirements.

11. Your Data Protection Rights

Subject to applicable law and relevant exceptions, you may have the right to:

• Be informed about how your personal information is used.
• Request access to your personal information.
• Request correction of inaccurate information.
• Request deletion of information where legally appropriate.
• Request restriction of certain processing.
• Object to certain processing.
• Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent.
• Request portability of your personal information where applicable.
• Raise a complaint concerning how your personal information is handled.
• Lodge a complaint with the Nigeria Data Protection Commission where appropriate.

Withdrawal of consent will not affect processing that was lawful before consent was withdrawn.

12. Children's Privacy

URCCM does not intentionally collect personal information from children through the website without appropriate authority where parental or guardian consent is legally required.

Where an applicant or participant is below the applicable age for providing valid consent, URCCM may require consent or authorisation from a parent or legal guardian.

13. Photographs, Events and Ministry Media

Photographs, audio recordings or videos may be taken during URCCM programmes, classes, conferences, convocations, seminars, worship activities and other events.

Such materials may be used for legitimate ministry, educational, historical or communication purposes, subject to applicable privacy requirements. Where individual consent is required because of the nature of the intended use, appropriate consent will be obtained.

14. External Links

Our website may contain links to third-party websites. URCCM is not responsible for the privacy practices, security or content of websites operated by third parties. Users are encouraged to read the privacy policies of those websites before providing personal information.

15. Electronic Communications

Where you provide your email address or telephone number, URCCM may use it to send communications relating to your application, programme, payments, events, ministry activities, administrative notices and other information you requested.

Where applicable, you may request to stop receiving non-essential promotional communications.

16. Data Breaches

Where a personal data breach occurs, URCCM will assess the incident and take appropriate steps to contain and investigate it. Where required by applicable law, URCCM will notify the relevant regulatory authority and/or affected individuals.

17. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may revise this Privacy Policy periodically to reflect changes in our operations, technology or applicable law. The updated version will be published on our website together with the revised effective or "Last Updated" date.

18. Contact Us

You may also have the right to raise unresolved data-protection concerns with the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) in accordance with applicable Nigerian law.