Privacy Policy

1. Scope

This Privacy Policy explains how IEM Student Exchange (“IEM,” “we,” “us”) collects, uses, shares, and protects information when you visit iemstudentexchange.com, submit an inquiry or application, or receive our student, homestay, and school-placement services.

2. Information we collect

We collect the information you give us and a small amount of technical data:

• Inquiry and application information — student and parent or guardian name, email address, phone number, messaging handles (such as WhatsApp, WeChat, or KakaoTalk), country, preferred program and dates, school year or grade, and anything else you choose to tell us.
• Placement and program information — academic records, school preferences, housing preferences, dietary or health information relevant to a homestay, and emergency contacts, where you provide them as part of enrollment.
• Host family information — for prospective and current host families: contact details, household information, and background-check results processed by our screening providers.
• Technical information — basic request and log data such as IP address, browser type, pages viewed, and timestamps, used to operate and secure the site.

3. How we use information

We use information to respond to your inquiry; assess and coordinate school placement, homestay, guardianship-related support, and student services; prepare enrollment and visa-related documentation; communicate with students, parents, host families, schools, and agents; keep families updated during a student’s program; maintain safety and emergency contact procedures; improve our programs and website; and meet legal, accreditation, and reporting obligations.

4. Forms and third-party services

Inquiry and application forms on this site are hosted by HubSpot, which stores submissions in our customer relationship management system on our behalf. Some pages embed video from third-party platforms such as YouTube or Vimeo, and the site offers an optional machine-translation widget. These providers may receive technical data when their content loads and handle it under their own privacy policies.

5. How we share information

We do not sell your personal information.

• Partner schools and colleges — to arrange admission, enrollment, and academic support.
• Host families and housing partners — to arrange and support placement.
• Education agents and representatives — where a family is working with one.
• Service providers — including our form and CRM provider, email and hosting providers, and background-screening providers, who process information on our behalf.
• Government and compliance bodies — including SEVIS/DSO-related reporting where required for student status.
• Legal and safety — when required by law, to enforce our terms, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of students, families, or others.

6. Students under 18

Many of the students we serve are minors. We collect a minor’s information from a parent or legal guardian, or from an agent acting with their authorization, and we use it only to deliver and support the student’s program. Parents and guardians may request access to, correction of, or deletion of their child’s information by contacting us. We ask for written parental consent before publishing any photograph or video that identifies a minor.

7. International transfers

IEM is based in the United States, and information you provide is processed in the United States. If you contact us from another country, you understand that your information will be transferred to and handled in the United States, where data-protection laws may differ from those in your country.

8. Data retention

We keep inquiry, placement, and program information for as long as needed to provide our services and to satisfy legal, accreditation, tax, and reporting requirements. After that, information is deleted or de-identified.

9. Security

We use administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect information, including access controls and least-privilege access for staff. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

10. Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access, correct, delete, or receive a copy of your personal information, and to object to or restrict certain processing. To make a request, contact us using the details below. We will respond as required by applicable law.

11. California privacy (CCPA/CPRA)

California residents have the right to know what personal information we collect, to request its deletion or correction, and to opt out of the “sale” or “sharing” of personal information. We do not sell or share personal information as those terms are defined by California law. You will not be treated differently for exercising these rights.

12. Cookies and tracking

We use cookies and similar technologies that are necessary to operate the site and to understand how it is used, along with any cookies set by the embedded services described above. You can control cookies through your browser settings.

13. Changes to this Policy

We may update this Policy from time to time. Material changes will be posted on this page with a new effective date.