Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Seed Academy ("Seed Academy," "we," "us," or "our") is an AI and vibe coding education program operated by Seed Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered in Custer, South Dakota, under the Black Hills Consortium. We are committed to protecting the privacy of our students, prospective students, alumni, website visitors, and community members. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you visit our website, apply to our programs, enroll as a student, or participate in our events. Please read this Privacy Policy carefully. If you do not agree with the practices described herein, please do not use our website or services.

2. Information We Collect

We collect information that you voluntarily provide to us and information that is automatically collected when you use our services:

• Application Information: Name, email, phone number, mailing address, educational background, employment history, and career goals submitted during program applications
• Student Records: Enrollment data, track assignment, attendance records, academic performance, project submissions, assessment scores, and completion certificates
• Payment Information: Billing details and payment methods processed through Stripe for tuition payments, payment plans, and scholarship disbursements
• Career Services Data: Resume information, portfolio links, job placement outcomes, salary data (voluntarily reported), and employer feedback
• AI Consulting Program Data: Consulting engagement records, client assignments, project descriptions, and performance evaluations for graduates in the consulting program
• Minor Student Data: For students under 18, parental or guardian consent forms, emergency contact information, and any accommodations or accessibility needs
• Event Registration: Name, contact details, and professional information for career fairs, Demo Day, THE CULT convention participation, and community events
• Website Usage Data: IP addresses, browser type, device information, pages visited, time spent on pages, and referring URLs

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

• Process applications, manage enrollment, and administer educational programs across all four tracks
• Process tuition payments, manage payment plans, and administer scholarships through Stripe
• Track academic progress, generate transcripts, and issue completion certificates
• Provide career services including job placement assistance, resume review, and employer matching
• Coordinate AI consulting program engagements between graduates and local businesses
• Communicate with you about program updates, schedule changes, career opportunities, and community events
• Generate anonymized, aggregate outcome reports for stakeholders, grantmakers, and accreditation purposes
• Improve our curriculum, teaching methods, and student experience based on feedback and performance data
• Comply with legal and regulatory obligations, including educational reporting requirements
• Protect the safety and security of our students, staff, and campus facilities

4. Information Sharing and Disclosure

We respect your privacy and share your information only in the following circumstances:

• Seed Foundation and BHC Affiliates: We share limited student data with Seed Foundation (our parent organization) for grant reporting, program coordination, and outcome tracking. We may share data with BHC entities for campus access (Grow Campus), housing coordination (Pass Creek Holdings), and event coordination (THE CULT).
• Employer Partners: With your explicit consent, we share portfolio links, skills profiles, and career preferences with hiring partners to facilitate job placement. You may opt out of employer sharing at any time.
• AI Consulting Clients: For graduates in the consulting program, we share limited professional information (name, skills, availability) with prospective consulting clients. Sharing is limited to what is necessary for engagement matching.
• Service Providers: We use third-party vendors for payment processing (Stripe), website hosting (Vercel), database management (Supabase), learning management, and email communications. These vendors are contractually obligated to protect your information.
• Grantmakers and Reporting: We share anonymized, aggregated program outcome data with grantmakers, foundations, and government agencies as required by grant agreements and educational reporting obligations.
• Legal Requirements: We may disclose information when required by law, regulation, legal process, or governmental request.

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties for their marketing purposes. Student lists are never shared with external organizations without explicit consent.

5. Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your personal information against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These measures include encryption of sensitive data, secure payment processing through PCI-compliant providers, access controls that limit data access to authorized staff and instructors, regular security assessments, and secure data storage on enterprise-grade infrastructure. Student academic records receive additional protections consistent with educational data privacy best practices. Despite these precautions, no method of transmission over the Internet or electronic storage is completely secure. We will notify affected individuals promptly in the event of a data breach as required by applicable law.

6. Student Privacy Rights

You have the right to access the personal information we hold about you, request corrections to inaccurate information, request deletion of your personal information (subject to academic record retention requirements), opt out of marketing communications at any time, opt out of employer data sharing, request a copy of your data in a portable format, and restrict the use of your data for specific purposes. To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at the information provided below. We will respond to your request within 30 days. Students may update their information through the student portal at any time.

7. Children's Privacy

Some Seed Academy programs, particularly AI Foundations and K-12 partnerships, may be open to participants under 18 years of age. For participants under 18, we require parental or guardian consent before collecting personal information, we collect only the minimum information necessary for program participation, parents or guardians may review, request deletion of, or refuse further collection of their child's information at any time, and we provide enhanced data protections for minor student records. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 without verified parental consent in compliance with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). For K-12 partnership programs, data sharing with school districts is governed by separate data sharing agreements that comply with FERPA and applicable state student privacy laws.

8. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

Our website uses cookies and similar tracking technologies to enhance your experience. We use essential cookies to maintain website functionality and session state, analytics cookies (via Vercel Analytics) to understand how visitors interact with our website, and preference cookies to remember your settings and choices. We do not use advertising or targeting cookies. You may control cookie settings through your browser preferences. Disabling essential cookies may impact the functionality of certain features, including the application portal and student dashboard.

9. Data Retention

We retain personal information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, comply with legal obligations, and support our educational mission. Student academic records (enrollment, grades, completion certificates) are retained permanently as part of our institutional records. Application data for applicants who do not enroll is retained for 2 years and then securely deleted. Payment records are retained for a minimum of 7 years for tax and audit compliance. Career placement and salary outcome data is retained for 5 years after program completion to support alumni services, outcome reporting, and accreditation. Event registration data is retained for 2 years after the event. You may request early deletion of non-academic data at any time, subject to our legal retention obligations.

10. Third-Party Links

Our website may contain links to third-party websites, including employer partners, educational resources, AI tool providers, and community organizations. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of these external sites. We encourage you to read the privacy policies of any third-party websites you visit. Links to external sites do not constitute endorsement of their content, products, or services.

11. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, programs, or legal requirements. We will post the updated policy on this page with a revised "Last updated" date. For material changes, we will provide additional notice through our website or email to enrolled students. Your continued use of our website and services after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

12. Contact Information

If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy, please contact us at: