PRIVACY

APTA and PTCAS have developed policies to prevent the exposure of truly confidential personal data without the permission of the individual involved, to limit the distribution of sensitive data to those situations which require it, and to permit distribution of non-sensitive, directory information wherever a useful purpose can be served.

Except for communications with the PT program as a part of the application and record keeping process, information about individual applicants is not shared with anyone in a way which would permit individual identification. Data submitted by a user will be used for PTCAS application process and for statistical purposes. PTCAS will protect the information provided. PTCAS does not disclose, give, sell, or transfer personal information with third parties without the site visitor's express permission. If demographic information is given to third parties, only aggregate information will be provided.

Information about applicants and students is, of course, disclosed to the physical therapist programs to which an applicant applies and/or matriculates. With the exception of monitoring reports related to multiple acceptances, information submitted to PTCAS by a PT program is available only to that institution.

PTCAS will make every attempt to protect any personal information submitted to it via email. However, email is not secure against interception. Any sensitive information emailed to PTCAS is provided at the risk of the sender. If you are concerned that the content of your communication is especially sensitive, you should consider contacting PTCAS by phone or sending the information by postal mail instead.

This privacy policy is subject to change and applies only to information on the PTCAS Web site, and not to other APTA Web sites or outside sites linked to by APTA's Web sites. By using the PTCAS Web site, you signify your agreement to the terms of the privacy policy.

SECURITY

Security is a priority at PTCAS. We are committed to protecting the security and confidentiality of your information. We use a combination of state-of-the-art technology and methods to help ensure that your online sessions are secure.

Internet Security Measures

Any personal information you send us is scrambled. This technology, called Secure Socket Layers (SSL), protects information you submit or receive through this site. In addition, any sensitive personal information that you send to our web site (such as social security number) is held in a secured environment, protected by tools such as firewalls and/or database field encryption. The technology is designed to make using your personal data and credit card information on the Internet as safe as possible.  PTCAS protects the privacy of your credit card information, name, address, e-mail and all other information you provide us via the on-line payment process. No representation is made, however, regarding the unconditional security of such submissions.

Independent agencies report there are no recorded instances of someone "breaking" SSL encryption and using credit card information for fraudulent purposes. Statistically speaking, it is safer to submit your credit card information electronically via an SSL site than it is to give your card to a store clerk. SSL technology is so safe that VeriSign, the PTCAS certifying authority, warrants it against fraudulent use for up to $100,000.

The SSL technology depends on secure Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) that are certified by an authority such as VeriSign. Secure URLs always begin with "https://" (not "http://"). If you use a browser that recognizes SSL, you will be notified that you are on a secure page. Any information you enter on such a page is encrypted, sent over the Internet in encrypted form, and de-encrypted at our server. If your browser doesn't support SSL technology, you will receive an error message when trying to access our SSL page. If this error occurs,  logout of your application and download the most current Internet Explorer browser.

Once we receive your credit card information, it is accessible only to designated PTCAS administrators.