Welcome to the Privacy Policy page of the Department of Islamic Studies at Global University, Beirut, Lebanon. We value your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal data in accordance with applicable academic and local data protection frameworks.

This statement explains how we gather, process, store, and safeguard your personal information when you use our online student registration/admission portal, visit our website, or interact with our administrative staff.

To process your enrollment request, evaluate your academic files, and manage your record in our system, we collect the following types of personal information:

• Personal Identification Data: Full Name (both in English and Arabic as written in official documentation), Father's Name, Mother's Name, Gender, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Nationality, and Marital Status.
• Contact Details: Email Address, Phone Number, WhatsApp Number, and Mailing Address.
• Official Identification Scans: Scanned copies of your Passport, National Identity Card, and passport-size photographs.
• Academic Qualifications: Certified scans of High School certificates, Bachelor's/Master's Degrees, official academic transcripts, equivalence declarations, and verification stamps from competent authorities.
• Technical and Session Data: Internet Protocol (IP) address, browser details, session states, and authentication data (such as temporary OTP logs).

We collect information directly from you through the following means:

• Online Portal Submissions: Forms and files you complete and upload when using our online Student Admission Portal.
• Identity Verification: SMS and Email One-Time Password (OTP) verification systems to authenticate your contact details.
• Administrative Interaction: Details you provide during follow-up support via official university email accounts, WhatsApp, or telephone.

We process your personal data strictly for academic and administrative purposes:

1. Admission Evaluation: Evaluating academic backgrounds, certificates, and equivalencies to verify eligibility for enrollment.
2. Verification & Security: Verifying your identity via OTP security mechanisms and preventing fraudulent submissions.
3. Academic Registry: Creating and maintaining active student files, registries, and courses once your admission is approved.
4. Communication: Providing you with application updates, requirements list, registration deadlines, and academic calendar alerts.
5. Regulatory Compliance: Fulfilling official reporting, registration, and degree accreditation duties required by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MEHE) in Lebanon.

We implement appropriate technical, administrative, and physical security measures to protect your personal data:

• Data Encryption: All information submitted through our online portal is encrypted during transit using SSL/TLS security protocols.
• Access Control: Student records and uploaded documents are stored in secure databases, accessible only to authorized administrative and registrar personnel.
• Session Checks: We utilize OTP verification codes to prevent unauthorized access to your ongoing application profile.

We retain your personal data for varying durations depending on your enrollment status:

• Enrolled Students: Academic records, certificates, transcripts, and official registration files are kept permanently in our university archives to support transcript requests, degree verifications, and historical audits.
• Unsubmitted Draft Applications: Incomplete registration applications that are left as drafts will be purged periodically from the system database.
• Rejected Applications: Information regarding rejected applicants is retained for a standard administrative and legal window to prevent duplicate submissions and audit decisions, after which it is safely deleted or archived.

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third-party commercial entities. Your data is only shared in the following circumstances:

• Internal Administration: Shared with the central departments of Global University for registrar validation and payment processing.
• Accreditation Authorities: Disclosed to the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MEHE) in Lebanon for official student registration, diploma equivalency validation, and graduation licensing.
• Legal Requirements: Disclosed when required by Lebanese judicial authorities or in response to official legal investigations.

Our online portal uses basic cookies and session files to operate securely:

• Session Cookies: Temporary files used to verify that you are logged in to your admission portal session.
• Security Cookies: Files used to secure the OTP verification flow and protect forms against cross-site scripting/request forgery.

You can disable cookies in your browser settings, but doing so will disrupt your portal login and OTP submission process.

Under institutional guidelines, you hold specific rights regarding your data:

• Access: The right to review your registered applicant details and see what documents are logged under your profile.
• Rectification: The right to update or correct inaccurate details in your application before final submission.
• Erasure: The right to request the deletion of your uploaded files and application prior to official enrollment.

We review and update this Privacy Policy periodically to match technological updates, legal changes, and new administrative procedures. Updates will be posted on this page with an updated "Last Updated" timestamp at the top of the content.

For questions or comments regarding this Privacy Policy and your data, please contact the Department of Islamic Studies administration: