Legal

Privacy Policy

Last updated: August 6, 2026

Cohort Institute, Inc. ("we," "us," or "our") provides team-formation and team-lifecycle software to educational institutions. This policy explains what we collect, how we use it, and what you can ask us to do with it.

This policy states only what we have verified. Where we could not confirm a specific detail — an exact retention period, a particular encryption standard — we describe our practice in general terms rather than name a specific we cannot stand behind. We would rather publish less and mean all of it. As these details are confirmed and reviewed, this policy will say more.

1. What we collect

From institutions

  • Roster information (student names and email addresses)
  • Course information (course name, section, instructor)
  • Institution name and contact information

From students

  • Responses to the working-style survey
  • Attention-check responses, used for data quality
  • Schedule availability, if provided
  • Optional comments during check-ins

Automatically

  • Response timestamps and time spent on survey questions
  • Basic device and browser information needed for the platform to function
  • Email delivery status (delivered, opened, bounced)

What we do not collect

  • Grades or academic performance
  • Social Security numbers or government identifiers
  • Financial information
  • Location or GPS data
  • Behavior outside the platform
  • Cross-site tracking cookies

2. How we use it

We use the information we collect to:

  • Form balanced student teams from complementary working styles
  • Give instructors a team-level view of how their teams are configured
  • Send survey invitations and check-in reminders
  • Surface early coordination signals to instructors
  • Improve how teams are formed, using aggregated and de-identified data
  • Respond to support requests

We do not use student data for advertising, for marketing to students, or for any purpose unrelated to educational team formation. We do not sell personal information.

3. Student records and institutional control

When an institution uses Cohort, the student information it provides remains the institution's. We handle that information on the institution's behalf and for the purposes it directs. Instructors see only their own classes.

Requirements under student-privacy laws such as FERPA depend on the arrangement between Cohort and each institution. If your institution needs specific contractual terms, access and deletion procedures, or documentation of how student records are handled, contact us at privacy@cohortinstitute.com and we will work through them with you directly.

4. Sharing

We share information only in these circumstances:

  • With the institution. Instructors and institutions may access data from their own courses.
  • With service providers who help operate the platform — hosting, email delivery, and form processing. They act on our instructions.
  • When required by law, or to protect the safety of a person.

We do not sell data, share it with advertisers or data brokers, or use it for targeted advertising.

5. Security

Information is transmitted over encrypted connections (HTTPS), and access to production systems is restricted to the people who need it and protected by authentication.

We have deliberately not listed a specific encryption-at-rest standard here. We will name one once every storage layer holding personal data has been verified against it. No system is perfectly secure, and we would rather describe our practice accurately than imply a guarantee.

6. Retention

We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary to provide the service, meet institutional requirements, and comply with applicable law.

We are establishing a deletion schedule by data type and will publish it here once it is set. In the meantime, an institution or a student may request deletion at any time using the contact below.

7. Where information is stored

Our application databases and file storage are hosted in the United States. Some service providers — content delivery and form processing among them — operate globally, so limited information may be processed outside the United States in the course of delivering the service.

8. Your rights

Students and other individuals may ask us to:

  • Provide a copy of the personal information we hold about them
  • Correct information that is inaccurate
  • Delete their personal information

A student may also decline the survey; their instructor can assign them to a team directly.

California residents have the right to know what personal information we collect, to request its deletion, to opt out of the sale of personal information (we do not sell it), and not to be discriminated against for exercising these rights.

Institutions may request an export of their data in a standard format, or ask us to delete it when an agreement ends.

To make any of these requests, email privacy@cohortinstitute.com.

9. Children's privacy

Cohort is built for higher education, where students are typically 18 or older. We do not knowingly collect information from children under 13. If we learn that we have, we will delete it.

10. If there is a data breach

We will notify affected individuals and institutions as required by applicable law, describe what happened and what information was involved, and work with the institution's incident response.

11. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy. When we make a material change, we will update the date at the top of this page and notify institutional partners.

12. Contact

For any privacy question or request, email privacy@cohortinstitute.com.

Cohort Institute, Inc. — a Delaware corporation.