Utah State University's (USU) Office of Events is a unit of USU that plans and supports university-sponsored and client-hosted events. As part of this work, the Office of Events collects and processes personal information to manage event registration, logistics, communications, payments, and related operations. In many cases, the Office of Events processes personal data on behalf of the event host (such as a USU college, department, or external client).
This notice applies to all events managed or supported by the Office of Events. It explains what personal information we collect, how we use it, how we protect it, and what rights you have.
What information we collect and why
When you register for an event managed by USU's Office of Events, we collect personal information needed to organize and run the event. Basic registration information includes your full name and email address so we can confirm your registration and communicate with you.
Depending on the event, we may also collect additional contact details, such as a mobile phone number, to provide urgent updates or support day-of coordination. For events that require payment, we collect payment information, which is processed securely. When relevant, we may also collect professional details such as your employer, work address, or job title.
To support event logistics and planning, we may collect information such as dietary restrictions or food preferences for catering, vehicle information (including license plate or similar identifiers) for parking coordination, and age or age range when needed for eligibility, safety, or risk planning purposes.
For certain events, we may also collect information related to your academic or institutional affiliation, such as your school or university, field of study, or student identifier (such as an A#). In limited cases, we may also collect demographic or risk-related information when necessary to support safety, compliance, or event planning.
For participants under 18, we collect the minor’s name, age, and a parent or guardian’s contact information to ensure safe participation.
We do not collect government-issued identification numbers or sensitive personal data unless required by law or expressly approved by the USU Office of General Counsel. We collect and use this information only as needed to support event registration, operations, safety, and compliance.
How we use your information
Your information is used strictly for the purposes of the event: managing your registration, sending updates, processing payments, and handling the practical logistics like catering, parking, and day-of coordination. We also use certain information to conduct event safety, risk assessment, and operational planning activities, including coordination with university units responsible for facilities, public safety, and compliance. We also use it to support safety, risk and emergency planning and to fulfill any legal or contractual obligations tied to the event. Beyond that, we use aggregate, anonymized data for internal planning and reporting. We do not use your information for marketing, we do not sell it, and we do not use it for anything unrelated to the event for which it was collected.
Legal basis for processing
USU processes personal information in accordance with applicable laws, including state privacy laws and, where relevant, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) for individuals located in the European Union or European Economic Area. Depending on the circumstances, processing may be based on the performance of a contract (such as event registration and service delivery), compliance with legal obligations, legitimate institutional interests (such as event logistics, safety, and administration), or your consent where it is specifically requested (for example, for optional communications or event photography).
Who sees your information?
We work with a small number of third-party service providers to run our events. These providers may include event management platforms, payment processors, and university-approved systems (such as Cvent, Authorize.net, Clover). All of our vendors are contractually required to protect your data and use it only in support of our event operations. When a USU college, department, or external organization is hosting an event, they may also receive the registration data their attendees submitted, limited to what they need to run their event and governed by their service agreement with USU.
Depending on the nature of the event, information may also be shared with relevant university units such as public safety (e.g., USU Police), Facilities, Risk Management, the Office of General Counsel, and financial services for billing and compliance purposes. External clients hosting events may receive attendee data necessary to operate their event in accordance with contractual agreements. Our event management platform stores data on servers in the United States, though some vendor staff may access it from other locations. If you are registering from the European Union or European Economic Area, appropriate safeguards are in place for any cross-border data transfers, and you have additional rights under the GDPR.
What about AI tools?
As part of our event operations, your personal data may be processed by AI-enabled tools, including USU's enterprise AI systems and those offered by our service providers. Our primary event management platform includes AI features that, when used, are limited to supporting event logistics and communications. Our providers are contractually prohibited from using your data to train AI models. For more details on how our event platform handles data in the context of AI, you can review their privacy policy at Cvent’s Privacy Policy.
How we protect your data
USU and its vendors apply security measures including encryption of data in transit and at rest, role-based access controls, and multi-factor authentication for systems that handle personal information. In the event of a breach affecting your data, we will notify you as required by law.
Records series classification and public records
Personal data collected by USU's Office of Events is maintained in accordance with Utah State University records retention schedules. The Office of Events' records are generally managed as administrative records related to event planning, registration, and operations, though specific classifications may vary (for example, financial, contractual, or administrative) and are assigned under university records management policies.
Because USU is a state institution, information we collect may be subject to the Government Records Access and Management Act (GRAMA), Utah Code § 63G-2-101 et seq. Under GRAMA, records prepared, owned, received, or retained by a government entity are generally considered public unless they fall into a protected category such as private, controlled, or protected records as defined under state or federal law. If USU receives a valid GRAMA request for records containing your personal information, and those records are not protected, USU may be required to disclose them. "Personally identifiable information" is not itself a GRAMA classification. Whether a record can be withheld depends on how it is classified under the law, not on whether it contains your name or contact details. USU may also disclose information to third parties when required or permitted by other applicable laws.
You can learn more about GRAMA on the USU GRAMA page and on the Utah State Legislature website.
Your rights
You have the right to access, correct, or request deletion of the personal information we hold about you. You can also update your own registration details directly through Cvent if you registered online. To make any of these requests, contact the USU Office of Information Privacy at privacy@usu.edu or (435) 797-1747. We will respond promptly.
Cookies and tracking technologies
USU's Office of Events may use cookies and similar technologies through the Cvent platform for session management and basic event registration functionality. Cvent's cookie and tracking practices are governed by Cvent's own privacy policy, available at https://www.cvent.com/en/privacy-policy. We do not use tracking technologies for behavioral advertising.
Changes to this notice
We may update this privacy notice from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, legal requirements, or the systems we use. The most current version will always be available on the USU's Office of Events website. Material changes will be communicated through event registration pages or direct notification where feasible.
Contact us
If you have questions, concerns, or complaints about how your personal information is handled, please contact:
USU Office of Events
Location: Taggart Student Center
Website: https://events.usu.edu
USU Office of Information Privacy
Email: privacy@usu.edu
Phone: (435) 797-1747