Website Policies | Capitol Technology University | Washington D.C. & Maryland Area

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act

Federal law protects the privacy of student education records. The law applies to all schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education. FERPA limits what information faculty and staff can discuss about students without their consent. For more information, visit the FERPA website.

The information on this page is written to explain to our website visitors how we collect information and protect your personal privacy as you interact with Capitol Technology University (“Capitol”) on the internet. We reserve the right to modify our policy at any time without any further notice and by using this website you agree to accept any changes that we make to this policy.

Diversity and Inclusion

Diversity Statement

The Capitol University community is committed to creating and maintaining a mutually respectful environment that recognizes and celebrates diversity among all students, faculty, and staff. Capitol values human differences as an asset, works to sustain a culture that reflects the interests, contributions, and perspectives of members of diverse groups; and delivers educational programming to meet the needs of diverse audiences. We also seek to instill those values, understandings and skills to encourage leadership and service in a global multicultural society.

Affirmative Action

Capitol University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, sexual orientation, or handicap in admission, employment, programs, or activities.

Title IX

Equal Opportunities

Capitol Technology University actively subscribes to a policy of equal educational and employment opportunity and, in accordance with Title IX of the education amendments of 1972, does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, gender orientation, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status in admission, treatment of students or employment.

The following members of the Capitol Technology University community are designated to receive inquiries concerning the university’s application of the equal opportunities statement. Inquiries related to the application of the Title IX may be referred to the campus Title IX coordinator, Melinda Bunnell-Rhyne; the Director of Human Resources, Katy DeHart; or any Vice President of the university or to the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights.

Melinda Bunnell-Rhyne
Vice President
Student Engagement and University Development
Title IX Coordinator and Section 504 Coordinator
11301 Springfield Rd. Laurel, MD 20708
301-369-2491
Email Melinda Bunnell-Rhyne Vice President at Capitol Tech University

Mikhail Petukhov
Director of Human Resources
Title IX Deputy
11301 Springfield Rd. Laurel, MD 20708
240-965-2465
hr@captechu.edu

Privacy Policy & Legal Notice

Background

Capitol maintains its website to support its mission and to provide information about the University, its policies, campus facilities, and educational and other programs. Capitol hopes this information is helpful and easy to use.

Capitol is mindful that internet browsers are sensitive to issues of privacy, and Capitol will take reasonable precautions to safeguard the personal information users provide to Capitol. The information provided by users will only be used for internal Capitol purposes.

Capitol makes efforts to ensure that its privacy policies and the applicable federal and state government policies are followed. Information submitted on the website is maintained in a secure and confidential manner.

Access to this website is monitored. The requesting URLs, the device originating the request, and the time of the request are logged for access statistics and security purposes. Use of this website constitutes consent to both the monitoring, and the collection of such information.

The data that we collect

Personally identifiable information

Any information that a user voluntarily submits through forms or other direct interactions with the University, including a user’s name, address, contact and other information may be stored and used to personalize the interactions with the University. Capitol will not share this information with third-parties for non-University business purposes and Capitol does not store data such as credit card or social security numbers on the website.

Non-personally identifiable information

Non-personally identifiable information refers to any data that Capitol collected based on aggregate browsing habits of our website visitors and device-specific data (i.e., a user’s web browser or IP address). Capitol does not associate personally identifiable information with this data.

IP (internet protocol) address

Capitol collects the IP address of any device that accesses its website, but the IP address is not linked to any personally identifiable information. Capitol uses IP addresses to analyze broad trends for user behavior and troubleshoot issues on its server so that it can improve the website.

Cookies

Cookies are data tokens that are saved in a user’s browser when a user interacts with Capitol’s website. This data provides the University information about your browsing habits, allowing Capitol to personalize a user’s experience on Capitol’s website. Cookies may be disabled by the user by changing the user’s browser settings.

Advertising and third-party services

Capitol works with external third-party services to place ads that maybe seen on other websites, such as Facebook or Google. These third-party services use non-personalized data that is collected about a user’s browsing habits (for example the pages accessed and the links clicked) on our website in order to personalize your ad experience on other websites.

More information about how to opt-out of third-party ad tracking is available at

http://www.aboutads.info/

Advertising opt-out

A user may manage the ads and privacy settings that are seen on Google at:
https://privacy.google.com

A user may also opt-out of any email communications from Capitol by following the instructions in the emails received from Capitol.

Disclaimer of liability

Capitol maintains this website to support its mission and to be of service to its students and their parents, its faculty, staff, alumni, friends and supporters, as well as for general public use.

The trademarks, service marks, trade names, logos and other intellectual property in this site are owned by Capitol and may not be used in any electronic, printed publication or other format without the express prior written permission of Capitol.

Capitol makes a reasonable attempt to ensure that the information on its site is accurate and up to date. Capitol makes no representations or warranties as to the accuracy, reliability or completeness of the information, text, graphics, links or other items contained in this site or any site linked to or from Capitol’s site. Capitol reserves the right to change programs, policies and services described in this site at any time without notice, and Capitol will not be liable for any actual special or consequential damages that result from the use of, or inability to use, the materials in this site.

The views and opinions expressed by individual faculty, staff and students on personal webpages found within the Capitol website are strictly those of the page authors.

For the user’s convenience, links are provided to other non-University sites. These links are for informational purposes only. Capitol is not responsible for the content of these sites. Capitol does not endorse or approve the entities operating these sites.

This website may be unavailable from time to time due to mechanical, telecommunication, software, hardware and third-party vendor failures. Capitol cannot predict or control when such downtime may occur and cannot control the duration of such downtime.

Compliance with Legal Requirements

Capitol does not discriminate against applicants, students, faculty or staff on the basis of race, religion, age, disabilities, national or ethnic origin, gender or sexual orientation, status as a veteran or any classification protected by local, state or federal law.

SMS Privacy Policy

Effective Date: 07/23/2026

Policy Statement

Capitol Technology University respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal information.

When you voluntarily provide your mobile phone number, you consent to receive text messages from Capitol Technology University related to university business, including but not limited to admissions, enrollment, student services, account notifications, one-time passcodes, financial aid updates, event reminders, and other university communications.

Your mobile phone number will be used solely for the purpose of delivering these communications.

SMS consent is not shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing purposes excluding those third parties which are acting on the behalf of Capitol Technology University.

Message frequency varies depending on your interactions with the university and the services you request.

You may opt out of receiving SMS messages at any time by replying STOP to any text message. For assistance, reply HELP.

Rationale

The University is preparing to begin to use SMS to contact students about matters directly related to their participation in educational programs and is changing SMS vendors to support Admissions. Twilio requires that the University have an SMS privacy policy.

Entities Affected by This Policy

All offices which use SMS messaging to contact students, prospective students, and current students.

Definitions

Affiliate: Any entity that controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with Capitol Technology University.
Consent: An individual's affirmative agreement to receive text messages from Capitol Technology University. Consent may be provided by voluntarily submitting a mobile phone number through a University form, application, website, portal, agreement, registration process, or other communication channel and acknowledging receipt of SMS messages. Consent may be withdrawn at any time by following the opt-out instructions provided in a text message or by contacting the University.
Marketing Purposes: The promotion, advertising, or solicitation of products, services, events, donations, or opportunities primarily intended to encourage participation, purchases, contributions, or other commercial activity. Marketing purposes do not include transactional, administrative, security, operational, educational, or service-related communications necessary to support an individual's relationship with Capitol Technology University.
Mobile Phone Number: A telephone number assigned to a mobile wireless device that is provided by an individual to Capitol Technology University for the purpose of receiving SMS or other mobile communications related to University business.
SMS/Text Message: A Short Message Service (SMS) message or other text-based communication sent to or received from a mobile wireless device using a telephone number provided by an individual. For purposes of this policy, SMS/Text Messages include communications related to university business, such as notifications, alerts, reminders, updates, authentication codes, and other informational messages. Third Party may include advertisers, marketers, data brokers, business partners, or other external entities. Capitol Technology University does not share SMS consent with third parties for marketing purposes.
University Communications: any communication related to the operations of Capitol Technology University.

Policy Procedures

The SIS Committee will establish procedures for coding accounts and avoiding texting accounts that have opted out of SMS messaging. Applications may need to be updated to include an opt out of SMS messaging option where the phone number is required and therefore not voluntarily given.

Dissemination Plan

Included in the policies that are agreed to when an application is submitted. Included on the Public Information tab on MyCapitol. Included on any site where phone numbers are collected. Included in the Student Handbook. Sent by email to the community upon approval.

SMS Terms and Conditions

Effective Date: 07/23/2026

Policy Statement

SMS Terms & Conditions

By providing your mobile phone number, you agree to receive SMS communications from Capitol Technology University.

Types of Messages

SMS messages may include, but are not limited to:

One-time passcodes (OTP) and account verification
Admissions and application updates
Enrollment notifications
Student account and registration notifications
Financial aid notifications
Student services communications
Event and appointment reminders
Other university-related operational communications

Message Frequency

Message frequency varies based on your interactions with Capitol Technology University and the services you have requested.

Message and Data Rates

Standard message and data rates may apply according to your mobile carrier's plan.

Opt-Out

You may opt out of SMS communications at any time by replying STOP to any message. Once you opt out, you will no longer receive SMS messages unless you subsequently opt back in.

Help

For assistance, reply HELP to any SMS message or contact:

Capitol Technology University
201-369-2300
admissions@captechu.edu

Carrier Disclaimer

Wireless carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages.

Consent

By providing your mobile phone number through a Capitol Technology University website, application, registration form, or other authorized method, you acknowledge that you have read and agree to these SMS Privacy Policy and SMS Terms & Conditions.

Rationale

Entities Affected by This Policy

All offices which use SMS messaging to contact students, prospective students, and current students.

Definitions

Authorized Method: registering for an event, submitting an inquiry form, submitting your phone number in anyway via the captechu.edu website.
Consent: An individual's affirmative agreement to receive text messages from Capitol Technology University. Consent may be provided by voluntarily submitting a mobile phone number through a university form, application, website, portal, agreement, registration process, or other communication channel and acknowledging receipt of SMS messages. Consent may be withdrawn at any time by following the opt-out instructions provided in a text message or by contacting the University.
Mobile Phone Number: A telephone number assigned to a mobile wireless device that is provided by an individual to Capitol Technology University for the purpose of receiving SMS or other mobile communications related to university business.
One-Time Passcode (OTP): A unique, temporary code generated and sent by Capitol Technology University to a user's mobile phone number for the purpose of verifying identity, authenticating access to a system or account, or completing a secure transaction. OTPs are valid for a limited period of time and are intended for one-time use only.
Opt-In: An individual's affirmative agreement to receive SMS communications from Capitol Technology University. An individual may opt in by providing a mobile phone number through a University website, application, registration form, account setup process, or other authorized method and agreeing to receive SMS messages.
Opt-Out: An individual's request to stop receiving SMS communications from Capitol Technology University. An individual may opt out at any time by replying STOP to any SMS message or by using another method authorized by the University. Once an opt-out request is processed, SMS communications will cease unless the individual subsequently provides consent to opt in again.
SMS/Text Message: A Short Message Service (SMS) message or other text-based communication sent to or received from a mobile wireless device using a telephone number provided by an individual. For purposes of this policy, SMS/Text Messages include communications related to university business, such as notifications, alerts, reminders, updates, authentication codes, and other informational messages.
Student Account: records maintained by the University which relate to your participation in educational programs, university housing, conduct, account balances, financial aid etc...
Student Services: services provided by the university such as; registration, business office, advising, student activities, etc...
University-Related Operational Communications: Communications that are more general to the university's' operation such as; registration periods, campus status, important dates during the semester, events, etc...