Privacy Policy
Last updated: October 26, 2025
Directing Mastery Academy ("DMA," "we," "us," or "our") is committed to protecting the privacy of your personal information. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and disclose your personal information when you visit our website, directingmasteryacademy.com (the "Site"), use our services, or interact with us in any way.
1. Information We Collect
We collect several types of information from and about users of our Site and services, including:
- Personal Information: This includes information that can be used to identify you, such as your name, email address, postal address, phone number, payment information (credit card details), and photographic images provided for student profiles. This information is collected when you register for courses, subscribe to newsletters, participate in forums, or contact us directly.
- Usage Data: We automatically collect information about your interactions with our Site and services, such as your IP address, browser type, operating system, referring URLs, pages visited, and the dates/times of your visits. This data helps us understand how users navigate our Site and improve its functionality.
- Cookies and Similar Technologies: We use cookies, web beacons, and other tracking technologies to collect information about your browsing activity. Cookies are small data files stored on your device that enable us to recognize you when you return to our Site. You can control cookies through your browser settings. Refer to our Cookies Policy for more detailed information.
- Educational Records: As an educational institution, we may collect and maintain educational records, including course enrollment, grades, assignments, and academic progress.
- Communications Data: We retain records of your communications with us, including emails, chat logs, and phone calls, for customer service and training purposes.
2. How We Use Your Information
We use the information we collect for various purposes, including:
- Providing and Improving Services: We use your information to provide you with access to our courses, process your payments, personalize your experience, and improve the functionality and content of our Site and services.
- Communication: We use your contact information to communicate with you about our courses, events, promotions, and important updates. We may also send you marketing emails or newsletters, which you can opt out of at any time.
- Analytics and Research: We use usage data and cookies to analyze trends, track user activity, and conduct research to improve our Site and services.
- Legal Compliance: We may use your information to comply with applicable laws, regulations, and legal processes.
- Educational Purposes: We use educational records to track student progress, assess learning outcomes, and award certifications upon successful completion of courses.
- Security: We use your information to protect the security and integrity of our Site and services, including detecting and preventing fraud, abuse, and other illegal activities.
3. How We Share Your Information
We may share your information with the following categories of recipients:
- Service Providers: We share your information with third-party service providers who help us operate our Site and services, such as payment processors, hosting providers, email marketing platforms, and analytics providers. These providers are contractually obligated to protect your information and use it only for the purposes we specify.
- Instructors and Mentors: We may share your information with instructors and mentors to facilitate course instruction and provide personalized guidance.
- Legal Authorities: We may disclose your information to legal authorities if required by law or legal process, or if we believe that disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, property, or safety, or the rights, property, or safety of others.
- Business Transfers: In the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of all or a portion of our assets, your information may be transferred as part of the transaction. We will notify you via email and/or a prominent notice on our Site of any change in ownership or uses of your personal information, as well as any choices you may have regarding your personal information.
- With Your Consent: We may share your information with other parties with your explicit consent. For example, we may publish testimonials on our website that include your name and photograph, but only after obtaining your permission.
4. Data Security
We take reasonable measures to protect your personal information from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure. These measures include:
- Encryption: We use encryption to protect sensitive information, such as payment details, during transmission and storage.
- Access Controls: We restrict access to your personal information to authorized personnel who need it to perform their duties.
- Regular Security Assessments: We conduct regular security assessments to identify and address potential vulnerabilities.
- Employee Training: We train our employees on data privacy and security best practices.
However, no method of transmission over the Internet or method of electronic storage is completely secure. Therefore, while we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.
5. GDPR Compliance
If you are a resident of the European Economic Area (EEA), you have certain rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), including:
- Right to Access: You have the right to request access to your personal information that we hold.
- Right to Rectification: You have the right to request that we correct any inaccurate or incomplete personal information.
- Right to Erasure: You have the right to request that we erase your personal information, subject to certain exceptions.
- Right to Restriction of Processing: You have the right to request that we restrict the processing of your personal information, subject to certain exceptions.
- Right to Data Portability: You have the right to receive your personal information in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format and to transmit it to another controller.
- Right to Object: You have the right to object to the processing of your personal information for direct marketing purposes.
- Right to Withdraw Consent: If we are processing your personal information based on your consent, you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time.
To exercise your GDPR rights, please contact our Data Protection Officer, Alistair McGregor, at [email protected]. We will respond to your request within one month.
You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority if you believe that we have violated your data protection rights.
6. Children's Privacy
Our Site and services are not directed to children under the age of 16, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 16. If you are a parent or guardian and believe that your child has provided us with personal information, please contact us immediately. If we become aware that we have collected personal information from a child under 16, we will take steps to delete that information.
7. Data Retention
We will retain your personal information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law. Specifically, student records, including coursework, grades, and other academic achievements, will be maintained for a period of seven years following the student’s last date of enrollment. Financial transaction records will be retained for compliance with IRS regulations, typically for a period of seven years. Marketing communications preferences (opt-ins and opt-outs) are retained indefinitely to ensure your choices are honored. Usage data, such as website logs and analytics, are retained for a period of two years for security and performance monitoring.
8. International Data Transfers
Your personal information may be transferred to, and processed in, countries other than your country of residence, including the United States, where our servers are located. These countries may have data protection laws that are different from the laws of your country. By using our Site and services, you consent to the transfer of your personal information to these countries.
9. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or applicable laws. We will post any changes on this page and update the "Last updated" date at the top of this Privacy Policy. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we are protecting your personal information.
If we make significant changes to this policy, we will provide a more prominent notice (including, for certain services, email notification of privacy policy changes).
10. Contact Us
If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us at:
Directing Mastery Academy
Privacy Department
6300 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 200
Los Angeles, CA 90048
Phone: (323) 851-4100
Email: [email protected]