Key Privacy Principles
We never sell, rent, or monetize your personal information. Payment details are handled with PCI-DSS Level 1 compliance through Stripe, and academic certificates can be independently validated via our secure verification portal.
1. Introduction & Scope
This Privacy Policy explains how Vanguard TEFL ("we," "our," or "us"), a specialized professional education program operated under Vanguard Prairie Group, collects, uses, discloses, and protects your information when you visit our website at https://www.vanguardtefl.com, enroll in our 168-Hour TEFL Certification course, or interact with our online student portal and credential verification services.
By accessing our website or enrolling in our coursework, you acknowledge and agree to the practices described in this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with this policy, please do not use our services.
2. Information We Collect
We collect information that you directly provide to us, information generated automatically during course progression, and data obtained through trusted payment infrastructure:
3. Public Certificate Verification Disclosure
A cornerstone of our 168-Hour TEFL Certification is credential credibility. When a student completes all course modules and passes the Final Examination, an official certificate is generated with a unique Certificate ID.
To allow hiring schools, overseas ministries of education, and language academies to verify your credentials, anyone possessing your unique Certificate ID may query our public verification registry at https://www.vanguardtefl.com/verify. The data displayed on the verification record is strictly limited to:
- Student Legal Full Name
- Course Title (168-Hour Level 5-Aligned TEFL Certification)
- Certificate Issue Date
- Final Course Passing Status and Score
- Certificate Verification ID
We never publicly disclose your email address, phone number, billing address, or payment records in the verification portal.
4. How We Use Your Information
We use the data we collect solely for educational, administrative, and security purposes, including:
- Creating and authenticating your student portal account.
- Delivering self-paced course modules, instructional content, quizzes, and assessments.
- Evaluating assessments and issuing official CPD-accredited digital certificates.
- Processing one-time course enrollment payments through Stripe.
- Sending essential transactional notifications, including order receipts, account setup links, and password resets.
- Responding to student support inquiries and providing tutor guidance.
- Protecting against unauthorized account access, identity falsification, and academic dishonesty.
5. Third-Party Service Providers
We partner with trusted third-party service providers to deliver our services. These partners only access data necessary to execute their specialized tasks under strict confidentiality obligations:
- Stripe, Inc.: Payment processing and billing record maintenance under PCI-DSS Level 1 compliance.
- Supabase: Cloud database and authentication services secured with enterprise-grade encryption.
- Transactional Email Services (e.g., Resend): Secure delivery of enrollment tokens, course receipts, and password resets.
- Cloudflare / Cloud Infrastructure: Web content delivery, DDoS protection, and SSL encryption.
We do not sell, rent, barter, or distribute your personal contact information to third-party marketers or data aggregators.
6. Data Security & Storage
We implement comprehensive technical and organizational safeguards to protect your personal data from unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. All communication with our servers is encrypted using Transport Layer Security (TLS 1.3). Database assets are encrypted at rest with industry-standard AES-256 protocols.
To maintain permanent credential validity for international employers, verified certification records (student name, Certificate ID, and issue date) are retained in our registry indefinitely, ensuring you can always prove your accreditation throughout your teaching career. Non-academic operational records are retained only as long as necessary to satisfy legal and accounting standards.
7. Your Privacy Rights (GDPR, CCPA & Global Standards)
Regardless of your geographic location, we respect your rights regarding your personal information under applicable regulations, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA):
- Right to Access: You may request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
- Right to Rectification: You may correct inaccurate or incomplete profile details prior to certificate issuance.
- Right to Erasure: You may request deletion of non-academic profile data, subject to our legitimate interest in maintaining the integrity of our accredited certificate verification records.
- Right to Restrict or Object: You may object to specific data processing practices where applicable.
To exercise any of these rights, email our compliance team directly at info@vanguardtefl.com. We respond to verified requests within thirty (30) business days.
8. Cookies & Local Storage
We use strictly necessary session cookies and local storage tokens to maintain your authenticated login session, ensure security against Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF), and save lesson module progress. You can manage or disable cookies through your browser settings, though disabling essential cookies will prevent login to the student portal.
9. Changes to this Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect operational, legal, or regulatory changes. The "Last Updated" date at the top of this page indicates the effective revision. Your continued use of the platform following the posting of an updated policy constitutes acceptance of the changes.
10. Contact Information
If you have questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or your personal information, please contact us at: