Communications Privacy Policy

Michigan Doctoral Experience Study

Last updated 08/13/2026

Each year, the Michigan Doctoral Experience Study (MDES) sends communications to Rackham PhD students informing them about the survey's beginning and ending dates, how to access the survey, and to thank them for their participation. This privacy policy explains the data we collect when potential study participants engage with these communications and how we use this data.

What we collect

When we send emails to potential study participants, we may track who engages with the communications. Specifically, we may collect data when email recipients open an email or click on a link. This engagement data allows us to measure the performance of our emails. We also may combine engagement data with information about recipients' educational background, demographic information, and program information. This allows us to improve our communications for specific segments of the PhD student population.

How we collect it

We use standard techniques to collect these data using html-enabled emails. Viewing these emails is the equivalent of opening a webpage and allows our server to simply capture whether an email was opened or not. When a link is clicked, the approach captures this. If your emails disable html by default, we have no ability to track opening emails.

How we use it

We use the engagement data we collect to create summary reports for use in planning and administering the survey. All data is stored on protected university servers with restricted access. We do not share this information with third parties.

We value your privacy. If you prefer not to have your engagement with our emails tracked, you may opt out at any time by clicking this link.