Cookie Statement


1. What if this cookie policy does not answer all your questions?

Vlerick Business School (“VBS”) uses cookies and similar technologies to facilitate the use of www.vlerick.com and to improve the website’s functionality and user experience. This cookie policy also applies to all subdomains of .vlerick.com. By providing this document, VBS aims to provide you with clear information about what cookies are, for which purposes VBS uses them, how long they are retained on your device and how you can control your cookie preferences. If you have any questions about our use of cookies or other technologies, please email us at legal@vlerick.com

2. Identification of the controller

Whenever you see a reference to "we" in this cookie policy, this actually refers to VBS:

  • Vlerick Business School
  • Reep 1, 9000 Ghent
  • Company number: BE0424.244.049  

The company VBS, as data controller, is responsible for the collection and use (or - as the law calls it - "processing") of your personal data as explained in this cookie policy. 


3. General information about cookies

3.1 What are cookies?

A cookie is a text file placed in the browser of your computer or mobile device by a website's server when you consult a website. The use of cookies makes it possible to recognize visitors' browsers, with the aim of remembering information about you. The cookie usually contains the name of the server that placed the cookie, as well as a unique code that allows your browser to be recognized when you visit the website. It allows us to save certain settings, such as your choice of language, to make your visit to the website faster and easier. 


Cookies can also be used to make content or advertisements on a website more relevant to visitors and tailored to their personal tastes and needs. Certain cookies may be set by a third party. If you do not want a website to place cookies on your computer, you can change your browser settings. This is further explained in this cookie policy.


3.2 What types of cookies exist?

Strictly necessary cookies

These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in, remembering language settings or completing forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will then not work. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable information.


Performance and analytics cookies

We use analytics cookies to measure visits to our website. This gives us a better idea about which sections are the most relevant to our visitors and what the most popular content is, so that we can tailor our website to the people who use it. We use third-party software from Google Analytics.


IP addresses are registered for use by our functional and analytics cookies if you have given consent; the resulting statistics and reports are not linked to personal data.


Functional cookies

These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalization. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.


Advertising/targeting cookies

Our website may also send out cookies from other organisations so that we can deliver offers and information that is of real use to you.


With your consent, we would like to show you information on our (and other) websites that is more relevant to you and your interests. This is why we want to try to assess what catches your interest and what doesn’t. Based on the pages you visit on our website, you will be shown different information to that shown to other visitors, making our website more relevant to you.


To display relevant offers, we use 'DoubleClick by Google', Google Analytics, Google AdWords, facebook, youtube, Bing en LinkedIn. We show these offers on the VBS website, on other organisations’ websites and when using Google services.

First-party cookies and third-party cookies

There is also a difference between first party-cookies and third-party cookies. 

First-party cookies are created by the website you're visiting and store information to enhance your experience on that specific site. Third-party cookies, on the other hand, are generated by external domains, often for advertising purposes, and track your online activity across different websites. While first-party cookies are directly related to the site you're on, third-party cookies involve external entities gathering information about your browsing habits across multiple sites.

Social media cookies

When you are logged in to our website, you can share various articles and videos using the social media buttons. To ensure that these buttons work properly, we use cookies from the following social media platforms. We need to ask your permission to use these cookies.

With these cookies, these platforms can recognise you when you want to share something from our site. For more information about the cookies the social media platforms place on your computer and the data these cookies collect, you can read the cookies statement on their websites. Please be aware that these statements can change at any time. The website of VBS has no influence over this.

VBS is active on the following social media platforms: Facebook, Instagram, Google+, YouTube, LinkedIn, Twitter and Pinterest.


3.3 How can you disable cookies?

If you wish to block the placement of cookies on your device, you can do so via the settings of the browser you are using:

Opera

Google Chrome

Firefox

Safari 

Microsoft Edge


Please note that disabling cookies may result in certain graphical elements or applications on the website working less well. VBS will make every effort to ensure the proper functioning of the website. However, certain parts of the website require the use of cookies.


In any case, we will ask your consent again after 1 year for the cookies for which you have given your consent or if our cookie policy changes.


4. Which cookies does vbs use?

4.1 Strictly necessary cookies

CookieProviderTypeDescriptionRetention period
AECGoogle

Third party




This cookie ensures that requests within a browser session are made by the user and not by other sites. These cookies prevent malicious sites from impersonating a user without the user's knowledge.6 Months
lidcLinkedInThird partyCookie is used to provide load balancing functionality.1 Day
_vis_opt_exp_{CAMPAIGNID}_goal_{GOALID}VWOFirst partyThis cookie is created when a campaign goal is triggered. This cookie, when created, will always have a value of 1.100 Days
_vis_opt_test_cookieVWOFirst partyThis cookie is created to detect if the cookies are enabled on the visitor’s browser or not. It also helps in tracking the number of browser sessions a visitor has gone through. The value of this cookie is always 1.Expires on browser close
_vis_opt_exp_{CAMPAIGNID}_combiVWOFirst partyThis cookie is created when a visitor is chosen for a particular variation for a test. This cookie makes sure that visitors see the same variation when they revisit the page in the future. Here the Control has a value of 1, Variation #1 has a value of 2, Variation #2 has a value of 3, and so on.100 Days
_vis_opt_exp_{CAMPAIGNID}_excludeVWOFirst partyThis cookie is created when a visitor has been excluded from a Test Campaign due to the traffic percentage specifications. The value is always 1.100 Days
_vis_opt_exp_{CAMPAIGNID}_splitVWOFirst partyThis cookie is created when one of the variations is chosen for the visitor, but the visitor is not yet redirected to the variation page. It exists so that VWO can verify that the variation page corresponds to the chosen variation after landing on the page. The value is >=2 (as 1 corresponds to Control and it’s not created in case the Control is chosen)100 Days
_vis_opt_sVWOFirst partyThis cookie tracks sessions created for a visitor, i.e., the number of times the browser was closed and reopened. The value is >=1, followed by a pipe sign. For example, the value of 2 indicates that the visitor restarted the browser once while 3 means twice.100 Days
_vis_opt_outVWOFirst partyThis cookie indicates that the visitor should not be made part of any campaign. Its value is 1.10 Years
_vwo_uuidVWOFirst partyThis cookie generates a unique id for every visitor and is used for the report segmentation feature in VWO, and it also allows you to view data in a more refined manner.10 Years
_vwo_uuid_{CAMPAIGNID}VWOFirst partyThis cookie is created for each cross-domain campaign. It generates a unique id for every visitor and is used for the report segmentation feature in VWO, and it also allows you to view data in a more refined manner.10 Years
_vwo_dsVWOFirst partyThis cookie stores persistent visitor-level data for VWO Insights.Depends on the retention period of the account 
_vwo_snVWOFirst partyThis cookie stores session-level information.30 Minutes and reset again to 30 minutes on visitor activity
_vwo_uuid_v2VWOFirst partyThis cookie calculates unique traffic on a website.366 Days
_vis_opt_exp_{CAMPAIGNID}_combi_chooseVWOFirst partyThis cookie stores the chosen combination. It’s a temporary cookie that gets deleted when the campaign changes are applied.Persists until campaign changes are applied
_vwo_referrerVWOFirst partyThis cookie stores referral info allowing VWO to identify the original Traffic source in case of the Split URL campaign. NOTE: This cookie is created only for Split URL campaigns but can be read by all campaign types.15 Seconds
_vwoVWOFirst partyThis cookie is a jar of all the cookies. It is currently created only for the Safari browser. In the future, it would replace all the cookies. The actual expiry of a cookie doesn’t matter as it stores the expiry of cookies set in it and keeps on expiring them.Expires in 2096 Years
pushcrew_opt_outVWOFirst partyThis cookie is used for opting out.10000 Days
pshcrw_update_subIdVWOFirst partyThis cookie is used for retrying the storage of subscriptions with VWO Engage’s Server. Used only in cases when the server is not reachable due to network issues.10000 Days
_vwo_global_opt_outVWOFirst partyThis cookie is persisted when a visitor opts out of VWO on all websites in a given browser. 100 Days
_vwo_ssmVWOFirst partyThis cookie is used for testing and is created only on sites that use the HTTP protocol. This is used to check if VWO can create cookies on them, post which this cookie is deleted.3650 Days

4.2 Functional cookies

CookieProviderTypeDescriptionRetention period
SOCSGoogle

Third party


It is used to store a user’s state regarding their cookies choices.13 months
CONSENTGoogleThird partyIt is used to store a user’s state regarding their cookie choices.2 years
Li_gcLinkedInThird partyIt is used to store a user’s state regarding their cookie choices.6 months
bcookieLinkedInThird partyCookie is used to store browser preferences.1 year
langLinkedInThird partyUsed to remember a user's language setting to ensure LinkedIn.com displays in the language selected by the user in their settings.Session
Li_mcLinkedInThird partyUsed as a temporary cache to avoid database lookups for a member's consent for use of non-essential cookies and used for having consent information on the client side to enforce consent on the client side.6 months
wdFacebookThird partyUsed to read screen resolution.1 week
PresenceFacebookThird partyUsed to contain the user’s chat state.Session
PREFYoutubeThird partyStores your video player preferences for embedded YouTube videos.230 days
DprFacebookThird partyUsed to read screen resolutions.1 week
__Secure-YECYoutubeThird partyStores the user’s video player preferences using embedded YouTube videos.13 months
LiapLinkedInThird partyUsed by non-www.domains to denote the logged in status of a member.1 year
S_ccLinkedInThird partyUsed to determine if cookies are enabled for Adobe Analytics.Session


4.3 Analytics cookies

CookieProviderTypeDescriptionRetention period
_gaGoogle AnalyticsFirst partyThis cookie is used to store information about how visitors use the website and helps create an analytical report on how the website is doing. The data collected, including the number of visitors, the source they came from and the pages remain anonymous.1 day
_ga_*Google AnalyticsFirst partyThis cookie is used to track and count pageviews.1 year
__Secure-ENIDGoogle

Third party



To secure digitally signed and encrypted data from the unique Google ID and store the most recent login time that Google uses to identify visitors, prevent fraudulent use of login data and protect visitor data from unauthorized parties. This can also be used for targeting purposes to display relevant and personalized advertising content.1 year
Li_sugrLinkedInThird partyThis cookie is used to store and track a visitor’s identity.3 months
AnalyticsSyncHistoryLinkedInThird partyThis cookie is used to store and track visits across websites.1 month
_fbpFacebookFirst partyThis cookie is used to display advertisements when either on Facebook or on a digital platform powered by Facebook advertising, after visiting the website.3 months
MUIDMicrosoft ClarityFirst partyThis cookie is used to store and track visits across websites.1 year
_hjAbsoluteSessionInProgressHotJarFirst partyIs used to track website traffic and performance.Session
_hjFirstSeenHotJarFirst partyIdentifies a new user's first session on a website, indicating whether or not Hotjar's seeing this user for the first time.Session
_hjSessionUser_*HotJarFirst partyHotjar cookie that is set when a user first lands on a page with the Hotjar script. It is used to persist the Hotjar User ID, unique to that site on the browser. This ensures that behavior in subsequent visits to the same site will be attributed to the same user ID.1 year
_hjSession_*HotJarFirst partyA cookie that holds the current session data. This ensues that subsequent requests within the session window will be attributed to the same Hotjar session.Session
_hjIncludedInSessionSample_*HotJarFirst partyIs used to track website traffic and performance.Session
Lms_analyticsLinkedInThird partyUsed to identify LinkedIn Members off LinkedIn for analytics.1 month
VISITOR_INFO1_LIVEYoutubeThird partyThis cookie is used as a unique identifier to track viewing of videos.180 days
DVGoogleThird partyThis cookie is used to collect information about how visitors use the website and use the information to compile reports and to help improve the website. The cookie collect information in an anonymous form, including the number of visitors to the website, where visitors have come to the website from and the pages they visited.Session
FPLCGoogle Tag ManagerFirst partyRegisters a unique ID that is used to generate statistical data on how the visitor uses the website.1 day
FPIDGoogle AnalyticsFirst partyEnables server side tagging in Google Analytics.1 day
FPAUGoogle AnalyticsFirst partyRegisters a unique ID that is used to generate statistical data on how the visitor uses the website.3 months
S_sqLinkedInThird partyUsed to store information about the previous link that was clicked on by the user by Adobe Analytics.Session
S_tslvLinkedInThird partyUsed to retain and fetch time since last visit in Adobe Analytics6 months
S_ppvLinkedInThird partyUsed by Adobe Analytics to retain and fetch what percentage of a page was viewed.Session
S_pltpLinkedInThird partyProvides page name value (URL) for use by Adobe Analytics.Session
S_ipsLinkedInThird partyTracks percentage of page viewed.Session
S_tpLinkedInThird partyTracks percentage of page viewed.Session
Aam_uuidLinkedInThird partyStores a unique identifyer.1 month

4.4 Marketing and advertisement cookies

CookieProviderTypeDescriptionRetention period
UserMatchHistoryLinkedInThird partyThis cookie is used to provide ad delivery or retargeting.1 month
Lms_adsLinkedInThird partyUsed to identify LinkedIn Members off LinkedIn for advertising.1 month
IDEDoubleClickThird partyAds targeting cookie for DoubleClick.2 years
xsFacebookThird partyUsed to store a unique session ID.3 months
FrFacebookThird partyUsed to provide ad delivery or retargeting.3 months
DatrFacebookThird partyUsed to provide fraud detection.2 years
SbFacebookThird partyUsed to store browser details.2 years
C-userFacebookThird partyUsed to store a unique user ID.1 month
YSCYoutubeThird partyThrough this cookie, YouTube collects user data through videos embedded in websites, which is aggregated with profile data from other Google services in order to display targeted advertising to web visitors across a broad range of their own and other websites.

Session


OoFacebookThird partyAllows you to opt-out of receiving ads on Meta based on your activities on third-party websites.5 years
TfpsiTeadsFirst partyRegisters user behaviour and navigation on the website, and any interaction with active campaigns. This is used for optimizing advertisement and for efficient retargeting.Session
Sa-user-idStackadaptThird partyUsed to track visitors on multiple websites, in order to present relevant advertisement based on the visitor's preferences.1 year
Sa-user-id-v2StackadaptThird partyUsed to track visitors on multiple websites, in order to present relevant advertisement based on the visitor's preferences.1 year
Sa-user-id-v3StackadaptThird partyUsed to track visitors on multiple websites, in order to present relevant advertisement based on the visitor's preferences.1 year
_ttpTikTokThird partyTo measure and improve the performance of your advertising campaigns and to personalize the user's experience (including ads) on TikTok.13 months
_tt_enable_cookieTikTokThird partyUsed to identify a visitor. This tracking is used to evaluate and measure how different campaigns and marketing strategies perform on TikTok.13 months
AMCVS_*Adobe experience cloudFirst partySets and stores a unique ID to store and track interaction.Session
AMCV_*Adobe experience cloudFirst partyStores the users’ last visit to the website.2 years
_uetvidBing AdsFirst partyStores and tracks visits across websites.13 months
_uetsidBing AdsFirst partyStores and tracks visits across websites.1 day

5. Changes to this cookie policy

By continuing to use this website, you acknowledge that you have read the terms of this cookie policy and agree to our use of cookies as set out above (unless you have expressly stated otherwise). We may update this cookie policy from time to time. Any changes we make to our cookie policy in the future will be posted on this page. Please check back regularly for any updates or changes to this cookie policy.