The following is excerpted from a Marylhurst University document and used with permission.

Student Tracking Disclosure

WebCT automatically sets up a database for the instructor's use after students are entered into the system.  The instructor can modify this database in many ways to make it serve as a grade recording book.  Many instructors allow students to view their own record of course involvement by using the "My Record" and "My Progress" tools.  The system automatically records every time you access the site, and posts the first time you log on, the most recent time you've logged on, the amount of time you've spent on the system, the number of hits you've made to various pages, as well as the number of bulletin board postings you've read and the number of postings (WebCT calls them "Articles") that you've contributed.

The tracking feature of WebCT, as well as some other features might cause your browser to warn you that there's's a security issue, or that a "cookie" is being launched.  These warnings are something that you might encounter also when browsing the open web.  Here, they are merely letting you know that your participation is being tracked.  It is important to note that the ONLY information that is being recorded is your point of participation in this course.