Privacy notice: students at partner institutions

When you enrol on a University course delivered entirely by one of our partner institution, you will be enrolled at the University at the same time. This privacy notice tells you what the University will do with your personal information. Personal information (or personal data) is any information which relates to and identifies you. Data protection legislation (the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA)) set out how we should handle your personal information.

The University of Central Lancashire Higher Education Corporation is the controller for the personal information we process, unless otherwise stated. We are registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office and our registration number is Z5512420.

There are many ways you can contact us, including by phone, email, social media and post. View our main contact details on our website.

The University's Information Governance Manager & Data Protection Officer can be contacted on DPFOIA@uclan.ac.uk. Further information and contact details can be found on our data protection web pages.

When you enrol on a University course that will be entirely delivered at one of our partner institutions and you pay your fees to our partner institution, you will also be enrolled at the University at the same time. Our partner institution will deliver your course and keep records about you. The University will also keep some records about you as outlined in this privacy notice because we are the awarding body for your course.

The University receives information about you from our partner institution during the application process to enable you to be enrolled and so that we can provide IT and other facilities and services to you, where appropriate. We also receive information throughout your course to enable us to monitor your progress and for internal and statutory reporting purposes. We will also receive information about, and will investigate, certain Stage 3 complaints and final stage appeals, as appropriate, because the Office for Students requires that we have oversight of these matters where partners are delivering courses for which we are the awarding body.

Once you enrol, we use information about you for a variety of purposes. The main purposes are set out below. Depending on the nature of your course or use of University facilities, there may be additional reasons why we use your information which are specific to your course, school or service we offer. You will be informed about these locally as appropriate.

For the administration of your studies

We use your information to administer aspects of the student contract you have with our partner institution, including for assessment and quality assurance purposes; considering and approving academic progression and managing academic appeals; managing resits; considering any applications for mitigating circumstances; and determining and confirming awards. We will exchange information about you with the partner institution that is delivering your course to enable us and your institution to undertake all of these tasks. We also maintain records of your studies and academic achievements. The student contract you have with our partner institution cannot be delivered without the University using your information in these ways. 

Operation of the University’s regulations, procedures and codes of practice

Because you are enrolled at our partner institution and at the University while undertaking your course, you are required to comply with the University’s regulations, rules, codes and policies that the partner institution informed you about when you enrolled, alongside the polices of your partner institution. The University will deal with any final stage appeals against disciplinary, Fitness to Practise and Support to Study decisions, and certain types of Stage 3 complaints. Your partner institution will share information with us about your complaint or appeal to enable us to do this. Stage 3 Fitness to Practise investigations are heard by a panel, of which one member will be from an external organisation. Your information will be made available to the panel for the purposes of the investigation. If we investigate your Stage 3 complaint and, following the issue of the Completion of Procedures letter, you then choose to submit a complaint to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA), we will share your case file and related information with the OIA for the purposes of its investigation.

We will use information about you to investigate complaints or allegations involving you or another student, member of staff or external party under any of the University’s rules, regulations, procedures or codes of practice. This includes personal data held within emails, Teams chat messages, meeting or lecture recordings, CCTV and body worn video camera footage and any other format. We may also use information about you that is publicly available, such as information posted to social media and other public forums, where this is relevant in a particular case e.g. complaints about inappropriate posts on social media. Information will be used to investigate complaints or allegations, manage the outcomes and put in place any remedies, including additional support or disciplinary measures. This includes investigating cases where academic misconduct is suspected (which includes suspected plagiarism, cheating or collusion), support to study and fitness to practise cases (where this is relevant to your course). The investigations mentioned here may also involve using information about any criminal convictions you receive during the time you are enrolled, in order to determine whether or not you are able to continue on your course (for example, where a particular type of conviction may prevent you from undertaking mandatory placements) or to determine any steps that should be taken in the context of helping to provide a safe community in which staff and students can teach and learn, and in which we can safeguard children (those under 18 years old) and adults at risk. We will exchange information with the police and probation service as part of these investigations, where relevant and appropriate. We will also share information with regulators and professional bodies to comply with regulatory requirements which require us or another party to establish if you have been involved in dishonesty, malpractice or other seriously improper conduct; or to carry out protective functions to protect members of the public against dishonesty, malpractice or other seriously improper conduct, or unfitness or incompetence.

We will use your information for academic integrity purposes and to manage our academic misconduct procedures. You may be required to submit some of your assessed work via Turnitin, which is a similarity detection tool. Turnitin will generate a score to suggest what percentage of your work is similar to existing content stored in its databases. It compares your work against publicly-available sources and work submitted by other students. Turnitin reports are always assessed by a member of staff before a decision about academic misconduct is made and you have the right to submit an appeal in relation to any decision relating to a particular piece of work.

Security and crime prevention

The University operates a CCTV system for security and crime prevention purposes, among other things, which includes the use of body worn video devices. The CCTV system covers University buildings (inside and outside) and public areas across our campuses. Your images are likely to be captured by the CCTV system while you are on, in, or near University premises. CCTV footage will be used to maintain the security of the University community, enhance public safety, prevent and detect crime and apprehend and prosecute offenders. CCTV footage will be used, where there is a lawful basis, in the investigation of complaints and allegations made under the University’s rules, regulations, procedures and codes of practice. Further information is available in our CCTV Privacy Notice.

The University will also use your information to maintain a safe environment around the University campus and University accommodation and investigate complaints or concerns regarding safety or security on campus. We will produce internal reports about safety and security incidents and share them within the University on a need-to-know basis to help manage and ensure the safety, security and well-being of the University community.

We make available the SafeZone app to all students and, if you choose to use the app, will use information (including location data) collected via your use of the app to help ensure the safety of you and others on and around campus (or anywhere else in the world, if you use the app elsewhere), and manage and monitor check-ins and alerts. We will also use SafeZone to send emergency text alerts (and push notifications, if you have downloaded the app) in the event of a serious incident, campus closure, significant IT issue, etc. that we need to notify lots of students about at the same time. The University is also part of the SafeZone Alliance, which you can opt in to via the app. If you travel to another university that is also part of the Alliance, you can choose, via the app, to raise emergency/first aid alerts while you are in that university’s Alliance region. The host university will be able to access information about you only if you raise an alert while you are on its campus, and only if you have opted in to the Alliance. The SafeZone app is provided on our behalf by CriticalArc, a third party under contract to the University.

All University buildings have security access controls and require you to scan your student card to enter and exit. The door entry system collects information each time your card is used to show the date and time you enter and leave a particular building. This information is used to ensure that only authorised individuals can access our buildings; it is also used to check building occupancy for safety and security purposes, and for research purposes to establish patterns of use of buildings and services across our estate.

Delivery of facilities and services

We will use your information to provide you with services and facilities such as the library, sports centre, clubs and societies (via the Students’ Union) and a careers service. While you are studying at our partner institution, you are eligible to receive ongoing support from the Careers Service via its online resources. The Careers Service uses your information to provide access to some of our Careers systems, help with CV preparation, and advertising and informing you of job vacancies. Further information is available in the Careers Service Privacy Notice.

We will also use your information to provide you with an IT service. This involves using your information to help keep our IT network and systems secure, robust and fit for purpose, including system testing and the requirement to use multi-factor authentication to access our IT services.

Communicating with you

We will use your information to communicate effectively with you via email, post, telephone, text (SMS), social media or other methods, as appropriate. We will send you messages about a variety of things such as the administration of your course and events and activities happening at the University. We will also send you updates about our partnership with your institution and the status of your programme. If you are an Initial Teacher Education student, we will contact you about continuing professional development as a newly-qualified teacher. You can opt out of receiving communications which are considered to be marketing by contacting the Academic Registry: RDMT@uclan.ac.uk. Only some of the communications we send are marketing so you cannot opt out of everything we send to you.

Research, reporting and statistics

We will use and analyse your information to obtain and act upon your feedback during your time as a student, to compile statistics and to undertake surveys and market research to help with corporate planning, reporting and University administration. We will use external agencies to carry out market research on our behalf.

We will also use your information for statutory reporting purposes to external agencies, where required, as well as for purposes associated with our ongoing registration with the Office for Students.

Your information will also be used for research purposes, including research by University staff for planning and development purposes, and University researchers for the purposes of academic research. We may also use your information to participate in research carried out by third parties including those unrelated to the University, such as research that would benefit current and future University students or the student population generally, or research that would help formulate government policy. Your information will only be used in this way where the law allows us to and we consider it appropriate under the circumstances.

Monitoring and compliance

We will use your information to ensure and monitor our compliance with legislation including laws relating to equality, health and safety and immigration. We will also use your information to monitor our compliance with regulatory requirements set by external agencies.

Providing an alumni service

When you complete and pass your course, you automatically become a member of the University of Central Lancashire Alumni Network and will be provided with information about its services. We will use information about you from your student record to populate our alumni system and offer you an alumni service, which includes keeping you informed of University news, publications and events, career opportunities, academic and professional development opportunities and much more. Further information is available in the Alumni Privacy Notice. You can opt out of receiving communications from the alumni service at any time by contacting the Alumni team.

The University relies on the following lawful bases from the UK GDPR to process information about you for the purposes set out in this notice:

Article 6(1)(b), which allows us to process personal data when it is necessary for the performance of a contract. You enter into a contract with our partner institution when you accept an offer of a place on a University course delivered by our partner institution (the student contract). Under your student contract, we administer and oversee your studies, operate the University’s regulations, rules, procedures and codes of conduct, communicate with you and deliver facilities and services, among other things. We require you to provide any information we reasonably request for these purposes otherwise we and your partner cannot deliver your student contract.

Article 6(1)(c), which allows us to process personal data when it is necessary to comply with a legal obligation. We are legally required to provide some reports and statistics to external agencies, as well as monitoring compliance with laws relating to immigration (e.g. visas) and equality, among other things.

Article 6(1)(e), which allows us to process personal data where it is necessary to perform a task in the public interest. Research and teaching; some monitoring and internal reporting, including obtaining and acting on student feedback; auditing; and the provision of student support is carried out as part of our public tasks. We may also rely on this lawful basis to process personal data where it is necessary for the public tasks of other organisations, such as when we disclose information to regulators or when we disclose information to third parties for surveys and research purposes which are not directly related to the University.

Article 6(1)(f), which allows us to process personal data where it is in our, or someone else’s, legitimate interests to do so and it does not unduly prejudice your rights and freedoms. We rely on this condition to, among other things:

• communicate marketing messages to you (unless you opt out). It is in the University’s legitimate interests to promote its services, courses and events to those who may be interested.
• deliver some services and facilities to you such as IT services, the Careers Service and the Alumni Network. It is in the interests of you, our student, to have access to careers advice to help you plan for your future and secure employment, and to be provided with other beneficial services as part of your University experience, to help you get the most out of your time at the University and beyond and achieve the best academic result you can.
• provide a security service and CCTV monitoring. It is in the interests of the University community and the general public to make the University a safe and secure place to live and study.
• produce some internal reports, research and statistics. It is in our legitimate interests to use these to evaluate, plan and assess how the University is operating and make any changes we think are appropriate and will benefit current and future students.
• share information with third parties for your benefit, or where it is in their interests, for example to facilitate membership of Students’ Union clubs and societies, or where your employer is paying for your course and enquires about your attendance or attainment.

We also process some information only if you provide your consent. In this case, Article 6(1)(a) applies, and Article 9(2)(a) applies where the information is special category data (special category data is information about your race, ethnic origin, political opinions, religious beliefs, trade union membership, genetic data, biometric data used for ID purposes, health, sex life or sexual orientation). It will be clear where we are relying on your consent to collect and use your information because consent will be requested at the time you provide the information. When you are asked for consent, we will explain why we are asking for the information and how we will use it if you choose to provide it. Consent can be withdrawn at any time and we will explain how you can do this in each individual case.

Where we process special category data and data about criminal convictions for the purposes set out in this notice, we rely on the following additional lawful bases from the UK GDPR and DPA:

Article 9(2)(g) UK GDPR, which allows us to process special category data if the processing is necessary in the substantial public interest and there is a basis to do so in law. The law which allows us to rely on Article 9(2)(g) is section 10 DPA by virtue of Schedule 1 DPA, which also provides the lawful basis for processing data about criminal convictions. The specific conditions from Schedule 1 DPA on which we rely for this type of processing are as follows:

• Schedule 1(6), which allows us to process special category data and/or data about criminal convictions to comply with a statutory or legal function. Such functions include the duties set out in the Equality Act 2010 and the requirement to comply with the registration conditions imposed on us by the Office for Students under the Higher Education and Research Act 2017.
• Schedule 1(8), which allows us to process special category data to monitor equality of opportunity or treatment.
• Schedule 1(10), which allows us to process special category data and/or data about criminal convictions to prevent or detect unlawful acts.
• Schedule 1(11), which allows us to process special category data and/or data about criminal convictions to carry out protective functions to protect members of the public against dishonesty, malpractice or other seriously improper conduct, or unfitness or incompetence.
• Schedule 1(12), which allows us to process special category data and/or data about criminal convictions to comply with regulatory requirements which require us or another party to establish if you have been involved in dishonesty, malpractice or other seriously improper conduct. We rely on this to undertake activities for regulated courses to enable us to meet the regulatory requirements and good practice principles associated with your course.
• Schedule 1(18), which allows us to process special category data and/or data about criminal convictions to safeguard individuals at risk and children.

When processing special category data or data about criminal convictions in reliance on the above conditions from Schedule 1 DPA the University must have an appropriate policy document, which can be read here: Data Protection: Processing special category data and criminal convictions data.

Article 9(2)(j) UK GDPR, which allows us to process special category data for archiving, scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes, where there is a basis to do so in law. The law which allows us to rely on this basis is section 10 DPA by virtue of Schedule 1(4) DPA. We may also rely on Schedule 1(4) DPA if we process personal data relating to criminal convictions for archiving, research or statistical purposes. 

We share your information with a range of external organisations and bodies, some of which are processing personal data on our behalf. We only share your personal data with another person or organisation where the law allows us to and we consider it to be appropriate under the circumstances. The external parties we share information with include the following:

• Higher Education bodies such as Office for Students (OfS), Research England, UK Research and Innovation, Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS), Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA), and the organisation(s) running the National Student Survey and other student and leaver surveys.
• Public authorities, including the police, DWP and probation service for the prevention and detection of crime, apprehension and prosecution of offenders, safeguarding purposes, regulatory purposes, the collection of tax or duty and safeguarding national security, among other things.
• Government departments and public bodies such as UK Visas and Immigration, HM Revenue and Customs and the Health and Safety Executive (and Ofsted, for inspection purposes, if you are on an Initial Teacher Education course).
• Local authorities: we are legally required to share information about you so the Electoral Registration Officer can contact you about your right to register to vote. We also share information about your student status so that you can obtain a discount on your Council Tax. We do this because it is in your legitimate interests to be able to obtain the discount.
• UCLan Students’ Union (SU): you automatically become a member of the SU once you enrol at UCLan. We share some information with the SU for membership purposes to enable it to verify your eligibility to join clubs and societies and vote in elections, and to contact you with essential updates. You can opt out of this process by emailing the Academic Registrar: RDMT@uclan.ac.uk.
• Professional and regulatory bodies if this is relevant to your course. Information is shared for ‘fitness to practise’ purposes, to confirm your qualifications and for the accreditation of courses, as well as to comply with regulatory requirements which require us or another party to establish if you have been involved in dishonesty, malpractice or other seriously improper conduct; or to carry out protective functions to protect members of the public against dishonesty, malpractice or other seriously improper conduct, or unfitness or incompetence, among other things.
• Embassies, consulates and other sponsors: we may share information if a sponsor or similar can show they have a legitimate need e.g. in relation to your attendance, progress or final qualification.
• Your employer: Where you are employed by a third party during your time here and your employer has a direct interest in your status as a student here e.g. they are paying for your course, we may disclose information to them such as details of your attendance and performance.
• HEDD (Higher Education Degree Datacheck): We share information about your dates of study and the qualifications you gain here with HEDD. HEDD is a processor acting on our behalf. It holds information about students and graduates so that employers and recruitment agencies can check the qualification details and dates of study you provide when applying for jobs. HEDD only discloses this information to employers if you provide consent in each case. You can find further information about HEDD on its website.
• Academic misconduct services: to identify potential instances of plagiarism and other types of academic misconduct, we share information with a service called Turnitin, which is based in the USA. We have a contract in place with Turnitin to ensure your information is protected.
• University insurers: information, including accident forms, is shared with our insurers to enable us to make insurance claims and to provide insurance cover for trips abroad.
• Partner institutions: because you study at one of our UK or overseas partner institutions and we are the awarding body for your course or the provider of a non-accredited course; or you have completed a foundation course and progressed to a UCLan course e.g. with CEG ONCAMPUS.
• Internal and external auditors to provide assurance that the University is following its risk management, governance and internal control processes and to independently inspect our financial statements and records.
• External examiners and assessors for assessment and examination purposes.
• Third parties carrying out research or surveys where there is a lawful basis to share information and they are carrying out their statutory tasks in the public interest.
• Companies or organisations acting on our behalf: We use processors who are third parties who provide elements of services for us. We have contracts in place with our processors. This means that they cannot do anything with your personal information unless we have instructed them to do it. They will hold it securely and retain it for the period we instruct.

Occasionally, we may need to send your personal information outside the UK and/or the European Economic Area (EEA) e.g. to obtain a service from a processor. These transfers are usually carried out because they are necessary for us to administer your student contract. All transfers are carried out with appropriate safeguards in place to protect your information and ensure it remains secure. For example, we share information on the basis of the UK International Data Transfer Agreement or UK International Data Transfer Addendum when we share information with processors based outside the EEA. A copy of these Agreements can be obtained from the University on request by contacting the Data Protection Officer in the first instance.

We will maintain your full student record for six years following the date you complete and pass your course or the date you are withdrawn from your course. If you are studying on certain courses, we are legally required to keep your information for longer than this. You will be informed if you are on such a course.

Six years after you complete and pass your course, the majority of your information will be deleted but we will keep indefinitely information which is necessary to confirm that you studied here and the qualification and grade you obtained. If you are an active member of our Alumni Network, we will retain additional information.

Under data protection law, you have rights we need to make you aware of. The rights available to you depend on our reason for processing your information. Further information about each of these rights can be found on the Information Commissioner’s Office website. To make a request to exercise any of these rights, please contact the Information Governance Manager & Data Protection Officer on DPFOIA@uclan.ac.uk.

Your right of access

You have the right to ask us for copies of your personal information. This right always applies. There are some exemptions, which means you may not always receive all the information we process. For further information or to make a request, please see the data protection pages of our website.

Your right to rectification

You have the right to ask us to rectify information you think is inaccurate. You also have the right to ask us to complete information you think is incomplete. This right always applies.

Your right to erasure

You have the right to ask us to erase your personal information in certain circumstances.

Your right to restriction of processing

You have the right to ask us to restrict the processing of your information in certain circumstances.

Your right to object to processing

You have the right to object to any processing we carry out, if we carry it out on the basis that it forms part of our public task or is in our legitimate interests. You also have the right to object to your personal information being used for direct marketing purposes.

Your right to data portability

This only applies to information you have given us. You have the right to ask that we transfer the information you gave us from one organisation to another, or give it to you. The right only applies if we are processing information because we have your consent or because it is necessary for your student contract, and the processing is automated.

We work to high standards when it comes to processing your personal information. If you have queries or concerns, please contact the relevant part of the University, or the Information Governance Manager & Data Protection Officer, and we will respond.

If you remain dissatisfied, you can make a complaint about the way we process your personal information to the Information Commissioner’s Office, which is the UK supervisory authority for data protection. Further information can be found on the data protection pages of our website.