Policies

Student Support Services information privacy notice

This privacy notice should be read in conjunction with the University of Leicester’s student information privacy notice.

This privacy notice explains how Student Support Services, by which is meant the:

  • AccessAbility Centre;
  • Student Welfare Service;
  • Counselling and Wellbeing;

uses, and shares, your personal data. This notice outlines your rights in relation to the personal data we hold.

What information are you collecting?

Student Support Services may obtain, hold and process data of applicants and students including personal details, family and social circumstances, education and training records, employment information and financial details. It may obtain, hold and process special category data of students including disability data, whether regarding physical or mental health or specific learning difficulty.

Personal data and special category data held by Student Support Services relating to students is obtained directly from the student or applicant, or in some cases from a third party organisation involved in the services provided by the University (e.g. UCAS, bodies which award funding or loans such as Student Finance England, the National Health Service or Research Councils).

Why are you collecting my data?

Student Support Services hold the personal data and special category data of its applicants and students in order to manage our processes and services. The University also has a statutory obligation to report data on its activities to the UK government and funding councils. Only information required for these purposes is obtained and processed and, without it, Student Support Services may not be able to provide its services to you or meet its statutory obligations. Information is utilised by various sections of the Student Support Services as is necessary and proportionate for our operational purposes.

How will you use this information?

Student Support Services will use personal data, including special category data, to administer your support, deliver services, and meet statutory obligations including:

  • provision of support to assist your academic, physical, mental, emotional and/or financial wellbeing, this support may include:
    • providing student support via Student Support Services;
    • reasonable adjustments as required by the Equality Act 2010 in relation to your academic course, and its assessment (including examinations);
  • maintenance of student records in relation to updating disability information;
  • financial assessments (e.g. hardship funds):
    • safeguarding and promoting student welfare;
    • monitoring equality of opportunity and eliminating unlawful discrimination;
    • ensuring safety and security;
  • financial administration (e.g. student hardship, etc.).

We may also use your data for other administrative purposes, for example: to undertake statistical analysis, carry out compliance audits, for example: the Disabled Students’ Allowance-Quality Assurance Group audit on the delivery of Non-Medical Helper support which is recommended in your Assessment Centre report and funded by your Disabled Students’ Allowance, promote services, to detect or prevent crime, and deal with grievances, disciplinary action, complaints or enquiries.

HESA

The University has a statutory obligation to report data on its activities to the Higher Education Statistics Agency. For this purpose, MyStudentRecord is updated with information about disability, long term health conditions and specific learning difficulties if this information is disclosed, diagnosed or otherwise established when you are on course.

Viewing and maintaining personal data

Our current students are able to view and maintain personal data via our online MyStudentRecord service.

Please contact either the Information Hub in the Library or your School/Department should you require any help to view or maintain your personal data.

What is the legal basis for processing the data?

The AccessAbility Centre will process your personal data for the performance of a legal obligation specified in the Equalities Act 2010, which is part of social protection legislation and the University is under the obligation to comply.

The Student Welfare Service and the Counselling and Wellbeing Service will process your personal data under the performance of a contract established on the terms of service.

All Student Support Services will process special category data under your explicit consent. Also, in rare circumstances, they may process this data to protect the vital interests of the data subject and where processing is necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.

If you are sharing my data with others, who are you sharing it with?

For purposes referred to in this privacy notice we may share your personal data with certain third parties. Students are given the opportunity to opt-out of some data sharing arrangements, but we encourage students to think carefully about the impact of doing so. Where an opt-out is not in place, we will disclose relevant personal data to third parties as noted below.

The University may disclose a student’s personal data and special category data to external agencies to which it has a legal obligation; for example: the Student Loans Company, Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education, Research Councils and, potentially, other such organisations for defined purposes.  It may also disclose information to legal representatives, Police or security agencies, suppliers or service providers engaged by the University, and regulatory authorities.

All Student Support Services will share data with:

  • our employees, partners, agents and contractors, where there is a legitimate reason for receiving information (e.g. departmental staff, providers of student accommodation, software providers, auditors, etc.);
  • government departments or agencies where the University has a statutory obligation to provide information (e.g. the Office for Students (OfS), the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA);
  • agencies involved in the prevention and detection of crime (e.g. the Police);
  • parents, guardians and next of kin (where there is a legitimate reason for disclosure).

How long will you retain my data?

Details of our retention periods can be found in the University’s Retention Schedule.

What are my rights and how can I enforce them?

You have the right:

  • to be informed about which data is collected and how it will be used;
  • to request access to your personal data held by the University;
  • to have incomplete or inaccurate data rectified;
  • to restrict the processing of personal data – individuals have the right to block the processing of their personal data by the University in specific situations;
  • to data portability – students have the right to request provision of some elements of their information in digital form in order to provide it to other organisations.

In the first instance, please contact the University’s Information Assurance Services if you would like to discuss any aspect your rights in relation to your personal data.

How can I raise concerns about the processing of my personal data?

If you have any feedback or concerns in relation to the processing of your personal data, please contact the University’s Information Assurance Services. If attempts to resolve a concern or complaint informally are not successful and you feel you have reason to complain, you may submit a formal complaint via the University’s Complaints Procedure.

External advice is available from the Information Commissioner who can be contacted via:

  • Information Commissioners Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK95AF.
  • 0303 123 1113
  • ICO website

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