Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions

This Privacy Notice describes how Colchester Institute (and its subsidiary and related companies*) protects and makes use of the information you provide us with.  

*The Privacy Notice relates to Colchester Institute Corporation, Colchester Institute Enterprises Limited, and Colchester Institute Foundation Trust

About this document

This privacy notice explains how Colchester Institute (“we”, “our”, “us”) collects, uses and shares your personal data, and your rights in relation to the personal data we hold. This privacy notice concerns our processing of personal data of past, present and prospective students of Colchester Institute (“you”, “your”)

Colchester Institute is the data controller of your personal data and is subject to Data Protection Law.  This includes the Data Protection Act 2018 (“DPA”) and any successor Data Protection Legislation under which the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”)) has been incorporated.

Who does this apply to?

People who use or may use our services. This includes for example:

• visitors to our website
• individuals who study a course with us
• employers who purchase training from us
• employers who take a student on work experience or placement
• employers who employ an Apprentice
• individuals who are customers of the College’s commercial operations
• individuals who request information from us.

If you are asked to provide information to us, it will only be used in the ways described in this Privacy Notice. This Privacy Notice is updated from time-to-time. The latest version is published on our website.

If you have any questions about this policy, please e-mail gary.horne@colchester.ac.uk or write to him at Gary Horne, Deputy Chief Executive, Colchester Institute, Sheepen Road, Colchester, Essex CO3 3LL

How we collect your information

We may collect your personal data in a number of ways, for example:

• from the information you provide to us when you interact with us before joining, for example when you express your interest in studying at Colchester Institute;
• when you apply to study at Colchester Institute and complete enrolment forms via the admissions processes and procedures and\or the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) and;
• when you communicate with us by telephone, email or via our website or social media, for example in order to make enquiries or raise concerns;
• in various other ways as you interact with us during your time as a student of Colchester Institute, for the various purposes set out below;
• from third parties, for example from your previous or current school, sixth form college, FE college or university or employers who may provide a reference about you or who may sponsor your studies.

The types of information we collect

We may collect the following types of personal data about you:

• your name, and contact information such as address, email address and telephone number, as well as your date of birth, national insurance number (or other tax identification number) and your passport number or national identity card details, country of domicile and your nationality. We will also allocate you a unique student number;
• financial information i.e. bank details
• company information e.g. financial, staff, training needs analysis
• website usage data
• information relating to your education and employment history, the school(s), sixth form college(s) and other colleges or universities you have attended and places where you have worked, the courses you have completed, dates of study and examination results. We will also keep records relating to assessments of your work, details of examinations taken, your predicted and actual examination grades and other information in your student record;
• information about your family or personal circumstances, and both academic and extracurricular interests, for example where this is relevant to the assessment of your suitability to receive a bursary or in order to provide you with appropriate pastoral care;
• location information – We may collect and process information that may reveal your location. We use various technologies to determine location including CCTV, GPS, building access control, attendance registers and device identifiers such as IP, MAC address and computer name.
• sensitive personal data and information about criminal convictions and offences, including:
• information concerning your health and medical conditions (e.g. disability and dietary needs);
• certain criminal convictions (e.g. for students on nursing programs, following completion of an annual declaration of “good character”); and
• information about your sex, disability, racial or ethnic origin; religion or similar beliefs; and sexual orientation.

How we use that information

Collecting this data helps us provide you with a service which meets your needs.

Specifically, we may use data:

• to meet our legal and statutory duties and responsibilities
• to process applications, enrolments and workforce development programmes and contracts
• for our own internal records so that we can provide you with a high quality service
• to contact you in response to a specific enquiry
• to customise our services so they work better for you
• to contact you about services, products, offers and other things provided by us which we think may be relevant to you
• to contact you via e-mail telephone or mail for research purposes
• to be shared with other organisations for education, training, employment and well-being related purposes, including for research
• to register your learning with an awarding body for the purposes of learning, assessment and certification
• we may use location data to track classroom and exam attendance, building security and IT security. We also use your location data to provide a convenient way to locate your colleagues. Such as revealing what campus a staff member is working from in Skype for Business. In certain situations we may use the GPS of College assets to reveal is location in the event of theft.

At no time will we assume your permission to use information that you provide for anything other than the reasons stated here.

How we use information about our students

The purposes for which we may use personal data (including sensitive personal data) we collect during a student’s association with us include:

• recruitment and admissions;
• academic matters, including:
• the provision of our core teaching and learning services (e.g. registration, assessment, attendance, managing progress, academic misconduct investigations, certification, graduation);
• maintaining student records;
• assessing your eligibility for bursaries and scholarships, etc.
• providing library, IT and information services;
• non-academic matters in support of our core services, including: o providing student support services (e.g. through Additional Learning Support, academic departments);
• monitoring equal opportunities;
• safeguarding and promoting the welfare of students;
• ensuring students’ safety and security;
• managing student accommodation;
• managing the use of social media;
• managing car parking on campus;
• administering finance (e.g. fees, scholarships and bursaries);
• other administrative purposes, including: carrying out research and statistical analysis;
• carrying out audits (e.g. to ensure compliance with our regulatory and legal obligations);
• providing operational information (e.g. providing IT support, information about building closures or access restrictions on campus, or safety advice);
• promoting our services (e.g. providing information about summer schools or other events happening on and off campus);
• preventing and detecting crime;
• dealing with grievances and disciplinary actions;
• dealing with complaints and enquiries.

Graduation and degree information

Personal data (including award and classification) will be published in the award ceremony booklet. This information will also be passed to third parties involved in the ceremonies (including our local paper and commemorative clothing suppliers). All published details will be available following the relevant graduation events.

You may withhold your consent to your name being published for these purposes when you register online to attend the award ceremony or graduate in absentia.

All award ceremonies may be recorded and, if so, will be available to view online afterwards.

Security

We will hold your information securely.

To prevent unauthorised disclosure or access to your information, we have implemented strong organisational and technical security safeguards.

If information is shared with another organisation (reasons for this are given in the section below) we will ensure an Information Sharing Agreement is in place.

We also follow stringent procedures to ensure we work with all personal data in line with the Data Protection Law.

The lawful basis for processing your information and how we use it

We may process your personal data because it is necessary for the legitimate performance of a contract with you (or a third party) or in order to take steps at your request prior to entering into a contract. In this respect, we use your personal data for the following:

• to interact with you before you are enrolled as a student, as part of the admissions process (e.g. to send you a prospectus or answer enquiries about our courses);
• once you have enrolled, to provide you with the services as set out in our learning or student agreement;
• to deal with any concerns or feedback you may have;
• for any other purpose for which you provide us with your personal data.

We may also process your personal data because it is necessary for the performance of our tasks carried out in the public interest or because it is necessary for our or a third party’s legitimate interests. In this respect, we may use your personal data for the following:

• to provide you with educational services which may not be set out in our learning or student agreement but which are nevertheless a part of our academic and educational mission;
• to monitor and evaluate the performance and effectiveness of the organisation, including by training our staff or monitoring their performance;
• to maintain and improve the academic, corporate, financial, estate and human resource management of the College;
• to promote equality and diversity throughout the College;
• to seek advice on our rights and obligations, such as where we require our own legal advice;
• recovering money owed to us;
• for fundraising purposes.

We may also process your personal data for our compliance with our legal obligations. In this respect, we may use your personal data for the following:

• to meet our compliance and regulatory obligations, such as compliance with anti-money laundering laws and safeguarding requirements;
• for the prevention and detection of crime;
• in order to assist with investigations (including criminal investigations) carried out by the police and other competent authorities.

We may also process your personal data where:

• it is necessary for medical purposes (e.g. medical diagnosis, provision of health or social care or treatment, or a contract with a health professional);
• it is necessary to protect your or another person’s vital interests; or
• we have your specific or, where necessary, explicit consent to do so.

Sharing information with others

We do not sell or rent your personal information.

Your information may by necessity be disclosed to appropriate staff members of Colchester Institute and to government bodies to fulfil our statutory responsibilities such as the Education and Skills Funding Agency, the Office for Students, Ofsted, Essex County Council, the Learning Records Service or with local partners such as Department for Work and Pensions.

We may need to share your information with other organisations and we will take steps to ensure that these organisations operate within the requirements of Data Protection Law.  This includes the following organisations who in some circumstances may act as data processor on our behalf:

• our employees, agents and contractors where there is a legitimate reason for their receiving the information, including: third parties who work with us (for example to provide student accommodation or security services);
• third parties who work with us to provide student support services (e.g. counselling);
• third parties who deliver training services on our behalf (e.g. subcontractor training organisations)
• organisations operating anti-plagiarism software on our behalf
• internal and external auditors.
• those with an interest in tracking student progress and attendance, including: student sponsors (e.g. the Student Loan Company); current or potential education providers (for example, where you take part in an exchange programme as part of your course or withdraw from a course with us a start with another provider); current or potential employers (to provide references and, where students are sponsored by their employer and/or where you take part in a placement, to provide details of progress/attendance);
• professional and regulatory bodies (e.g. Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) in relation to the confirmation of qualifications, professional registration and conduct and the accreditation of courses;
• government departments and agencies where we have a statutory obligation to provide information (e.g. the Office for Students, the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), the Home Office (in connection with UK visas and immigration), Council Tax and Electoral Registration Officers at relevant local authorities (for the purpose of assessing liability for Council Tax and for electoral registration purposes));
• Colchester Institute International Admissions team (so they can contact you to offer a pre-sessional or preparatory course relevant to your application to us);
• crime prevention or detection agencies (e.g. the police, the Department for Work and Pensions and Trading Standards);
• next-of-kin (where there is a legitimate reason for disclosure);

Information may be shared with third parties if it is in connection with the service we are providing to you, for example we might share information with market research companies contracted to undertake work on our behalf to assess your satisfaction with our service. When we do this will ensure there is an Information Sharing Agreement in place.

We will only share your personal information with other people e.g. parents or carers, or with agencies such as the Benefits Department with your permission.

If you are a student at college, the information you supply is used by the Learning Records Service (LRS). The LRS issues Unique Learner Numbers (ULN) and creates Personal Learning records across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and is operated by the Education and Skills Funding Agency, an executive agency of the Department for Education (DfE).For more information about how your information is processed, and to access your Personal Learning Record, please refer to: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/lrs-privacy-notices

If, as part of the entry requirements for your course or if you are applying for a job with us, we need to take up a reference or obtain ‘disclosure’ from the Disclosure and Barring Service, we will inform you beforehand.

Any personal information we hold about you is processed in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018.

For the purposes referred to in this privacy notice and relying on the bases for processing as set out above, we may share your personal data with certain third parties. You are given the opportunity not to opt in to of some of these data sharing arrangements, but you should carefully consider the possible impact of doing this.

Website Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions

Your privacy – the use of personal information

When supplying information you are consenting to the College holding this data in order to process your request and for our own research.

The information may be used by the College to monitor student interest in the courses offered, attainment and retention levels.

Data Protection Act 2018

All personal information is held by Colchester Institute in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018 and any successor legislation and is kept for as long as is necessary to fulfil your request or process your enquiry or application.

Keeping your information safe

All personal data collected from users completing an online form on this website will be treated as confidential and will not be passed on to any third party for marketing purposes.

Collection of personal information

The Colchester Institute website collects only personal information provided to us by visitors through submitting a web form. This information usually consists of, but is not limited to, name, personal or company address and contact details.

Web forms on our website are used for reasons such as allowing visitors to:

• Request specific materials such as a prospectus or guide
• Submit an enquiry form
• Register to attend a Colchester Institute or University Centre Colchester Open event
• Register to receive email communications in the form of newsletters or updates on new courses/services

The information required is necessary for us to be able to deal with your enquiry, but on occasions there might be additional information that we may request in order to help us to provide the most appropriate response.

Sensitive information is only sought through a form on the website if it is required or necessary as part of a process. Sensitive personal data means personal data consisting of information as to race or ethnic origin; political opinions; religious or other similar beliefs; trade union membership; physical or mental health; sexual life or criminal record.

Where sensitive information is provided this will be accepted as explicit consent for the College to use the information in connection with the purpose for which it has been provided.

Sensitive personal data is collected by certain web forms on our website in order to allow visitors to:

• Provide information about a disability or disabled access requirements
• Provide information about physical or mental health in order to submit a Colchester Institute Counselling Service Self-Referral form
• State possession of a Criminal conviction, but not the nature of the conviction or any further details related to the conviction, as part of the application form for Full-Time English Language Courses for international and overseas students

How we use your data

When users of our site send us personal information, such as their email address, Colchester Institute will only use the information in order to resolve and reply to your enquiry and shape and improve the services we offer. As part of this process, submitted information may be used for statistical analysis in order to improve our web services.

Where users have submitted a web form registering an interest in a course or service, it may be necessary for the College to add your email address to a mailing list in order to notify you of information relating to the enquiry. All emails you receive from us will offer the option to unsubscribe from the mailing list.

About our Website

The website contains information about the services and courses offered by Colchester Institute, University Centre Colchester and CI Business Solutions.

Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained within this website but Colchester Institute cannot accept any responsibility for errors or omissions in website content, or for any consequences that arise from the use of information contained within the website. Colchester Institute also reserves the right to update our terms and conditions and privacy policy without notice.

The College reserves the right to update and amend information as and when necessary. Colchester Institute will do its best to provide the courses shown, but may have to modify or withdraw a course depending on customer demand and other factors

Course information describes programmes offered by Colchester Institute, University Centre Colchester at Colchester Institute and CI Business Solutions. The College takes all reasonable steps to provide courses as described, but cannot guarantee provision. The information is for guidance and does not form any part of a contract.  Colchester Institute reserves the right to introduce changes to the information given, including the addition of new courses or withdrawal, relocation or restructuring of courses listed on the website at any given time.

Changes to web content

On occasion it is necessary for us to make changes to website content. This might include changes to information about courses, campuses, services to the public, facilities or course fees due to legitimate staffing, financial, regulatory or academic reasons.

Examples of why we may need to make changes to content include:

• changes to the law or regulatory requirements
• industrial action
• departure of key personnel
• changes in government policy

Fees are correct at the time of entering/printing information, but may be subject to change. The College cannot accept legal or financial liability as a result of any such changes.

Changes to courses may include:

• variations to the content/modules and delivery method for course programmes
• the cancellation, removal or discontinuation of course programmes due to lack of demand, obsolescence or changes to curriculum
• the merger or combining of programmes or courses
• the withdrawal or reduction of funding

Reporting Errors

The College cannot guarantee that the use of this website will be uninterrupted or error free. If you do encounter problems please report them by contacting our Web Team.

Viruses

Although every effort is made ensure that this website is virus free, it is the responsibility of the end user to check for viruses before downloading any content.

Third party Websites

Colchester Institute cannot accept responsibility for the content of third party websites which we have linked to; these links are provided solely for your convenience.

Copyright

This website and its contents (design, images, text, etc) are the property of Colchester Institute unless stated otherwise. You may not download, retain or copy website content other than for personal, non-commercial use.

Although Colchester Institute takes all reasonable steps to ensure that the content on this website is accurate it is for guidance only and does not form any part of any contract. It is the responsibility of the user to check the accuracy of relevant information before entering into any type of commitment.

Statistical Data Collection

The College collects statistical data about visitors to this site which is used to monitor web page popularity and the overall effectiveness of the website; this sometimes involves placing small amounts of information on your device (computer, mobile phone, etc.). These include small files known as cookies.

We also do this for security and in order to detect and prevent abuse. The data collected includes information on browser type, operating system, page visits, geographic data and clicks through to other websites.

This data is totally anonymous and cannot be traced to an individual in any way by us. Data collected is only used to help us understand how the website is used so that we can improve how our website works and its user experience. The information collected does not contain any personal information and will not identify individual users.

The software we use to collect statistical data is Google Analytics, you can read more about how Google uses the data it collects or download the ‘Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on’ to control data collection. The anonymous data is stored safely and securely, is only available to Colchester Institute and will only be viewed by us or our approved website developers when required.

Colchester Institute uses cookies with Google to show adverts on sites on the internet, based upon your previous interactions with the College’s website. To opt out of customized Google Display Network ads, please click here.

To find out more about how Google uses any data it collects please visit //www.google.com/privacy_ads.html. Any information collected is used only for remarketing purposes and will not be used for any other purpose.

What Are Cookies

This website uses cookies, which are tiny files that are downloaded to your computer, to improve your experience. This page describes what information they gather, how we use it and why we sometimes need to store these cookies. We will also share how you can prevent these cookies from being stored however this may downgrade or ‘break’ certain elements of the sites functionality.

For more general information on cookies see Information Commissioner’s Office page at: ico.org.uk/for-the-public/online/cookies/

How We Use Cookies

We use cookies for the reasons detailed below. Unfortunately in most cases there are no industry standard options for disabling cookies without completely disabling the functionality and features they add to this site. It is recommended that you leave on all cookies if you are not sure whether you need them or not in case they are used to provide a service that you use.

Disabling Cookies

You can prevent the setting of cookies by adjusting the settings on your browser (see your browser Help for how to do this). Be aware that disabling cookies will affect the functionality of this and many other websites that you visit. Disabling cookies will usually result in also disabling certain functionality and features of this site. Therefore it is recommended that you do not disable cookies

The Cookies We Set

Third Party Cookies

Controlling Information About You

When you fill in a form or provide your details on our website, you may see one or more tick boxes allowing you to:

• opt in to receive marketing communications from us by e-mail, telephone, text message or post
• opt in to receive marketing from our sponsors, third party partners by e-mail telephone, text message or post.

If you have agreed that we can use your information for marketing purposes, you can change your mind easily, via one of these methods:

• send an e-mail to marketing@colchester.ac.uk
• write to us – Marketing Manager, Colchester Institute, Sheepen Road, Colchester, Essex CO3 3LL

We will not lease, distribute or sell your personal information to third parties unless we have your permission or the law requires us to.

Links From Our Site

Our website may contain links to other websites. Please note that we have no control of websites outside of www.gateshead.ac.uk. If you provide information to a website to which we link, we are not responsible for its protection and privacy. You are advised to read the privacy policy or statement of other websites prior to using them.

People who use our services

We hold the details you provide us with in order to deliver programmes of study, Apprenticeships, workforce development programmes and other services which meet your specific needs.

We only use these details to provide the service you have requested and for other closely related purposes. For example, we might use information about people who have enquired about a course to carry out a survey to find out if they are happy with the level of service they have received or we might use information about an employer offering a student work experience to contact them about a new Apprenticeship scheme or grant.

You are able to request that we stop contacting you at any time.

Information may by necessity be disclosed to appropriate staff members of Colchester Institute and to government bodies (to fulfil our statutory responsibilities) such as the Skills Funding Agency, the Education Funding Agency, Ofsted, the Department for Education and auditors or to local partners

If, as part of the entry requirements for your course, we need to take up a reference or obtain ‘disclosure’ from the Disclosure and Barring Service, we will inform you beforehand.

Any personal information we hold about you is processed in accordance with Data Protection Law.

People who use our commercial services

If you are a customer of a commercial operations of the College eg CH&FS Restaurants, Salons, Refectories and Minories Galleries, the information you provide us to enable us to deliver that service will only be held and used for that purpose or for other closely related purposes eg we might use information about people who use the Hair Salons to send out offers about the Beauty Therapy Services.

People who request information from us

If you request information from us by letter, telephone, email, submitting an enquiry card or from a sales appointment, we will make a record of that enquiry and will use the information you give us to provide you with a response. We will only use the information for these purposes and to provide a follow up service to ensure that we provided you with what you asked for.

You are able to request that we stop contacting you at any time.

Any emails sent to us, including attachments, may be monitored. Please be aware that you have a responsibility to ensure that any email you send us is in the bounds of the law.

Students’ Union

We share some of the information we hold about you (including your name, date of birth, nationality, student email address and programme of study) with the Students’ Union at Colchester Institute unless you notify us that you wish to opt out of student union membership.

The Student Union use this information to administer membership of the Students’ Union. The Student Union may also send some of the student data we provide to the National Union of Students (“NUS”) .

The Student Union and the NUS will give students the chance to opt out of various categories of processing when they register with the Student Union

HESA.

We will send some of the student information we hold to the Higher Education Statistics Agency (“HESA”). HESA collects and is responsible for the database in which HESA student records are stored. Details of how HESA will process this information can be found at: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/about/regulation/data-protection/notices.

National Student Survey and Leaver Surveys

We may pass student contact details to survey contractors to carry out the National Student Survey and surveys of student finances for the organisations identified by HESA in their data protection notices referred to above. These organisations and their contractors will use student’s details only for this purpose, and will then delete them.

About six months after graduation, we will contact each student to ask him or her to fill in the HESA “Destination of Leavers from HE” questionnaire. Students may also be contacted as part of an audit to check that we have undertaken this survey properly. We will not give your contact details to HESA.

Students may also be included in surveys that track the progress of leavers in the years after they graduate. If so, we will pass your contact details to the organisation that has been contracted to carry out that survey. The organisation will use your details only for that purpose and will then delete them.

If you do not want to take part in any of these surveys, please let us know.

Changes to your personal data

Please tell us promptly about any changes to the information we hold about you. This is particularly important for your contact details.

How long your information is kept

Data will be retained under an Information Asset Register schedule of approved retention periods.  Subject to any other notices that we may provide to you, we may retain your personal data for a period of ten years after your association with us has come to an end. This may be longer in the case of European Social Fund programmes and in some cases, some information may be retained indefinitely by us in order to maintain your academic record for archiving purposes (or by the Marketing team for the purposes of supporting your lifelong relationship with Colchester Institute).

Your rights

Under Data Protection Law you have the following rights:

• to obtain access to, and copies of, the personal data that we hold about you;
• to require that we cease processing your personal data if the processing is causing you damage or distress;
• to require us not to send you marketing communications.
• to require us to correct the personal data we hold about you if it is incorrect;
• to require us to erase your personal data;
• to require us to restrict our data processing activities (and, where our processing is based on your consent, you may withdraw that consent, without affecting the lawfulness of our processing based on consent before its withdrawal);
• to receive from us the personal data we hold about you which you have provided to us, in a reasonable format specified by you, including for the purpose of you transmitting that personal data to another data controller;
• to object, on grounds relating to your particular situation, to any of our particular processing activities where you feel this has a disproportionate impact on your rights.

Accessing Your Own Personal Information

Complaints or Queries

If you have any questions about our collection and use of personal data please contact us. We are happy to provide additional information if it is required.

Changes to This Privacy Notice

We will keep this Privacy Notice under regular review and reserve the right to change it as necessary from time-to-time or if required by law. Any changes will be immediately posted on the website.

Data Protection Officer

Alison Bennett

Email: alison.bennett@colchester.ac.uk

or

Email: DPO@colchester.ac.uk

Post: Colchester Institute, Sheepen Road, Colchester, Essex CO3 3LL