The University of Southampton supports the student lifecycle from enrolment to graduation. We value your privacy and we recognise the need to process the personal information we hold about you (your data) in a fair and lawful manner.
The University is a "Data Controller". This means that we are responsible for deciding how we hold and use your data. This privacy notice is being made available to you because you are enquiring about undertaking a programme of study with us and during this period you and third parties may provide us with information about you. Its purpose is to inform you about how and why your personal data will be used and how long it will usually be retained by us. It provides you with certain information that must be provided under the General Data Protection Regulation (EU 2016/679) (GDPR 2016), the UK Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018), and any other relevant data protection legislation that may apply (together ‘Data Protection Legislation’). Our registration number with the Information Commissioner’s Office is Z6801020.
“Data” refers to the information that we hold about you from which either on its own or in combination with other information you can be identified. It may include names, contact details, photographs, identification numbers, online identifiers and expressions of opinion about you or indications as to our intentions about you. Categories of data held by the University about people who make enquiries are set out below. "Processing" means doing anything with your data, such as collecting, recording or holding the data, as well as disclosing, destroying or using the data in any way.
This notice may be amended from time to time and you can obtain a current version at: https://www.southampton.ac.uk/about/governance/policies/enquirers-privacy-policy.page. It supplements the University’s Privacy Notice.
We will comply with the Data Protection Legislation and its principles, which means that your data will be:
| We will collect and process the following categories of personal data about you |
|---|
| Biographical information such as name, title, birth date, age, gender and domicile |
| Your contact details including addresses, email addresses and telephone numbers |
| Name and contact details of your parent, guardian or agent |
| Any identification numbers associated with you, either attributable by the University, or third party sources that share data with us e.g. UCAS, HESA, ORCID |
| Online identifiers (e.g. internet protocol addresses, cookie identifiers) |
| Name of your current institution of study, year and level of study, school performance, academic grades and qualifications |
| Records of all contact we have with you |
| Current interests and preferences |
| Care-leaver status |
| Employment history including work placement or work experience |
| Personal statements provided by you and references as supplied by others to support your enquiry |
| Any other information that you provide to us to support your enquiry and information provided during any interview with the University (if required) |
| We may also process the following “special categories” of more sensitive personal data, where this is necessary |
|---|
| Information about your health, including any medical condition and/or disability, health and sickness records |
| Ethnicity, race, nationality and country of origin |
| Religious, philosophical or moral beliefs |
| Gender identification, sexual life and sexual orientation |
| Criminal convictions |
We need to process your personal data to assist us in responding to your query, and to further enable the activities described below, in fulfilment of the University’s public task in providing educational services.
| The data is processed to enable you to |
|---|
| Attend events and outreach activities that we hold |
| Register for Southampton events such as, Open Days or Campus Tours |
| Order a publication or prospectus from us |
| Subscribe to receiving electronic marketing communications such as online newsletters, of a type most appropriate to your interests |
| Enter into prize draws and competitions |
| The data is processed to enable us to |
|---|
| Communicate with you relating to your query |
| Provide you with information you have requested (e.g. prospectus, information on Open Days) |
| With your consent, mail you directly about invitations to events and services that may be of interest to you |
| Track details of our communications with you and store your communications preferences and consents (as required) |
| Conduct surveys about our services |
| Deal with complaints, grievances, appeals and disciplinary matters |
| Undertake automated and manual data analytics exercises to help make strategic decisions |
| Produce statistical returns e.g. for HESA, research and statistical analysis and to meet statutory or other obligations |
| Administer University codes of practice and policies |
| The special category data is processed to enable us to |
|---|
| Consider whether appropriate adjustments should be provided during your interactions with us e.g. for an interview, attendance at an Open Day or other event, relevant to your intended programme of study, or living arrangements |
| Ensure meaningful equal opportunity monitoring and reporting with respect to: ethnicity, race, nationality and country of origin; religious, philosophical or moral beliefs; gender identification, sexual life or sexual orientation |
| Assess your suitability for a course and make any necessary changes to your learning and living environment to allow you to undertake your studies and adhere to any conditions placed upon you as the result of a criminal conviction. Criminal conviction information may need to be shared externally where a course requires a professional registration on graduation with an external body |
None of the personal data collected about you will be used as part of any automated decision-making about you.
| We will use some data that we collect in order to |
|---|
| Help us to understand more about electronic-service users and prospects |
| Share data with specialist marketing agencies so they can help us to understand more about our users and prospects, and how they interact with our brand, in a way that can be compared with competing education providers |
| Adapt our communications with you according to the information given by you and by specialist marketing agencies |
| Adapt our communications with you to meet your service needs according to the information given by you and the details of the interactions that you have undertaken with us |
| Determine which communications messages you receive and their frequency, as appropriate, with your consent (as required) |
| Help us understand more about our prospects and the experience they expect from their interactions with the University |
When we use your data for statistical and research purposes, we will usually anonymise your data so that you cannot be identified. If that is not possible, we use your personal data on the basis that this is necessary: in the public interest; for scientific or historical research or statistical purposes, or for the purposes of the University’s legitimate business interests.
We will only process your special category data with your consent or if it is necessary: for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims; when it is needed to protect your or another person’s vital interests and you are not capable of giving your consent, or for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes.
We will only process your data for the specific purpose or purposes that we tell you about, or if specifically permitted by the Data Protection Legislation, and will only process your data to the extent necessary for that specific purpose or purposes.
We may, from time to time, contact you by email, post, SMS, telephone and social media or paid-for advertising with your consent (as required). If at any stage you are concerned about the content of these communications e.g. unwanted marketing information, or wish to change how we communicate with you, please contact us at enquiries@southampton.ac.uk to unsubscribe. All electronic communication is offered in line with EU and UK electronic privacy rules.
You have the right to withdraw your consent for direct marketing at any time. To do so, please contact enquiries@southampton.ac.uk. Once we have received notification that you have withdrawn your consent, we will no longer process your enquiry and, subject to our retention policy, we will dispose of your personal data securely.
We use cookies to support your service user-experience, and to assist us with providing a better service for other users. Allowing cookies to be used will enable your user preferences to be remembered by your device. Some cookies are necessary for the function of our website. Others are optional and we will not use them without your consent. When you first visit our webpages, you will be asked to agree to the use of cookies. If you do not agree, only essential cookies will be enabled.
You can read our enquirers’ cookie policy and change your cookie settings at any time using the Privacy Settings button on the footer of every webpage.
It is important that the personal information that we hold about you is accurate and up to date. Please notify us at enquiries@southampton.co.uk if your personal details change, or if data that we hold about you is inaccurate.
We obtain your data either directly from you via various media including our website, by telephone, through LiveChat and social media platforms, or indirectly from third party sources with whom you have had direct contact, such as UCAS or international agents. We will always look to ensure that the third party has the lawful authority to share this data with us and has collected it from you fairly.
We limit access to your personal data to those employees of the University and third parties who have a business need-to-know. They will only process your data on our instructions and they are subject to a duty of confidentiality. The University has procedures in place to deal with any suspected data security breach and will notify you and any applicable regulator of a breach in accordance with our legal obligations.
We create and hold your data both electronically and on paper. We will retain your personal data for up to three years beyond the point at which you have expressed an interest in joining higher education. We retain your data for that period to allow us to provide you with information about studying in the UK and at University of Southampton. Beyond this period, we will anonymise and aggregate your information, removing personal data, for the purposes of reporting and profiling to support business decisions. After this period, we will securely destroy your personal data in accordance with our data retention schedule.
Your information will be shared internally within the University for the purposes described in the section “Why does the University process personal data?”.
All third-party data recipients are required to take appropriate security measures to protect your personal data in line with our policies. We only permit third-party data recipients to process your personal data for specific purposes and in accordance with our instructions.
Exceptionally, we may disclose your data to a third party if required to do so: to protect or defend the University’s rights, interests, or property, or those of third parties; act in urgent circumstances to protect the personal safety of University constituents, or the public; or protect against legal liability.
| Your information will be shared externally with | If you |
|---|---|
| Companies who carry out market research or analysis on behalf of the University | Are in the group of enquirers appropriate to the project |
| International agents and in-country officers | Are an international prospect |
You have a number of rights. You can:
If you would like to exercise these rights please use our online form or write to:
The Data Protection Officer
Legal Services
University of Southampton, Highfield
Southampton, SO171BJ
Email: data.protection@soton.ac.uk
If you do not provide certain categories of personal data when requested, or if you do not allow us to process your personal data collected through other means for specified purposes, we may not be able to successfully handle your enquiry.
We also have additional policies and guidelines concerning particular activities. If you would like further information please see our Publication Scheme.
If you are unhappy with the way that we have handled your data you can contact us at:
Student and Academic Administration
University of Southampton
B37/3107, Highfield Campus, Southampton SO17 1BJ UK.
Email: admissions@southampton.ac.uk
Telephone: +44(0)23 8059 5000
Alternatively, you can contact the UK Information Commissioner’s Office.