Why we collect data about you

When you apply for your course or enrol, you will notice that we ask you questions that may not obviously relate to your studies.  There are a number of reasons why we do this.

• The university will support you to study in an environment that is free from unlawful discrimination and promotes equality of opportunity. To ensure we provide appropriate support and to make sure we are being fair and representative, we have to know some information about you.  Data helps us get our services right to meet your individual needs.
• In addition to this, every college and university has to collect specific data to send to a national statistics agency that publicises how we are performing and who our student community is.  This helps people to decide where to study and helps us to identify where we are good at something and where we need to improve.  University student data is returned to the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) and information on how they use your data can be found on their site.

The questions we ask that are about your personal beliefs or life are those covered under the Equality Act.  These are sometimes referred to as ‘protected characteristics’.   If you would like to learn more about these, you can view information on the Equality and Human Rights Commission webpage.

All data is in a secure location. How we store and use this information is strictly controlled by law.

• The University has educational and business requirements to maintain certain personal data about living individuals including employees, students and graduates and others in pursuit of its legitimate activities as a university. The University recognises that the correct and lawful treatment of personal data maintains confidence in the organisation and provides for successful operations and the University is committed to a policy of protecting the rights and freedoms of individuals with respect to the processing of their personal data. The University is registered with the Information Commissioners Office. Our registration number is: Z7137095. 
• The University, and/or one of the UHI academic partners routinely process information held on students in order to provide educational services. Personal data is also disclosed to third parties with a legitimate interest in an official capacity. This includes bodies funding your studies.  This information is used and stored in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018. Students are informed of this processing on their enrolment form.  See below some circumstances where UHI would like to process your data (as specified in each category).

Got questions? Contact sro@uhi.ac.uk or push the Red Button