How we use your information
UHI Inverness and the University of the Highlands and Islands has educational and business requirements to maintain certain personal data about living individuals including employees, students and graduates and others as part of its legitimate activities as a college/university.
We recognise that the correct and lawful treatment of personal data maintains confidence in the organisation and provides for successful operations. We're committed to a policy of protecting the rights and freedoms of individuals with respect to the processing of their personal data.
UHI Inverness is registered with the Information Commissioners Office. Our registration number is: Z7631145
Students
When you apply for your course or enrol as a student, you will notice that we ask you a lot of questions that may not obviously relate to your studies. There are a number of reasons why we do this.
UHI Inverness and the University of the Highlands & Islands 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. Student information of this type is anonymised and amalgamated for analysis. Data helps us to shape our services in order 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. College data is returned to the Scottish Funding Council (SFC). For more information on how the Scottish Funding Council use your personal data please see their FE student privacy policy on their website.
Students undertaking Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) qualifications will have their personal data shared with SQA for the purposes of entering them for an SQA qualification, for certification and for maintenance of their record of attainment. The SQA Privacy Statement here: Privacy Statement - SQA explains how SQA uses the candidate information it collects.
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 website.
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 and is never attributed to an individual; it is all numbers, but important ones to make sure your needs are being catered for. How we store and use this information is strictly controlled by law.
UHI Inverness, The University of the Highlands & Islands (UHI), and/or one of the UHI academic partners routinely process information held on students in order to provide educational services. We also have some legal obligations to meet under the following legislation:
Further & Higher Education (Scotland) Act 2005 – We monitor how accessible our educational services are to different groups of people to ensure we are providing equal opportunities.
Post 16 Education (Scotland) Act 2013 – We share data with Skills Development Scotland (SDS) as part of the Government’s guarantee to young people to get them in to education or training if they are not employed.
Children & Young People (Scotland) Act 2008 – We gather statistics, monitor progress and offer support to young people with experience of the care system. We also share information with the local council with regard to secondary school pupils to assist with their transition between school and college.
We may also share information about your attendance and your progress with your employer or another body if they are funding your studies.
Students are informed of our data processing on their enrolment form. However, there are some additional circumstances where the College/UHI would like to process your data (as specified in each category).
Your personal data will only be used for the following services if you provide your written consent when asked.
Marketing
Periodically, throughout your period of study, and up to 3 years post-study, UHI Inverness, UHI or its academic partners may send you information about other educational programmes, products or services that may be of interest to you. Your contact details are held within the college/university student records system in accordance with the college/university records retention schedule.
Photographic Image
Your photographic image will be recorded and used for identification purposes and for providing you with a student ID badge. Your image may be stored against your electronic student record in the college/university student records system, and may also be linked to your email account and your electronic college timetable. Your personal image may be retained for up to two years after completion or withdrawal from studies.
Password
If you forget your college/university password you can now reset it yourself quickly, online and at any time of day.
To enable us to provide this service, you need to provide a back-up email address or phone number, and if these change in the future you’ll need to update the details you have registered.
When you forget your password you can request a reset using this service. This automated system will use the phone number or email address that you have setup to send you a unique code that will allow you choose a new password. View our password and authentication update and reset page for more information.
Volunteering to Participate in Research
Many of our courses require that students conduct research projects. College/University staff also conduct research projects. These can range from short surveys to in-depth interviews. This research would not be possible without volunteers. Consent is optional, you are not required to volunteer. If you do volunteer, you decide which research projects you want to participate in. You can also withdraw your consent at any time by contacting the relevant Data Controller whose details will be documented on the research brief. All research projects will have ethical clearance. If you’d like to know more about the university’s ethical framework see the Ethics site. Students and staff will not be able to contact you directly, requests will be sent to you by authorised college/university staff who will treat your information in strict confidence. The researcher will send you details of the research project and you decide if you want to contact the student or member of staff to volunteer.
College Employees & Trade Creditors (Suppliers of Goods & Services)
From January 2019, the college is being asked by Audit Scotland to participate in the National Fraud Initiative (NFI). This involves the sharing of our employees personal data and that of our trade creditors (suppliers of goods and services).
We will share our staff payroll data and details of payments made to all of our trade creditors via a secure government portal.
A Government body (the Cabinet Office) then compares our data to that of other publicly funded and some private sector organisations. Any data matches identified are investigated to verify that all payments made are legitimate.
The purpose of the exercise is to combat fraud where public money is concerned. The legal basis for sharing/processing the data is “processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller” Article 6 1(e) of the Data Protection Act 2018.
How your data will be processed by the Government is fully detailed on the Government website.
Job Applicants, Current and Former College Employees
When individuals apply to work at UHI Inverness, we will only use the information they supply to us to process their application and to monitor recruitment statistics. Where we want to disclose information to a third party, for example where we want to take up a reference or obtain a ‘Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Record’ from Disclosure Scotland we will not do so without informing them beforehand unless the disclosure is required by law.
Personal information about unsuccessful candidates will be held for 6 months after the recruitment exercise has been completed, it will then be destroyed or deleted. We retain de-personalised statistical information about applicants to help inform our recruitment activities, but no individuals are identifiable from that data.
Once a person has taken up employment with the college, we will compile a file relating to their employment. The information contained in this will be kept secure and will only be used for purposes directly relevant to that person’s employment. Once their employment with the college has ended, we will retain the file in accordance with the requirements of our records retention schedule and then delete it.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding how your data is used or processed, please contact the UHI Inverness Data Controller:
UHI Inverness
1 Inverness Campus
Inverness
IV2 5NA
Tel: 01463 273517