Prospective Student Fair Processing Notice

Last published date: 16 September 2025

Summary

We collect and use your personal information when you apply to study with us, attend an event, or take part in our Outreach and Access activities. This helps us to support you and improve your experience. We keep your information safe and only use it for the reasons we explain here.

Lawful Basis for Processing

We only use your information when we have a legal reason to do so. These reasons include:

  • Public Task: When you enquire about our courses, take part in our outreach and access 
    activities, apply to study with us, or become an enrolled student
  • Legal Obligation: For example, collecting information to meet equality laws
  • Consent: Sometimes we ask for your permission, especially for marketing or research

Primary Purposes for Processing

We use your information to:

  • Answer your questions
  • Invite you to events
  • Send helpful info about studying with us
  • Match your enquiry and application records to keep our messages relevant
  • Track how well our outreach work helps students succeed
  • Make sure we are supporting students from all backgrounds

Information We Collect

We collect information:

  • When you sign up online or at events
  • From emails and forms
  • Through surveys and feedback
  • From UCAS or direct applications
  • From schools, parents, or other organisations

Types of Personal Data Processed

Here’s the kind of personal data we may collect:

  • Name, address, phone number, email
  • Date of birth, gender, school, or college
  • What courses or events interest you
  • Identity documents (like a passport)
  • Grades, reports, references
  • Photos
  • Health and disability details
  • Ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation
  • If you're in care or care experienced
  • Emergency contacts
  • Financial info (for fees or funding)
  • Any responsibilities you have at home
  • Details needed to support you at university

For Outreach and Access activities, we also ask:

  • Your postcode and year group
  • If you're the first in your family to go to university
  • If you're an asylum seeker, refugee, or from a military family
  • Whether you have a disability or learning need

CCTV

Our campus may have CCTV to keep everyone safe. Images may be recorded and kept securely for a limited time.

University Monitoring

We monitor who takes part in our events and how people progress into university and beyond. This helps us understand what’s working and how we can do better.

Sharing Your Information

We may share your data:

  • Internally: With university departments that need it to help you
  • Externally: With trusted third-party partners who help us manage events, process applications, send communications, or track progress

We never sell your data. We only share it when necessary and always keep it safe.

Third Parties

We may share your data with organisations such as:

  • Higher Education Access Tracker (HEAT)
  • Office for Students (OfS)
  • Department for Education (DfE)
  • Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA)
  • Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA)
  • Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS)

We will only do this when it's allowed by law or necessary for our work.

Cookies and Analytics

When you visit our website, we use cookies (tiny files saved on your computer) to make our site better for you. We also use Google Analytics to understand how visitors use our website.

You can turn off cookies in your browser settings, but some parts of the site might not work properly if you do.

Records Retention

We keep your personal data only as long as needed. For example:

  • If you were under 21 at your first Outreach event: we keep your data until you're 30 or 15 years after you graduate (whichever is longer).
  • If you were 21 or older: we keep it for 15 years after graduation or 10 years after the event.

After that, we delete or anonymise the data.

Individual Rights

You have rights over your personal data. You can:

  • Ask what data we have about you
  • Ask to see or correct your data
  • Ask us to delete your data (in some cases)
  • Withdraw your consent if you’ve given it
  • Complain if you think your personal data aren’t being handled properly

Supporting Information

If you need further details, you can:

  • Visit the UEL website - Data Protection page. This is where you can also access our Data Protection Policy
  • Contact our Data Protection Officer via mailto:dpo@uel.ac.ukdpo@uel.ac.uk
  • Raise concerns with the Information Commissioner’s Office via https://ico.org.ukico.org.uk if you believe your data has been mishandled

The ICO requires all data subjects to liaise with, and exhaust all avenues for resolution with UEL before a complaint is escalated to them

v1 July 2021
v2 July 2025

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