Privacy policy - alumni and other supporters

This Privacy Notice outlines how the University of Kent collects, uses, and manages the personal information of individuals in accordance with data protection law. 

Various teams will maintain contact with and provide services to alumni, and supporters of the University of Kent as part of the University’s marketing, recruitment, and engagement services. This will mean that certain staff members will also have their data processed in support of these services. Supporters can include parents, donors, mentors, employers, researchers, policymakers, and advocates. We process personal data to ensure you are informed about university services and support particularly about the things about which you are most interested.  

The University of Kent is a data controller for the information it holds about you. (See the Information Commissioner’s Office Data Protection Register Number Z6847902 - View the full entry on the register) 

How we collect your personal information 

Your personal data is obtained: 

• Directly from you, through online or paper forms, email or by telephone. 
• From your student record (attainments, awards, and certificates). 
• From our student systems. 
• When you attend an event, reunion or social engagement, including members of the public who register at events. 
• When you donate or participate in philanthropic activities. 
• When you volunteer or collaborate with us for a given purpose. 
• When you join a society. 
• When you update the details, we hold about you. 
• When you complete surveys that are not processing anonymised data. 
• When you provide us with feedback. 

Categories of information we collect. 

The personal data we collect, and process will vary according to the nature of engagement you have with the alumni team. Personal data we collect about you in connection with maintaining records (Student Data System, KentVision), and providing you with services includes.  

Personal data 

• Your full name 
• Address and postcode 
• telephone number 
• email address 
• date of birth 
• gender 
• reference numbers such as student number 
• your opinions when you answer surveys, we send you that require an identifiable response. 
• financial information if donating 
• IP address 
• biographical data 
• educational achievement and progression data details (employer, nature, and level of work) 

Special category data 

We will collect about you only in connection with meeting any accessibility needs including disability, dietary requirements from information you have provided to us to help us meet your needs. We will also collect the following information if it is provided by you and is relevant to our relationship with you. 

• racial or ethnic origin (nationality) 
• religious or philosophical beliefs 
• physical or mental health data 

How we use your personal information 

To generate philanthropic support (for example, fundraising and/or volunteering) for University charitable projects.  

To send you publications and updates on events on campus, and email newsletters about the University and its fundraising projects. 

To help you stay connected with other alumni and/or University supporters and donors by inviting you to alumni reunions and University events. 

To inform you of the benefits available to alumni, such as careers advice and educational programmes, after graduating. 

To ask you if you would like to support the University (for example, by donating, contributing to surveys, volunteering, or acting as a mentor). 

To thank you for any gifts of time and money that help the University’s charitable causes. 

To undertake any necessary research for our due diligence to meet money laundering regulations in alignment to our Gift Acceptance policy; 

For internal record-keeping and administration (for example, to process a donation or administer an event which you are attending). 

To validate your address and to prepare reports using maps by ‘geocoding’ your address against publicly available web mapping services. 

To publish photographs and videos relating to our activities and events. We will inform you about such processing at the time when the data is obtained or as soon as reasonably possible thereafter. 

To compile anonymised statistics for ranking/league tables in which the University participates. 

For demographic research purposes. 

For the provision of viewing and purchasing certificates of achievement and merit in your Higer Education studies.  

The University only processes data for specified purposes if it is justified and complies with Data Protection laws, to improve your experience and engagement as a valued member of the alumni. For certain data, we have a statutory and a contractual basis to process your personal data.  

Our lawful basis for processing your data. 

We rely on the following lawful basis in UK and EU GDPR to process your personal data where necessary for: 

• For the pursuit of the University’s legitimate interests in fundraising to provide additional sources of income to support our students, invest in research and fund projects that benefit our communities and in support of the University’s charitable mission and maintaining a strong relationship with our alumni and supporters. By collecting information from publicly available sources, this allows us to identify potential donors and invite them to support our fundraising causes. The processing of this data is in the interests of potential donors themselves as it facilitates more effective conversations between them and the University. For using analytics on our website and email communications to enhance our services to you based on your user experience.(Article 6(1)(f) - unless those interests are overridden by your interests, rights or freedoms)  
• To enable the University to comply with its legal obligations, for example for compliance with money laundering rules and Gift Aid requirements, disclosing personal data to Local Authorities for specified purposes (Article 6(1)(c)); 
• For the performance of tasks carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of our official authority, for example the completion of Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education/ Graduate Outcomes survey (Article 6(1)(e));  
• In some circumstances we need to make reasonable adjustments for you at an event we are organising and may need to process your special category data to support your access. We will need your consent to process your personal data. In these cases, we will seek your consent which, if given, you will be able to withdraw at any time (Article 9(2)(a)). 
• We also process data as part of our contract for study with you (Article 6(1)(b)). 

Where we also use your special category data, we must identify a further basis for processing that data. The processing is necessary for:  

• Ensuring your needs can be met in terms of accessibility, this will be through you providing explicit consent (Article 9(2)(a)) 
• Staff members employment, social security and social protection (Article 9(2)(b)) 
• Reasons of substantial public interest (as defined within the Data Protection Act 2018, Schedule 1, part 2) (Article 9(2)(g)).  

Our substantial public interest reason is: 

• equality of opportunity or treatment 

The University has a Special Category Data Appropriate Policy document in place throughout the time that we use your data and for 6 months after we cease to use it. 

Within the University

Your data is shared with only those University and engagement staff who need access for the purpose of delivering our alumni and supporter activities and within the University MS Office 365 tenancy. Your personal data is held securely on the University’s systems, which is restricted to access by nominated university employees. 

With external parties – data processors. 

Your personal data is shared as is necessary, on a considered and confidential basis, with several external third-party organisations which assist with our alumni and supporter activities. These organisations act on our behalf in accordance with our instructions for the purposes outlined above and do not process your data for any purpose over and above what we have asked them to do. We make sure we have appropriate contracts in place with them.  

The types of organisations are as follows: 

• Third parties engaged by the University to provide alumni, supporter and fundraising related services – we share biographical, contact and education details, professional details, volunteering, and philanthropic details. 
• Event venue providers – names and accessibility and assistance requirements and related information. 
• The Charity Commission – for compliance with charity law. 
• The Office for Students - as our principal regulator for charity law purposes. 
• HM Revenue & Customs - as required for Gift Aid purposes. 
• Occasionally and when necessary internal and external auditors or regulators. 
• A cloud-based service provider, Advanced Secured Technologies Limited, will process your requests to view and purchase qualification certificates, using the WorldPay gateway to process your payments. The University and WorldPay adhere to the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard. The process will involve importing student module marks and results data from KentVision into the cloud-hosted database to enable students and graduates to obtain copies of documentation and enable third parties (e.g., potential employers) to verify documents. Further privacy information can be found at Policies | Advanced Secure Technologies. 

• The University uses a relationship management system called Raiser’s Edge which is provided and hosted by Blackbaud, Inc. This is non-profit CRM (Client Relationship Management) software built for fundraisers. The data is hosted on a server within the EEA. Access to your data is restricted to those staff at the University who have a requirement to maintain a relationship with you. Blackbaud, Inc do not allow their staff to have access to personal data stored within Raiser’s Edge. Further privacy information can be found at blackbaud.co.uk 

We ensure we have appropriate data sharing and/or processing agreements in place before sharing your personal data with any other data controllers. We do not sell your personal data to third parties under any circumstances or permit third parties to sell on the data we have shared with them. We will ensure that only the minimum amount of relevant personal data necessary for the purpose is transferred and that the personal data transferred is proportionate and relevant. We will ensure that contractual agreements exist to ensure compliance with data protection legislation and that data is used solely under our instruction. In these circumstances personal data shall be deleted after the contract has terminated. 

With external parties – data controllers 

We share your personal data with external data controller(s) as organisations who use the data for their own purposes rather than function as a service provider for their legitimate purposes.  

If you are an alumnus or donor and reside in the United States of America your data may be passed to University of Kent in America, Inc, (University of Kent in America (UKA) - Kent Alumni - University of Kent) a US registered charity, who have separate 501(c)(3) status (this means that it is tax exempt as a charitable organisation under section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code). They perform fundraising and alumni relations activity on our behalf. The University of Kent in America aims to reach as many of our alumni and friends across the States as possible, to connect them with friends and networks and help them stay in touch and get involved with the University. We have therefore started to establish some smaller groups, or chapters, of the UKA community. Further information can be found at https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/charitable-organizations/exemption-requirements-501c3-organizations 

The University is required to share data of new graduates with the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA, now merged with the Joint Information Systems Committee - Jisc) for the purposes of conducting the Graduate Outcomes Survey. Please visit the HESA website for more information about this survey or the Jisc website for further privacy information (Privacy notice - Jisc). 

If you donate to the Kent and Medway Medical School your data may be passed to Canterbury Christ Church University (CCCU), with whom the Medical School is a joint venture, for the purposes of processing and stewarding your donation. 

On rare occasions, it may be necessary for your personal information to be shared with: 

• competent authorities (such as the police, National Crime Agency) or Action Fraud for law enforcement purposes (for substantial public interest reasons – Article 9(2)(g) – for preventing or detecting unlawful acts, safeguarding, or anti-fraud purposes) 
• with our professional advisors where it is necessary for the establishment, exercise, or defence of legal claims – Article 9(2)(f). 

We will retain most of your data indefinitely in support of your lifelong relationship with the University, or until there is no longer a legal basis for holding it, or you object to the use of your data for direct marketing purposes.   

The following information will be retained in the event that you request us to no longer keep in touch: 

* We periodically import records from our student records systems and this ensures that a new record is not created for you. 

** In order to claim Gift Aid and for subsequent audit purposes this will be retained for a minimum of six years. 

We will ensure that security measures are in place to prevent the accidental loss of unauthorised use of or access to your data. Access is given to staff on a ‘need to know’ basis. Our staff are required to keep your data safe and complete data protection training. 

We have procedures in place to deal with any data security incidents and will notify you and the ICO in the event of a data breach where we are required to do so.

Please be aware of the following rights which can be accessed free of charge by contacting dataprotection@kent.ac.uk: 

• know how we are using your personal information and why (right to information) 
• access the personal data held by us (subject access request) 
• ask for correction of any mistakes (rectification) 
• to object to direct marketing 
• to complain to the ICO. 

In some circumstances you also have the right to: 

• object to how we are using your information. 
• ask us to delete information about you (the right to be forgotten) 
• have your information transferred electronically 
• object to automated decisions which significantly affect you. 
• restrict us from using your information. 

Where our lawful basis is Legitimate Interests or Consent, you have the right to object to us undertaking that processing activity. To do so, please email alumni@kent.ac.uk and provide details of the processing activities and/or types of personal data to which your objection applies. We will explain how this will impact on our ability to provide you with our services. 

• You can ask us to erase your personal data from our relationship management system if you withdraw your consent or object to all processing undertaken under Legitimate Interests. Please note the restrictions under How Long Is Your Data Stored. 

• You can ask to be provided with any personal data that you consider the University may hold about you on computer or in paper records accessible under the terms of Data Protection law. Please visit the University’s Subject Assess Request webpages for more information. 
• If you believe that personal data, we hold about you is inaccurate, please contact us and we will take action to correct it. 

For further guidance regarding your rights please see the ICO website.

Your rights- if you have given consent or explicit consent for a specific use of your personal data

You can withdraw your consent at any time. 

You can do this by contacting us:  dataprotection@kent.ac.uk 

This does not affect the lawfulness of the processing based on consent before its withdrawal.

Your right to complain to the Information Commissioner

If you are unsatisfied with how we process your data, please contact us and we will try and put things right. If you feel that we have failed to resolve the issue to your satisfaction, you can refer the issue to the Information Commissioner’s Office who can be contacted at: 

Information Commissioner's Office 
Wycliffe House 
Water Lane 
Wilmslow 
SK9 5AF 

Web: https://www.ico.org.uk 

You have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office. 

Their helpline telephone number is: 0303 123 1113.   

If you have any questions or concerns about the way the University has used your data, or wish to exercise any of your rights, please consult our website. 

The University’s Data Protection Officer can be contacted at:  

Email: dataprotection@kent.ac.uk 

University of Kent

The Registry 

Canterbury 

Kent 

CT2 7NZ 

 Tel: 01227 826515 

We keep our privacy policy under regular review, and it may be amended in response to changes in legislation or other factors.  

This privacy notice will be reviewed at two year intervals.