Privacy Notice for Academic Appeals

Your personal and sensitive information is acquired via the declaration section of the appeal form, as well as through Kent Vision student data and Divisional records. This information will only be used to allow a small number of staff to consider your case.

In addition, we sometimes may include additional information that has not been provided by you but may be relevant to your appeal, such as the factual detail of your Inclusive Learning Plan (ILP).

Personal data we collect about you in connection with Academic Appeals:

• your name  
• email address
• date of birth
• location data

Personal data we do not request but may be provided to us where relevant for the Academic Appeal:

• address
• telephone number
• identification number (national insurance NHS, passport, employee number)
• online identifiers (IP address)

Special category data we will collect about you in connection with your academic appeal:

• physical or mental health data as included in your Inclusive Learning Plan (ILP) where applicable.

Special category data we do not request but may be provided to us upon submission where relevant for the Academic Appeal:

• physical or mental health data outside of an ILP
• criminal offence data 

We will use your information to consider your academic appeal.

As we have a statutory basis to process your personal data if we do not receive this personal data, we may not be able to process your academic appeal request. 

We rely on the following lawful basis as allowed by the UK GDPR for processing your personal data as this is necessary for:

• the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority - Article 6(1)(e)
• a legal obligation – Article 6(1)(c) to reply to requests for information made by the Office of Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education (OIA) and comply with UK immigration law (where applicable)

The statutory basis underpinning these lawful bases include:

• The Higher Education Act 2004 (which establishes the legal framework for reviewing student complaints in Part 2)

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

• you have manifestly made the data public – Article 9(2)(e)
• reasons of substantial public interest (as defined within the Data Protection Act 2018) – Article 9(2)(g).

Our substantial public interest reason(s) is/are:

• statutory purposes (our Education Acts and Equality Act 2010 obligations)
• equality of opportunity or treatment

Where we receive your criminal offence data, we additionally rely on the conditions in Section 32 (where the data subject has made the data public) and Section 36 (substantial public interests extension) Schedule 1, Part 3 of the Data Protection Act 2018.

We have a Special Category and Criminal Offence Data Appropriate Policy document in place throughout the time that we use your data and for 6 months after we cease to use it. 

Appeal documentation will need to be seen by a number of people; this is always kept to the minimum required but has to include those needed to ensure your appeal is given appropriate scrutiny including relevant members of the Division and the Quality Assurance and Compliance Office. In addition, a small number of appeals may be securely shared with the appropriate University Insurance Officer.

If you are a visa student sponsored under the Tier 4/Student route, your appeal information including final verdict will be shared with the Student Immigration Compliance Team to ensure our compliance with UK immigration law.

If your appeal is unsuccessful, and should you choose to appeal further, your appeal documentation may also be passed to a limited number of academic staff outside of your Division, a Student Union Representative and the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education.

Sometimes it is necessary for your personal information to be shared:

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

Occasionally the University may, if appropriate, legitimate and necessary, rely on relevant exemptions to UK GDPR provisions as are allowed under the Data Protection Act 2018 (in relation to crime and taxation, management forecasts, negotiations, confidential references and exam scripts and exam marks).

When it is necessary for us to transfer your personal information across national boundaries to a third party data processor, such as one of our service providers, we will ensure this safeguards your personal information by requiring such transfers are made in compliance with all relevant data protection laws.

We keep all documentation related to your appeal electronically and no longer than the required period specified in section C of the Documentation Retention and Archiving Policy.  

We will keep all documentation related to your appeal since last action on your case plus six years.