7. Who do we share your data with?
Where there is a legitimate need or statutory obligations the University will disclose necessary personal data to third parties. Depending on individual circumstances and the study route i.e. apprenticeship, these may include the following:
- Higher Education Statistics Agency (the Designated Data Body for England under the Higher Education Research Act 2017), who from October 2022 have merged with JISC (the UK digital, data and technology agency focussed on tertiary education, research and innovation) (see HESA’s statement about the uses made by them and JISC of your personal information published at https://www.hesa.ac.uk/about/regulation/data-protection/notices)
- Higher Education Access Tracker (HEAT). We use this platform to track and monitor some students so as to enable statistical aggregation and analysis. Your data may be shared between HEAT and HESA. The Privacy notice for HEAT can be seen at https://heat.ac.uk/privacy-notice/
- partner colleges or institutions where your programme is run in conjunction with a partner college or involves an exchange programme. Sub-contractors where a component of your apprenticeship programme may be delivered by a sub-contractor
- funders and/or sponsors (e.g. the Student Loans Company, funders based in other countries including those outside the UK, UK Research and Innovation, Teach First, the funders of any awards or prizes)
- providers of any external/collaborative learning, training, work and other placements (e.g. schools involved in the provision of teacher training and hospitals hosting student placements), or fieldwork opportunities e.g. affiliated institutions, exchange partners, including to providers based overseas
- providers of external/collaborative research projects involving students including sponsors of studentships, research collaborations and enterprise experience opportunities with third parties as part of a programme of study
- external examiners and assessors, and external individuals involved in relevant University panels, committees or procedures. For apprenticeship programmes Independent Assessors and External Assessors who would be involved in the integrated End Point Assessment
- relevant UK Government Departments (e.g. Department for Education, Home Office (including UK Visas and Immigration), Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Department of Health and Social Care) in accordance with the University’s obligations as a student sponsor. In addition, the University will share the information required by UKVI to enable graduating students to apply for the Graduate Immigration route, should they wish to do so
- relevant Higher Education bodies (e.g. Office for Students, UK Research and Innovation, Universities and Colleges Admissions Service, Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education, the organisation(s) running the National Student Survey and other student surveys)
- any other relevant professional or statutory regulatory bodies and/or apprenticeship programmes integrated End Point Assessment Organisations
- to third party student accommodation providers operating under contract on behalf of the University
- The University of Plymouth Students’ Union (UPSU), in order to facilitate your membership of this and associated clubs and societies
- Council Tax Offices where limited data is provided to assist with the administration of students’ exemption from Council Tax
- Electoral Registration Officers where limited personal data is provided in order to assist with the maintenance of a complete and accurate electoral reform register
- on occasion and where necessary, Plymouth City Council, the police and other law enforcement agencies for the purposes of prevention or detection of crime including anti-social behaviour issues
- occupational health providers in order to access services
- where necessary the emergency services and your designated emergency contact where there is an urgent requirement to share information e.g. illness, serious injury, bereavement or the suspicion/risk of this
- Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) where a DBS assessment is required
- University's professional advisors, solicitors, accountants, insurers and auditors and, where required, other statutory bodies acting in an audit capacity e.g. OFSTED, QAA and ESAF for apprenticeships
- for apprentice learners information may also be shared with; the employer, the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) an executive agency of the Department for Education (DfE) and the funding body for apprenticeships. If you are studying on an apprenticeship programme with a non-integrated End Point Assessment (EPA) the University will need to share your data with the designated End Point Assessment Organisation (EPAO)
- third party providers providing specific services to, or on behalf of, the University under contract for the purposes of teaching, learning, research and administration
- to banks (and other payment agencies you may use), family members who are paying your fees, sponsors or other third parties to enable them to pay student debts and this includes the disclosure of relevant information to our supplier of banking services for the purposes of complying with anti-money laundering regulations and to agencies engaged on our behalf for the collection of unpaid debts
- external organisations contracted by HESA, JISC or other regulatory organisations to carry out surveys on student experience or teaching quality e.g.
National Student Survey
(NSS) and
Graduate Outcomes Survey
(GO)
- when you have nominated a member of staff or the University as a referee to a third party we will provide a reference to them when requested to do so
- we will make your name and confirmation of your award available at your graduation ceremony and publish in the local paper, but you have the opportunity to opt-out of this by emailing gradlistingsoptout@plymouth.ac.uk
- to third party providers such as Turnitin whose systems are used to check for improper citation and potential plagiarism in students’ work. Students may therefore be required to provide a limited amount of personal data, for instance name, email address and course details and submissions when using the service
- information supplied by apprentice learners will be used by the Learner Records Service (LRS). The LRS issues Unique Learner Numbers (ULN) and creates Personal Learning records across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and is operated by the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA). For more information about how your information is processed, and to access your Personal Learning Record, please refer to: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/lrs-privacy-notices.
For students enrolled on professionally accredited courses
We will share your data with your relevant professional body e.g. General Medical Council, General Dental Council, Nursing and Midwifery Council, Solicitors Regulation Authority, Health and Care Professions Council:
- Registration: we will share your name, contact details and personal data including age, disability and ethnicity with the accrediting or regulatory body if requested.
- Graduation: we will share a list of students who completed their award with the regulatory or accrediting body in order to register you to practise as a professional or complete your registration. This may include information about Fitness to Practise/Study incidents which the University investigated while you were a student.
The University may also share information to assist the accrediting or regulatory body with its statutory duties or for research purposes to enable them to conduct research into education for the profession. Any data shared for research purposes will not be used for other purposes, will not be used to make decisions about you nor published in ways which could identify you.
Data transfers to third party countries
On occasion, the above types of sharing may involve the transfer of your personal information outside of the UK to the European Economic Area or outside of the European Economic Area such as the United States. This could be to facilitate your participation in an exchange visit or to report to an overseas funding provider. Such transfers usually are necessary in order to meet our contractual obligations with you, and are carried out with appropriate safeguards in place to ensure the confidentiality and security of your personal information.
Other than as set out above, we will not normally publish or disclose any personal information about you to other external enquirers or organisations, including parents, family members, guardians and friends unless you have requested it or consented to it, or unless it is in accordance with data protection law (e.g. in an emergency situation).
