Privacy notice for Widening Access Bursary and Named Donor Bursary
Introduction
Your personal information and privacy are important to Heriot-Watt University. We cannot award and manage your bursary without collecting, holding, and using your personal information. This Notice explains what personal information we collect, hold and use to award and manage your bursary and, where you are in receipt of a Named Donor Bursary, what we share with the donor behind your bursary. It should be read in conjunction with the Privacy Notices for:
to understand how the University collects, holds and uses your personal information for all its purposes.
Who is the data controller?
Heriot-Watt University is the Data Controller for personal data we hold about you. Where we use the term ‘University’, this includes all members of the Heriot-Watt University Group. We hold your personal information securely and restrict access to personal information to people who need to use it in the course of their duties. When collecting and processing information about you, we must comply with the UK Data Protection Act 2018, the UK General Data Protection Regulation, The Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003, and any other relevant privacy laws.
What personal information we collect, hold and use to award and management your bursary
We collect, hold and use the following personal information, in all formats, to award and manage your bursary award:
- Name
- Address (permanent and term-time)
- Email address (personal and University)
- Phone Number
- Date of Birth
- Gender
- Background Experience e.g. Care Experienced, Armed Forces/Veteran Family Member, Low Income including household income
- Familial Relationships
- Educational information
- Areas of funding interested in
- Employment Information
- Bursary Application Personal Statement, which may include special category data or criminal offence data if you choose to provide it i.e.: o
- Racial or ethnic origin
- Political Opinions
- Trades Union Membership
- Religious or similar beliefs
- Physical or mental health details
- Sexual life
- Offences and alleged offences
- Criminal proceedings, outcomes and sentences
- Programme and Year of Study
- History of relationship and communication with the University
- Communication Preferences
- Where awarded a bursary, your Bank Details
- For Named Donor Bursaries only, your Programme of Study Progress Updates
All this information is supplied directly by you, and we will cross-check some applicable information with what you supplied in your UCAS application.
We will also use your Enrolment Status as recorded in your Student Record.
Why we collect and use your personal data
Our legal basis for using your personal information
- Under data protection law, we can only use your personal information where we have a lawful basis for doing so. The bursary is awarded subject to terms and conditions, and accordingly we will use your personal information prior to entering into, and in fulfilment of, that contract with the University. This includes where you’ve agreed to the sharing of your first name with the donor behind your Named Donor Bursary, and to meet with your donor.
- If you volunteer special category/criminal offence data in your application Personal Statement, we will hold this with your explicit consent. You can withdraw your consent at any time.
Who your information may be shared with and why
For Named Donor Bursaries only:
- your Programme, Year of Study, Enrolment Status, and where you’ve agreed, your first name;
- your Programme of Study Progress Updates will be shared with the donor behind the bursary. These are normally accompanied by your first name unless you have come to an alternative arrangement with the University’s Development and Alumni Office;
- if you have accepted the offer to meet the donor, your first name, Programme, Year of Study, and Enrolment Status will be shared with them.
We may appoint people and organisations to work for us and contract with them to act as data processors on our behalf for the purposes of awarding and managing your bursary. Examples include the provision of email and other IT services.
International data transfers
Where the donor behind a Named Donor Bursary lives outside the UK and the European Economic Area and in a country without adequacy status as determined by the UK Government, we will be sharing your personal information with them in order to fulfil your bursary contract with the University, and, where applicable, with your explicit consent.
Automated decision making
We do not take any decisions about you that would have legal or similarly significant implications for you based solely on automated processing or profiling.
How long we keep your personal information
Our arrangements for keeping your personal information are as follows:
- If your application for a bursary is not successful, we will destroy your personal information gathered for these purposes one year after the date of the decision;
- If you are awarded a bursary, your information will be held in line with our Records Retention Schedule for Student Financial Support, which is six years after your last academic year of receipt of the bursary.
Your rights
You have the right to:
- Find out what personal data we process about you and obtain a copy of the data, free of charge within one month of your request by contacting dataprotection@hw.ac.uk We may make a charge for additional copies of the same information.
- Ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data;
- Ask us to provide you with a portable electronic copy of the personal information you’ve given us.
Under certain conditions, you also have the right to ask us to:
- Restrict the use of your personal information, for example if you have raised issues about the accuracy or use of your personal data, until we have investigated and responded to your concerns;
- Erase your personal information.
If you think we are acting unfairly or unlawfully you can complain to the UK Information Commissioner's Office.
Data Protection Officer and contact details
If you have any questions about what we do with your personal information or your rights under privacy laws, you can contact us at the addresses below.