This Privacy Notice outlines how Canterbury Christ Church University (the Data Controller) collects, uses, and protects personal data in relation to monitoring and evaluation activities delivered by the University for continuous improvement. It applies to any individuals who engage with the University either as a student, prospective student, staff or member of the public who attend events and activities at the University.
We are committed to handling your personal data responsibly and transparently, in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018 and UK General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) and any other relevant legislation. This notice is intended to ensure you are fully informed about how your personal information is used and the rights you have in relation to it.
You can access our Data Protection Policy here.
1. What personal information do we collect about you
When you engage with the University in relation to Outreach and Widening Participation activities, we collect and retain relevant personal data. This information is used for the purposes set out in Section 3 of this Privacy Notice.
We may process the following categories of personal data about you:
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Full name
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Date of birth
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Postcode
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Address, email address and telephone number
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Gender
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Student ID number
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Care status
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Young carer status
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Asylum seeker or refugee status
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Children of service personnel status
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Your opinions when you answer surveys and give feedback, including your perceptions of education in general, and higher education in particular.
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Engagement with activities data (attendance)
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Email address
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Organisation
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Job title
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Dietary requirements
We may also process the following Special Category Data about you:
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Disability and accessibility data
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Ethnicity and race
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Religion
2. How do we collect your information
The University may collect your personal data through a range of methods and sources, depending on your relationship with us and the nature of our interaction. We may collect your personal information:
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Directly from you – for example when you fill in a registration or evaluation form or when you participate in our University events. You may also be invited to complete a registration form and questionnaire related to Widening Participation activity.
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Through automated technologies – data may be transferred directly from your student record (SITS) onto the HEAT database.
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From third parties – for example UCAS, your school; or when your parent or carer fills in forms on your behalf.
3. How do we use your personal data
The University may process your personal data for the following purposes:
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To facilitate the provision and delivery of outreach activities to you.
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To monitor and evaluate our outreach and widening participation offer, so that we may understand whether the activities that we offer have been effective and benefit students, and how we can improve in the future.
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To monitor and evaluate your journey from education into work or further education. Specifically, but not exclusively, individual information regarding attainment, progression, social mobility, graduate outcomes and eventual employment.
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To inform and support your application should you choose to study at Canterbury Christ Church University.
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To carry out surveys exploring young people’s attitudes towards higher education and measuring key predictors of progression, such as self-efficacy.
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To run and manage our outreach networks
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To comply with statutory and regulatory requirements, including those under the Data Protection Act 2018 and UK GDPR and to fulfil compulsory external reporting requirements to regulatory bodies such as the Office for Students (OfS).
4. The lawful basis we use to process your data
Data protection law sets out reasons for collecting and processing your personal data. In this section, we outline the legal bases the University uses.
We will be processing your data under:
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Article 6(1)(a) Consent "the data subject has given consent to the processing of his or her personal data for one or more specific purposes"
We may process your data with your consent in specific situations. When we collect your personal data we will explain to you what data is necessary for a specific service. We do this when we seek your consent. You may withdraw your consent at any time. You need not give a reason. To withdraw your consent, contact: sce@canterbury.ac.uk.
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Article 6(1)(e) Public Task "processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller"
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Article 6(1) (f) Legitimate Interests "processing is necessary for the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by the controller or by a third party, except where such interests are overridden by the interests or fundamental rights and freedoms of the data subject which require protection of personal data, in particular where the data subject is a child"
It is in the legitimate interest of the University to monitor and evaluate activities run by the University and helps to ensure that areas for improvement are addressed.
Where we process Special Category Data, we will do so under the following legal basis:
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Article 9(2)(g) Reasons of substantial public interest (with a basis in law)
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Article 9(2)(j) Archiving, research and statistics (with a basis in law)
We have an Appropriate Policy Document in place which records our processing in relation to Special Category Data and Criminal Offence Data. You may access the document here.
5. Who do we share your personal data with
We may share your personal data with trusted third-party service providers who act as data processors or data controllers on our behalf. These partners are the Office for Students (OfS), Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), Higher Education Statistics Agency, the University Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS), Department for Education, the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) or the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC). It will also be shared with partners including colleges, Higher Education Access Tracker (HEAT) service subscribers, Connexions and the National Data Services. These partners support with the impact evaluation of widening participation activity across the higher education sector. If you choose to join us, we may, for example, share your Post-Entry data with HEAT for the purposes of monitoring the impact of our Outreach and Widening Participation activities. All third parties are required to handle your data securely and in accordance with data protection legislation.
We may also disclose your personal data where necessary to meet our legal or statutory obligations under the Data Protection Act 2018 and UK GDPR. This may include sharing information with government departments, regulatory bodies, funding agencies, or law enforcement authorities where disclosure is legally required.
Whoever we share your information with, we will only share what is relevant and necessary to perform the specific task or to meet our legal obligations.
6. How long do we keep your personal data
We retain personal data only for as long as is necessary to fulfil the purposes set out in this Privacy Notice, including to satisfy legal, regulatory, and contractual obligations. This includes our obligations under the Data Protection Act 2018 and UK.
In relation to outreach and widening participation monitoring and evaluation, personal data is retained on the HEAT database for 15 – 20 years, in order to track progress into higher education. When identifiable records are no longer required for the purposes set out in this Privacy Notice, they are either anonymised or securely disposed of according to our Confidential Waste Policy.
7. How do we protect and store your personal information
We are committed to safeguarding the personal data we process and have robust internal policies and controls to prevent unauthorised access, accidental loss, destruction, misuse, or disclosure of personal data. Access to personal information is strictly limited to authorised University personnel who require it for the performance of their duties in connection with outreach and widening participation.
Your data may be stored on the HEAT database. The HEAT Service provides a secure, central online repository within which your information is stored. It does so to support and facilitate the evaluation of work around equality of opportunity, and evidence-based student success research. The service produces standardised or personalised data collection and reporting for members. It provides confidential recording tools to facilitate the reporting of information and individual engagement. The HEAT Privacy Notice can be found here.
Where personal data is shared with third-party processors, such parties are contractually required to act solely on our instructions, implement appropriate technical and organisational safeguards, and comply fully with the requirements of the Data Protection Act 2018 and UK GDPR.
8. The data controller and further information
Canterbury Christ Church University is the Data Controller for this personal data.
Please click the link below to access further information regarding:
Version Control
| Title: | Privacy Notice - Outreach and Widening Participation |
| Applicable to: | General Public |
| Process Owner: | Marketing |
| Date approved: | 25 May 2018 |
| Date of review: | 13 May 2026 |
| Date last amended: | 13 May 2026 |