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Data controller
The data controller is the University of Kent (Information Commissioner’s Office Data Protection Register Number Z6847902).
If you have any concerns about how the University is processing your data please contact us. Our contact details are:
Assurance and Data Protection
The Registry
The University of Kent
Canterbury
CT2 7NZ
Email: dataprotection@kent.ac.uk
Why we process your data
The Development Office maintains contact with and provides services to students, staff, alumni and supporters of the University of Kent (supporters may include parents, donors, mentors, employers, researchers, policy-makers, and advocates). We process the personal data of these stakeholders to ensure they receive the right level of contact about University services and support and that, where appropriate, we are asking them to support the things about which they are most passionate.
Lawful basis for processing your data
When processing your personal data the University relies on a combination of Consent, Contract, Legal Obligation, Public Task or Legitimate Interests as the legal basis under the GDPR, as detailed in the table below.
We have undertaken a Legitimate Interest Assessment to ensure we have a fair balance between your rights and expectations and our Legitimate Interests to process your data. You have the right to object to your data being processed in this way at any time (see Your Rights). Please note that if you object to your data being processed in this way this may impact our ability to undertake certain activities and we will explain these to you at the time so that you can make an informed decision. When relying on Legitimate Interests, the University will protect your information rights (including those related to transparency of processing) during any related processing activity.
Our Legitimate Interests in the processing of your personal data include:
- To enable a lifetime relationship with our alumni, creating opportunities both for us to support them as a global community and for them to support the students who follow in their footsteps;
- To fundraise to provide additional sources of income to support our students, invest in research and fund projects that benefit our communities;
- Collecting information from publically available sources, which 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;
- Using analytics on our website and email communications to enhance our services to you based on your user experience.
| Processing Activity | Alumni | Other Supporters | Event Attendees |
|---|---|---|---|
| Creating your record on our relationship management system | Legitimate Interests | Consent | Contract |
| Processing you contact preferences form | Legitimate Interests | Legitimate Interests | Legitimate Interests |
| Checking you details against the Telephone Preference Service | Legal Obligation | Legal Obligation | Legal Obligation |
| Sending you communications | Legitimate Interests | Legitimate Interests and Consent | N/A |
| Processing your gifts | Contract | Contract | N/A |
| Processing Gift Aid claims | Legal Obligation | Legal Obligation | N/A |
| Event registration and management | Contract | Contract | Contract |
| Volunteer management | Contract | Contract | N/A |
| Donor Stewardship | Legitimate Interests | Legitimate Interests | N/A |
| Conducting telephone fundraising campaigns | Legitimate Interests | Legitimate Interests | N/A |
| Identify potential major gift supporters and qualifying prospective giving levels | Legitimate Interests | Legitimate Interests | N/A |
| Major donor cultivation and solicitation | Legitimate Interests | Legitimate Interests | N/A |
| Analysis of visits to our websites www.kent.ac.uk and alumni.kent.ac.uk | Legitimate Interests | Legitimate Interests | Legitimate Interests |
| Analysis of our email communications | Legitimate Interests | Legitimate Interests | Legitimate Interests |
| Reporting on fundraising | Legitimate Interests | Legitimate Interests | N/A |
| Creation of alumni profiles | Consent | N/A | N/A |
| Providing data to the Higher Education Statistics Agency for the purposes of the Graduate Outcomes Survey | Legal Obligation/Public Task | N/A | N/A |
Who your data is shared with
Your data may be shared with third party organisations in a limited number of circumstances.
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 who have separate 501(c)(3) status and perform fundraising and alumni relations activity on our behalf.
The University is required to share data of new graduates with the Higher Education Statistics Agency for the purposes of carrying out the Graduate Outcomes Survey. Please visit the HESA website for more information about this survey.
If you donate to the Kent and Medway Medical School your data maybe passed to Canterbury Christ Church University, with whom the Medical School is a joint venture, for the purposes of processing and stewarding your donation.
The University may pass your data to third party organisations who carry out contracts on our behalf. We will ensure that any data transferred is proportionate and relevant. We will ensure that contractual agreements exist to ensure compliance with data protection regulations. This will happen for the following purposes:
- To send you our alumni magazine;
- To check your details against the Telephone Preference Service;
- To populate software for our telephone fundraising campaigns;
- When engaging consultancy services for fundraising campaigns.
Where your data is stored
The University uses a relationship management system called Raiser’s Edge which is provided and hosted by Blackbaud, Inc. 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.
The personal data of some alumni and donors may be stored in the software application we use for our telephone fundraising campaigns provided by Smarteezie. This is hosted on a server within the UK. Access to your data is restricted to staff and students employed to carry out the campaigns.
How long your data is stored for
| Type of data | Alumni | Other supporters | Event attendees |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic biographical information | Indefinitely* | Indefinitely* | 1 year after the event |
| Contact details | Indefinitely** | Indefinitely** | 1 year after the event |
| Gift information | Indefinitely** | Indefinitely** | N/A |
| Education records | Indefinitely* | N/A | N/A |
| Records of our interactions with you | Indefinitely | Indefinitely | 1 year after the event |
| Relationships with other organisations and individuals | Indefinitely | Indefinitely | N/A |
| Event attendance | Indefinitely | Indefinitely | 1 year after the event |
| Fundraising appeals we have made to you | Indefinitely | Indefinitely | N/A |
| Volunteering information | Indefinitely | Indefinitely | N/A |
| Potential for major gift capacity | While it remains applicable | While it remains applicable | N/A |
| Contact preferences | Indefinitely, including the history of changes | Indefinitely, including the history of changes | 1 year after the event |
| Your interests as you provide to us | While they remain current | While they remain current | N/A |
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.
Your rights
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 you 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.
How to complain
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
Tel: 0303 123 1113
Web: https://www.ico.org.uk
Changes to this privacy policy
We keep our privacy policy under regular review and it may be amended in response to changes in legislation or other factors. We will notify you of changes to this policy when they occur.
This privacy policy was last updated on 25/09/2023.