Privacy notice for applications to study

This privacy notice sets out how the University of Dundee collects, uses and protects any information that you give us during the course of submitting an application for study at the University, the subsequent processing and assessment of your application and, if successful in being offered a place, managing the process of your admission.

How we use your information

Your personal data is used to:

• consider and evaluate your application for study.
• contact you with any questions we may have, to offer you an interview or correspond with you concerning your application.
• engage with you and send you information on the University, the city and the experience of studying here to help you when making your decision on your future studies and place of study.
• book your attendance at any relevant online or in-person applicant events.
• contact you to request feedback regarding your experience with us as an applicant.

We may also use your personal data to help enhance the effectiveness of our student recruitment and marketing activity. This may include the sharing of your data with the University’s student recruitment partners to determine the outcome of student recruitment and marketing initiatives.

Contact methods include sending you messages by email or SMS or through your social media channels (where you initiate contact with us using them). We will also telephone you where appropriate.

If you are successful in securing a place with the University, your personal data forms the basis of your student record (see separate privacy notice for students). We will use your information to invite you to apply for a place in University accommodation and send you pre-enrolment information from the University. We will also pass your contact information to Dundee University Students’ Association (DUSA) so that they can send you information on the support, facilities and social events available to you from them during your time as a student in Dundee.

If you are unsuccessful in your application, we will retain your data for one full admissions cycle so that if you choose to reapply we can help with that process. We may also retain your data beyond that period, but it is only used for planning and reporting purposes and will not be published or used in a way that identifies or makes decisions about you.

The University makes certain statutory disclosures of information, for example to the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) and the funding councils. Your data will be used for those purposes.

Your data may be provided by you directly, for example during direct application for study or during clearing; by an agent or referee on your behalf; or through an application agency such as UCAS.

Personal data

The personal data normally required during application is:

• your identification details such as your full name, date of birth, address, telephone numbers and email address. If you choose to contact us using your social media channels we will also use them to communicate with you.
• information concerning your qualifications, previous educational institutions, employment or other life experiences relevant to your application.
• information from your referees.
• anything you include in your personal statement or provide to the University in support of your application.

Sensitive (special categories) of personal data

We may have information concerning any disability you disclose during your application so that we can make appropriate adjustments. This is not used when assessing your application.

In limited circumstances, for example, when applying to professional programmes, information concerning PVG checks, or criminal convictions may be required. We will engage with you concerning this data on a case-by-case basis.

Data controller

The data controller for your personal information is the University of Dundee. Your data will be processed by the University’s nominated agents such as software or service providers.

The University's student management system is SITS:Vision. Our University accommodation booking software is Room Service®. These are hosted on the University’s servers. SITS:Vision is used throughout the management of applications.

For some email communications we may use services called Campaign Monitor or Microsoft Dynamics. The emails we send will include information related to studying at the University of Dundee, to assist you in making a final decision about where to study. We also use Gecko Engage to capture details of and respond to any enquiries you make and manage event bookings for some applicant events which we may invite you to attend. Janet txt is used along with SITS:Vision to send you SMS messages to alert you to important email communications related to your application. You may also choose to chat to our student ambassadors via Unibuddy or The Ambassador Platform.

We have Data Processing Agreements with each of these providers. You can view their Privacy Policies on their websites: 

• Gecko Engage
• Microsoft Dynamics
• Unibuddy
• The Ambassador Platform
• Janet txt (PageOne) 

The University uses Microsoft Office 365 as its main productivity and communications software. This system is provided in the cloud and the provider has adopted binding corporate rules to safeguard your data. SITS:Vision is hosted on the University’s servers.

Additionally, according to our Cookie Policy, if you accept our recommended cookie settings, we will store anonymous data about your visits to our website. We will use this information to deliver website content that you are more likely to be interested in. You can update your cookie settings at any time.

Lawful processing

The lawful grounds for processing personal data for these purposes are normally:

• the data subject has given explicit consent to the processing of those personal data for one or more specified purposes.
• processing is necessary for the performance of a contract to which the data subject is a party or in order to take steps at the request of the data subject prior to entering into a contract.
• processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which the controller is subject.
• 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.

The lawful grounds for processing special categories of personal data for these purposes are normally:

• the data subject has given explicit consent to the processing of those personal data for one or more specified purposes.
• processing is necessary for the purposes of carrying out the obligations and exercising specific rights of the controller or of the data subject in the field of employment and social security and social protection law.
• processing is necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims or whenever courts are acting in their judicial capacity.

Your rights

The University respects your rights and preferences in relation to your data. If you wish to update, access, erase, or limit the use of your information, please let us know by emailing. Please note that the University will respect your right to prevent your information being used for marketing.

Where you wish to restrict the use of your personal data for the purposes outlined above, please note that we may need to retain some limited data to facilitate this request.

If you wish to complain about the use of your information please email [email protected]. You may also wish to contact the Information Commissioner's Office. 

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