Introduction
When you complete an application form for a Widening Participation outreach programme, whether via our online application system ‘Scholars Apply’ or an online/paper application form, you are sharing your personal data with us.
We use the data that you have shared with us for the purpose of determining whether you are eligible for a place on our outreach programmes, e.g. Liverpool Scholars, Summer Schools, Merseyside Young Health & Life Scientists. Once an offer of a place on our outreach programmes has been made, we use the data that you have provided to keep in touch with you about the programme, to comply with health and safety whilst you are attending our events, to evaluate and report on the impact and effectiveness of our activities, to conduct research to monitor equality of opportunity and in the case of Post-16 programmes, to make sure our student records database ‘Banner’ is ready for you to be able to register as a student in the future. We will contact you after participation in our activities in order to highlight relevant opportunities and benefits open to former participants of our programmes.
The processing of your data is necessary for the purposes of the legitimate interests of the University in enabling us to determine if you are eligible for a place on our outreach programmes and to manage your future application to study at the University of Liverpool. If you are offered a place on our outreach programmes and you accept it, a contract has been formed between us and from then until your future registration as a student, we process your data on the basis that we need to do so in order to fulfil our contractual obligations to you.
The University’s access and participation activities, and the financial spend associated with these activities, are regulated by the Office for Students (OfS). The University has an Access and Participation Plan that sets out how it will improve equality of opportunity for underrepresented groups so that they can access, succeed in and progress from higher education. The OfS monitors access and participation plans to make sure that the providers honour the commitments they make to students in these plans, and take action if they do not. The processing of your data is necessary in order for the University to comply with this regulatory obligation.
This privacy policy outlines what this means in practice and explains how the Widening Participation and Outreach (WPO) Team collects, stores, manages and protects your data during your relationship with us.
Who we are and what we do
The University’s Widening Participation and Outreach (WPO) Team run initiatives to provide students with a sustained programme of academic support, as well as information, advice and guidance. We work with a range of learners, from Year 5 with our primary programme, to our Year 9-11 programme for aspiring medics, to the Liverpool Scholars programme for post-16 students. These programmes are principally delivered to students from our partner schools. We also deliver a variety of programmes to targeted groups, such as mentoring programmes delivered in the community.
We receive applications for our outreach programmes in online and paper format and via our online system ‘Scholars Apply’. We use the data that you provide to determine whether your previous academic qualifications and other information that you have provided, meet the widening participation eligibility for our outreach programmes, to enable us to decide whether to offer you a place.
In order to provide this service, we gather information from you via the application form and any other information you may have supplied to us directly, and we may also use information we have received from third parties, including but not limited to:
• Your referees
• Your current place of study.
Our legal basis for processing personal data
Collecting personal data based on Public Task.
We may use personal data if it is considered to be of legitimate interest and if the privacy interests of the people we collect data about (data subjects) do not override this interest. Normally, to establish the legal basis for data collection, an assessment has been made during which a mutual interest between the University and the individual person has been identified.
This legal basis is primarily related to the delivery of the Widening Participation Outreach programme that you have applied for. We will always inform individuals about their privacy rights and the purpose for collecting personal data.
Where we need to comply with a legal or regulatory obligation – our regulatory duty to the Office for Students (OfS).
Collecting special category data
We may collect Special Category Data (as defined by the GDPR in article 9 of the Regulation) from students on application to our programmes or for specific activities in the case of health information. This includes information about your ethnic origin (collected under article 9 (2) condition (g) – significant public interest) and any disabilities or medical conditions you may have (collected under article 9 (2) conditions (c) and (h) for health emergency or occupational health reasons).
Your right to make changes or to ask us to stop using your data
It is important that you understand your rights in relation to your Personal Information and how you can contact us if you have questions or concerns.
If you have any questions, comments or concerns about how we handle your Personal Information, then you may contact us by sending an email to widepart@liverpool.ac.uk
You have the right to tell us if you:
- Don’t want to be contacted in the future by us
- Would like a copy of the Personal Information which we hold about you
- Would like us to correct, update, or delete your Personal Information in our records
- Wish to report any misuse of your Personal Information
- Want to withdraw your consent to receiving marketing information and event invitations
To help us to deal with your request, please always provide your full name and contact information.
To help us to maintain accurate Personal Information, you must advise us of any changes to your Personal Information. In the event that the WPO Team becomes aware of any inaccuracy in the Personal Information that the WPO Team has recorded, the WPO Team will correct that inaccuracy at the earliest practical opportunity. If you become aware that the data we hold about you is incorrect, please contact us at widepart@liverpool.ac.uk, and we will correct the information where appropriate.
You also have the right to request copies of the data we hold about you. To do so, please submit a ‘Subject Access Request’. More information about submitting subject access requests may be found at www.liverpool.ac.uk/legal/data_protection/policy.
Changes to this Privacy Policy
In the interests of being transparent, we may amend this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any signification changes to this Policy or to the way in which we treat your data will be communicated via the University’s website.
If you have a concern about how your data is being handled
You may contact the Widening Participation and Outreach Team directly at widepart@liverpool.ac.uk
In addition, you may raise any concerns directly with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at: https://ico.org.uk/concerns
Your right to complain
If you are unhappy with the way in which your personal data has been processed, in the first instance contact us by email at widepart@liverpool.ac.uk.
If you remain dissatisfied, then you have the right to apply directly to the UK national supervisory authority for a decision. The supervisory authority for the United Kingdom can be contacted at: Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), www.ico.org.uk
Further Information
If you have any questions that you feel have not been answered by this Privacy Policy, please do not hesitate to contact Deonne Hill, Widening Participation and Outreach Manager deonned@liverpool.ac.uk.
Last update: 21 April 2022
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