How we use your data

As a further education college, City of Portsmouth College determines how and why your personal data is processed. In accordance with Data Protection Legislation, we are a Controller, and this means that we are legally responsible for the personal data we collect and hold about you.

One of our responsibilities is to tell you about the different ways in which we use your personal information, what information we collect (and our lawful basis for doing so), why we collect it, where we collect it from and whether (and with who) we will share it. We also need to tell you about your rights in relation to the information. This information is provided in our privacy notices.

Our Data Protection Officer is Liz Davies. If you have any questions about this policy or the ways in which we use your personal information, please contact our Data Protection Officer at dpo@copc.ac.uk or by phone on 02392 328829 or by post at Tudor Crescent, Portsmouth PO6 2SA.

If you are concerned about the way City of Portsmouth College is managing your personal information you have a right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office at www.ico.org.uk/concerns

City of Portsmouth College is the Data Controller of personal information about you. Our address is City of Portsmouth College, Tudor Crescent, Portsmouth PO6 2SA.

As a public body the personal information City of Portsmouth College (the data controller) collects is of public interest and is required for us to process your application. Where the information we collect is ‘special category’ personal information (e.g. medical) we will process it because there is a substantial public interest for us to do so. The information will be stored in a secure database and may be shared with Government bodies and educational establishments.

The information you provide may be shared with other organisations for purposes of administration, the provision of career and other guidance and statistical and research purposes, relating to education or training.

By submitting your application, you are authorising the College to pass the information you provide on this form to the Chief Executive of the relevant Funding Agency or organisation and, when needed, the Department for Education, including the Education Funding Agency, which are registered under the Data Protection Act 2018. You are also authorising the College to release information for statistical, research and other purposes as set out in the College’s data protection registration.

This may also include contacting you and your parent/guardian by post, email or telephone (inc SMS), from time to time, in connection with your application. It may also include contacting your school, or sponsor where your school or employer has facilitated your application.

Surveys and contact

The Funding Agency and the College value your views on the education you receive and will use any information provided by you to make improvements for learners. If you want to be contacted in respect of surveys and research, please email info@copc.ac.uk

If you want to be contacted about other courses or learning opportunities, please email info@copc.ac.uk

A full detailed statement listing all the partnerships and organisations we share information with can be produced and made available by the Policy and Communications Department.

College marketing consent

Your personal information will not be passed on to external organisations for marketing or sales purposes.

You retain the right to have your personal information erased and can unsubscribe at any time by emailing dpo@copc.ac.uk or by clicking the unsubscribe link included in email communications.

To update your information or if you have any questions about the above, please contact our data protection officer by email: dpo@copc.ac.uk

In line with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA), City of Portsmouth College is your data controller and we process your personal data as a student in compliance with the law. This privacy notice is to inform you how your personal data is used and protected by City of Portsmouth College.

Why are some teaching sessions and activities recorded?

Occasionally recordings will be used to improve quality and monitor the learners experience of online delivery methods. They will also be used allow absent learners to access the lesson and learners in attendance to revisit the content. City of Portsmouth College may record some or all of your online teaching session. These recordings will be stored on Microsoft Stream within the College’s Microsoft account. Depending on how the teaching session is delivered this may include the recording of audio or video of the tutors and/or learners.

How do I know if the teaching session is being recorded?

If you are being taught on campus and the teaching session is being recorded, you will be advised by your Tutor. If the lesson/lecture is happening online via Teams you will know if it is being recorded as a red circle and the red text ‘Recording’ will show on your computer screen.

Is the whole recording personal data?

No. Parts of that recording could count as personal data according to data protection laws. Personal data in recordings would include your name, images of you and any opinions you contribute and anything you say about yourself.

What is the lawful basis of processing personal data in the recorded lecture?

The lawful basis for processing this personal data is legitimate interests. This applies when the data processing is not required by law but is of a clear benefit to the organisation or the individual, there is limited privacy impact on you as the individual and we think you would reasonably expect us to use the personal data in the way that we wish to. Tutors do not need to ask permission to record the lecture or online session, either on campus or if being delivered online.

Can I opt out of having my personal data recorded?

If the lesson/lecture is happening in person and you do not wish to be recorded, you should ensure you are not in view of the video camera and you could choose not to speak during that session.

If the teaching session is taking place online, you can mute your microphone or turn off your webcam. We hope you don’t feel the need to do this as your tutors and your fellow learners value your contribution to the sessions, but you are allowed to do so unless the session is being recorded for assessment purposes and your contribution is being assessed. Your full name will show within the Teams session.

How are recordings stored and shared?

Recordings are stored within Microsoft Stream, a repository within the College’s Microsoft environment. Recordings within Microsoft Stream can be shared directly with learners. Recordings will be stored in line with GDPR data retention timescales and then deleted. The recordings will be accessible to staff and learners. If the recordings are downloadable learners must not download them, share them, or edit them in anyway. They will remain accessible until the end of your studies so there is no need to download them.

The College may view the recordings for the purposes of ensuring good learner behaviour and share with the police and other law enforcement agencies, for the prevention or detection of crime.

Where can I get more information?

City of Portsmouth College’s Data Protection Policy is available on this page and in the main Privacy Notice for Learners. For further information or to make a complaint please contact the Information Commissioner’s Office Website https://ico.org.uk/your-data-matters/

Information on what cookies may be set when you visit a City of Portsmouth College website and how to reject or delete those cookies.

How to control and delete cookies

City of Portsmouth College does not use cookies to collect personally identifiable information about you. However, if you wish to restrict or block the cookies which are set by City of Portsmouth College website, or indeed any other website, you can do this through your browser settings. The Help function within your browser should tell you how.

Alternatively, you may wish to visit www.aboutcookies.org which contains comprehensive information on how to do this on a wide variety of browsers. You will also find details on how to delete cookies from your computer as well as more general information about cookies. For information on how to do this on the browser of your mobile phone you will need to refer to your handset manual.

Please be aware that restricting cookies may impact on the functionality of the City of Portsmouth College website. City of Portsmouth College make use of a Session Identity cookie which is used by the City of Portsmouth College website to identify you as a user between page loads. This allows the City of Portsmouth College website to remember certain settings, like which part of the website you were using before you were asked to sign in or register for certain services. This cookie is destroyed each time you close your browser.

Third party cookies set for UK users and users outside the UK

City of Portsmouth College uses Google Analytics which sets cookies on the City of Portsmouth College website in order to deliver the services that they provide. If you would like more information about the cookies used by these suppliers, as well as information on how to opt-out, please see their privacy policies listed below.

Google Analytics

The City of Portsmouth College website uses Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google, Inc. Google Analytics sets a cookie in order to evaluate your use of the site and compile reports for us on activity on the site. Google stores the information collected by the cookie on servers in the United States. Google may also transfer this information to third parties where required to do so by law, or where such third parties process the information on Google's behalf. Google will not associate your IP address with any other data held by Google. By using the City of Portsmouth College website you consent to the processing of data about you by Google in the manner and for the purposes set out above. How to reject or delete this cookie http://www.google.com/intl/en/privacypolicy.html 

Cookies set by third party sites

City of Portsmouth College sometimes embeds photos and video content from websites such as YouTube and Flickr. As a result, when you visit a page with content embedded from, for example, YouTube or Flickr, you may be presented with cookies from these websites. City of Portsmouth College does not control the dissemination of these cookies.  You should check the relevant third-party website for more information about these.

City of Portsmouth College sharing tools

We would like to draw your attention to the fact that the City of Portsmouth College website and phone apps may carry embedded ‘like' buttons to enable users of the site to easily highlight articles with their friends through a number of popular social networks. These sites may set a cookie when you are also logged in to their service. City of Portsmouth College does not control the dissemination of these cookies and you should check the relevant third party website for more information about these.

If you select no, your information will be deleted after the date of the event.

You retain the right to have your personal information erased and can unsubscribe at any time by emailing dpo@copc.ac.uk or by clicking the unsubscribe link included in email communications.

This privacy notice is issued by the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA), on behalf of the Secretary of State for the Department of Education (DfE). It is to inform learners how their personal information will be used by the DfE, the ESFA (an executive agency of the DfE) and any successor bodies to these organisations. For the purposes of relevant data protection legislation, the DfE is the data controller for personal data processed by the ESFA.

Your personal information is used by the DfE to exercise its functions and to meet its statutory responsibilities, including under the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009 and to create and maintain a unique learner number (ULN) and a personal learning record (PLR). Your information will be securely destroyed after it is no longer required for these purposes.

Your information may be shared with third parties for education, training, employment and wellbeing related purposes, including for research. This will only take place where the law allows it and the sharing is in compliance with data protection legislation.

The English European Social Fund (ESF) Managing Authority (or agents acting on its behalf) may contact you in order for them to carry out research and evaluation to inform the effectiveness of training.

For further information about use of and access to your personal data, details of organisations with whom we regularly share data, information about how long we retain your data, and how to change your consent to being contacted, please visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/esfa-privacy-notice

City of Portsmouth College is compliant with the requirement of the Further Education model provided by the Information Commission.

City of Portsmouth College is committed to making as much information about College activities as possible generally available to the public either through published documents (including those published on the College website), or on request.

Please click here for our guide to the documents available under the Publication Scheme.

The contact for requests for documents, questions, comments or complaints about this policy or the publication scheme is:

Freedom of Information Manager
City of Portsmouth College
Tudor Crescent
Portsmouth PO6 2SA

02392 882 813
foi@copc.ac.uk

The College will do everything in its power to meet enquirers' information needs. However, if the College is unable to resolve a complaint, enquirers have the right to complain to the Office of the Information Commissioner, the independent body which oversees the implementation of the Freedom of Information Act. The address is:

Information Commissioner
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire SK9 5AF

We ask that requests are made in writing and a response will normally be made within 20 working days.