Extenuating circumstances privacy notice

We hold and process personal data about current and former staff, current and former students and third parties. This could include personal sensitive information (for example, relating to health matters).

The personal data we hold about you consists of:

• Contact details
• Name
• Student number
• Photo images
• Health information
• Academic records
• Any other information relevant to the processing of your extenuating circumstances application.

We only collect the data we need in order to fairly and thoroughly process your extenuating circumstances application. We keep that data up to date.

We receive this data from you when you submit an extenuating circumstances application and as part of the subsequent processing of the application.

We collect your personal data in order to undertake a thorough investigation of the issues raised as part of your extenuating circumstances application. We are unable to process your extenuating circumstances without the collation and processing of data provided by you and other university departments. 

We take our obligations for data handling very seriously and it is therefore important for you to know that we process data in relation to investigating your extenuating circumstances application appear in the legitimate interests of the University of Surrey. 

These purposes will never override your personal interests, fundamental rights and freedoms which require protection of your personal data.

The University processes personal data and special category data in accordance with data protection legislation and Our Data Policy Statement (PDF).

We review and collate information that you have provided to the University in order to process your extenuating circumstances application. We collate information about you from other university departments, publicly available sources and other organisations only when it is relevant to the processing of your application.

Information collated in relation to the extenuating circumstances application may be shared in order to process other student-facing regulations. For example:

• Regulations for academic appeals
• Student disciplinary regulations
• Regulations for fitness to practise
• Regulations for fitness to study.

We keep your personal data in accordance with the University’s retention schedules.

This means that data collected and stored by Student Services and Administration as part of the extenuating circumstances process is kept for 15 months after the date that you are no longer a registered student at the University, or 15 months after any academic appeal you submit is closed (whichever is the latter).

The information is then destroyed.

It may be necessary to share your personal data with the following university departments in order to process your extenuating circumstances application:

• Student Services and Administration
• Library and Learning Centre (including Additional Learning Support)
• Accommodation Services and Wardens
• Academic staff (including Personal Tutors, Supervisors, Programme Leaders, etc.)
• Security Services
• Faculties and/or the Doctoral College
• IT Services
• The Vice Chancellor’s Office
• Recruitment and Admissions.

It may be necessary to share your personal data with the University of Surrey Students’ Union in order to process any subsequent academic appeal. See the Students' Union privacy notice.

The list above is not exhaustive, but provides a comprehensive overview. You should contact feps-ec@surrey.ac.uk if you wish to receive further detail.

As part of routine authenticity checks we may also share copies of documentation that you have provided with the authors. This is conducted in order to verify that documentation is genuine.

By submitting personal data about third parties you are confirming that the third party is aware and understands why their personal data has been provided to the University and how it will be processed.

As an individual whose data we process (a data subject), you have certain rights in relation to the processing. Find detailed information about your rights as a data subject.

You have the right to:

• Withdraw your consent for us to process your personal data where we have relied on that consent as our basis for processing your data.
• Ask us to confirm that your personal data is being processed and to gain access (i.e. have a copy) of that data as well as to be provided with supplemental information about the processing.
• Request that we rectify any inaccuracies where the data we hold on you is inaccurate or incomplete.
• Have your data erased by us, although in certain circumstances we may not be able to do this. The circumstances where this applies can be found in the guide to data subject rights information.
• Restrict the processing of your personal data in certain ways.
• Obtain your personal data for reuse.
• Object to certain processing of your personal data.

If you would like to exercise any of your rights please visit our make a privacy request section.

Make a complaint

If you have any concerns about the way that we have handled your personal data please email the Data Protection team as we would like to have the opportunity to resolve your concerns.

If you’re still unhappy, you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (an independent body set up to advise on information rights for the UK) about the way in which we process your personal data.