How we use your data

Statutory returns

Data provided for: Office for Students (OfS), Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), and Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA).

The University has a statutory obligation to disclose personal information about you to the OfS, HESA and (in the case of further education and apprenticeship students) ESFA. This is then passed to relevant government agencies that require it to carry out their statutory functions in relation to the funding and regulation of education. Data in your record will be used primarily for anonymised statistical analysis which may result in the publication and release of data to other approved users, which may include academic researchers and commercial bodies. If you wish to see an extract of information which is held on you, please contact the Student Office. Further information about how HESA use your data is available from HESA's Collection Notices page.

On occasion, the OfS, or agencies acting on its behalf, may ask the University for your contact details for the purposes of administering national surveys (such as the National Student Survey). If you prefer the University not to pass your contact details to the OfS for this purpose, please inform the Student Office in writing.

If you register for a taught or research programme which is delivered in partnership or is part of a partnership framework with another UK HE provider, we may need to share some limited personal data about you with this partner in order for them to undertake their statutory reporting requirements to HESA.

For students undertaking programmes leading to Qualified Teacher Status (QTS), we may also pass your contact details to the Department for Education (DfE). This is to enable the DfE to contact you regarding your QTS award.

Other Statutory Disclosures

The University has certain other statutory obligations under which it may be required to pass personal information relating to you to certain external agencies. Wherever possible, you will be informed about these disclosures but in some cases it is not possible to do this. Below are examples of the types of agencies to which the University has a statutory obligation to disclose personal information relating to students:

  • UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)
  • Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS)
  • European Audit Commission
  • Electoral Registration Officers (in certain circumstances)
  • Local Authorities
  • Student Loans Company

Data protection legislation allows organisations to disclose information to relevant bodies for the assessment and collection of taxes. Therefore, the University may disclose your personal information to Charnwood Borough Council (to assess liability for Council Tax) without first obtaining your consent. As students who live in properties occupied solely by other students are not liable to pay Council Tax, such disclosures will usually be in your interest.