Confidentiality
The University of Westminster takes its data protection obligations very seriously. Access to any personal information you give us when participating in the Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey (PTES) is subject to a staff confidentiality agreement.
Your responses to the survey are strictly confidential and no-one will be able to identify you from any results which are reported anonymously and at the aggregate level. The survey asks that any comments you make should not identify yourself or any specific members of staff.
Personal data
Personal data used in the PTES has either been sourced directly from you or from University student records system. The categories of personal information used in PTES are for the most part personal data relating to your identity, including contact information, and other course information relating to your studies and experiences at University of Westminster.
Use of personal data
The University of Westminster uses your personal information in the fulfilment of completing and reporting on your Postgraduate Taught experiences to:
- report on the University’s performance on Postgraduate Taught courses at the aggregate statistical level
- improve the experience of Postgraduate Taught students at the University
- enhance provision of Postgraduate Taught courses and related services
- promote University courses at the aggregate level via external marketing and course information
Legal basis for processing and data retention
The University will only process and retain your survey responses based on your personal consent to participate. We will only retain your personally identifiable survey responses for a period of five years form the date of survey after which time your personal data will be archived, anonymised and then only used for aggregate statistical purposes.
Special category personal data
For the purposes of PTES the University will not collect, gather or require you to give us any further sensitive personal data to participate in the survey. Where you have previously consented for us to retain personal sensitive data, e.g. ethnicity, we will use this data in our aggregate analysis of the responses.
Data transfers and sharing
None of your personal information is shared by the University with any other third party organisation as part of PTES, other than where allowed by UK law.
Where services involve a third party processing your information, such services will be covered by a contract, and details of the services and the legal mechanism for any data transfers outside the EU and EEA can be initially requested from: [email protected].
Your rights
You have the right to opt out of participation in PTES at any point by contacting [email protected]
If you have any questions relating to your personal information and your information rights, including right of access, rectification and erasure, please see the University’s data protection web pages.
Or contact the University Information Compliance Team: [email protected].
You can also contact the Information Commissioners’ Office in relation to any concerns or issue you may have with the processing of your personal information in the PTES survey.
Last reviewed and updated: January 2024