Where does the Wellbeing Adviser Service get your personal data?
We obtain personal data about you from the following sources:
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From you when you register with the Wellbeing Adviser Service and/or the University, or when you subsequently provide it to us
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From your school office, including Student Adviser, Student Support Officer, Cohort Leads, Supervisor or another University support service (including Student Counselling Services, Student Disability Services, ResLife, the Chaplaincy) when they complete a Wellbeing Adviser Service referral form
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From a third party (such as parent/guardian, spouse, carer, or friends) when they complete a Wellbeing Adviser Service referral form
For what purposes do we process your data?
Your personal data will be used by the University to ensure that during episodes of poor health or wellbeing you are properly supported, either for the duration of your challenge(s) or your total study period.
What is the Legal Basis for processing your personal data?
There are various legal bases for our use of your information. Here is a brief explanation of the key legal bases under which we use your data:
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Performance of your student contract – on many occasions the Service and University will process your data to enable it to meet its commitments to you, e.g., those relating to wellbeing support.
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Protecting the vital interest of yourself or another – sometimes in extreme circumstances the University will have to release information to protect your interests or the interests of others, e.g., in medical emergencies.
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Comply with legal obligation – the University has legal obligations to provide your personal data to others – e.g., complaint against the University.
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Consent – the Service will process certain data only with your consent, e.g., sharing information with a parent, spouse or carer.
How is information about you shared?
Relevant information will be shared with University staff who need to provide a service to you under the terms of your contract. This is to ensure there are no points of failure in the reactive support we provide to you. This could include Case Review Committees, Student Counselling Services, Student Disability Services, ResLife Services, The Chaplaincy, Student Advisers, Wellbeing Advisers, Cohort Leads, relevant teaching staff, and/or University Security.
With your consent, we may share details of your support with your GP or health practitioner, or a third party, such as your parent/guardian, spouse or carer.
In cases of life-threatening emergency, your information may be shared with the NHS and/or Police Scotland. We will follow existing University policy on how and when to get in touch with your Trusted Contact, as shown in Student Guidance: Contacting your trusted contact
| Description of process and specific purpose of using or sharing data | Who receives data | |
| Performance of your student contract | To deliver pro-active wellbeing services and information to you. | Could include: Wellbeing Advisers, Student Advisers, Student Support Officers, Supervisors, Cohort Leads, ResLife, Student Disability Services, Student Counselling Service, the Chaplaincy, Dean of Students |
| Emails regarding non-confidential aspects of your support. We will periodically email you regarding your support. | Relevant School staff | |
| If convened, the Support for Study Committees and its members may request case information on your health and wellbeing, and relevant aspects of this information may be shared with them. | Support for Study Committee members | |
| To support applications for extensions or special circumstances with respect of coursework, examinations, dissertations or theses. | Extensions and Special Circumstances team | |
| If you write to us in Gaelic, we may be using a third-party translator to translate your message into English and our response back into Gaelic. Ma sgrìobhas sibh litir no post-d thugainn sa Ghàidhlig, tha e comasach gun cleachd sinn eadar-theangair airson do theachdaireachd eadar-theangachadh bhon Ghàidhlig gu Beurla agus freagairt air ais dhan a’ Ghàidhlig. | Translation supplier | |
| Comply with a legal obligation | Information in relation to a complaint you have placed against the University or an academic appeal. | Relevant University staff, e.g., complaints management team, appeals board, Scottish Public Services Ombudsman |
| Vital interest | In cases of a life-threatening emergency. |
NHS and/or Police Scotland University Security Your Trusted Contact(s), stored in Euclid based on the information you provide at Registration Translation Services (if required to liaise with Trusted Contact). |
| Consent | Discussions of your support with your parent/guardian, spouse or carer will only take place with your consent, unless there is an emergency situation. | Parent/guardian, spouse or carer (as indicated by you) |
| Non-emergency discussions of your support with your GP or healthcare practitioner will only take place with your consent. | GP or healthcare practitioner |
Management information, research, and learning analytics
We may analyse data in order to understand and react to growing trends, strategically plan and enhance the future provision of support for students, and report on issues and successes of the Service, University and its students. While we will, where possible, use anonymised data for these purposes, in some cases we will use personal data where there is a legitimate interest in doing so. Where we use personal data for these purposes, we will ensure that any published information is anonymised.
Retention Period
We will keep your data for five years after you graduate or leave the University. If you contacted the Wellbeing Adviser Service prior to, or during, your application to the University, but did not enrol at the University of Edinburgh, your data will be kept for five years from the date of your contact with our Service.
Contact
If you have any questions, please contact Paddy Corscadden, Head of Service.
Continued privacy notice
The full second half of this Privacy Notice can be found here:
Edinburgh University Continued Privacy Notice
The University maintains several other privacy notices that are specific to services delivered.