The alumni office seeks to build an ongoing relationship with our former students and the wider community.
Being part of our alumni and supporter base ensures you have a right to benefits such as exclusive events and reunions, opportunities for further career and professional support, access to special interest groups and monthly/bi-annual updates from the University.
The legal basis for processing your personal data is that it is necessary for the pursuit of our legitimate interests. Ultimately, how we use your data and how we contact you is entirely at your discretion. This statement will outline what data we hold on you, how we manage it and how you can instruct us to treat it and you differently.
What information do we hold?
On leaving the University, we collect your biographical and contact details from the registry department; these details were provided by you via the registry office. We obtain the following details, if available:
- Title/name/preferred name
- Date of birth
- Address
- Telephone numbers
- Email address
- Course details (start and end date, course title, degree obtained)
Your academic financial details, attendance and other sensitive information is not obtained by the development office.
Financial data we collect
In the event that you make a donation to the University, we will obtain and store financial information for the purpose of processing the gift in the way that you would expect.
If you wish to add Gift Aid to your contribution, we will make an accurate record of this so as to make a tax reclaim from HMRC.
Record of communication
When we make contact with you, we will record the date, form of communication and brief descriptive details. If the communication is reciprocated by yourself, we will keep a record of this to ensure that we understand your preferences and can honour any requests.
We hold information on events attended, updates you have provided and special requests you have made.
Research and due diligence
When we further build on relationships with alumni and members of the wider community, we may conduct research. All research is limited to information that has been made publicly available in publications, public records and on the internet. Research can form part of our due diligence checks, to ensure that we only accept financial support from legitimate sources.
Data enhancement
We have a responsibility to ensure that your data is kept up to date. We will therefore run periodic checks to ensure we are mailing to the correct address and that we have removed deceased alumni from our mailing lists.
To do this, we will consult publicly available sources, such as the Post Office’s National Change of Address database, and amend your details accordingly.
Lifetime of your data
We deem our relationship with you to be lifelong and so will retain your data indefinitely. If you wish to stop hearing from us, please see below for information on opting out of communications.
How do we store your data and who has access?
It is our responsibility to ensure that your data is managed correctly and securely. Unless you have chosen to build a relationship with another area of the University, your data will be under the management of the alumni team in the development office.
Communications from other departments will be sent via the development office. You can manage all of your contact permissions with the confidence that it applies to all development office communications.
If you suspect you are receiving communication from elsewhere in the University without your permission, please contact us directly at alumni@stmarys.ac.uk.
External access
All data sent to third party providers is kept under agreement and processed so that we can continue our service. Third party providers are held under the provisos of General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and under the condition that the data is stored for the purpose of providing a specific and lawful service and then destroyed thereafter. We do not share your data with third parties for any reason other than data cleaning and for alumni mailings. We do not sell your personal data to third parties.
How do we process your data?
The development office’s core aim is to continue to build on the relationship we developed with you whilst you were either working or studying at St Mary’s, or where we have another legitimate and mutually agreeable relationship.
Our base function is to keep all alumni and contacts up to date with St Mary’s and make aware of the benefits that are available through your continued relationship with us. Our main publications are currently the monthly e-newsletter and the alumni magazine, “The Simmarian”.
Fundraising
As part of the development office’s core activities, we will on occasion solicit support for the University for student hardship and support, scholarships and bursaries, research projects, employability and capital projects.
Such requests for support will primarily be undertaken through mail, email and advertising within our regular communications, as well as in direct face to face meetings where appropriate. We do not undertake telephone fundraising or utilise third party agencies other than to process mailings.
Marketing
Occasionally we will make you aware of further study opportunities, including course discounts. We will primarily use the e-newsletter and “The Simmarian” to communicate this to you, but occasionally we will construct a targeted e-communication.
Opting out of communications
To amend your preferences, simply click “Unsubscribe” when you receive an email or amend your preferences via the online update forms.
Please note, that if you unsubscribe from any email, it will unsubscribe you from all Alumni e-communications. To be specific in your preferences, please use the update forms.
Your rights
The data we hold on you belongs to you. You have the following rights:
The right to access
To view a report of all the data we currently hold on you, please make a request directly to alumni@stmarys.ac.uk
The right to amend details
To amend your contact and biographical details, please use the online update form.
The right to amend processing
To amend how we manage our relationship with you, including what communications you receive from us, please use the online update form.
The right to be forgotten
If you wish to stop receiving communication from us and no longer want to be enrolled to the alumni programme, you may request we stop using your data at any time.
Whilst it is your right to request we delete your data from our system, we advise that you request that we make your data inactive. Our data is constantly updated by the Student Record System, and by making your profile inactive we can ensure that your contact preferences are honoured.
In the event that you request the deletion of your data, record of you being a student with us, your qualification and any record of donations or Gift Aid will have to be retained as so we can meet our legal and operational obligations. We will take every step to delete and anonymise this data where possible.
Keeping your information up to date
The quickest and easiest way for you to update your details with us is to use the online update forms.
If you prefer, you can contact the development and alumni office by post, email or telephone.
Address
Development Office
St Mary’s University
Waldegrave Road
Twickenham
TW1 4SX
Telephone
020 8240 4007
Email
alumni@stmarys.ac.uk
Changes to privacy statement
We may adjust how we manage your data so as to provide the best and most appropriate service. All changes will be reflected in our privacy statement. If the changes are significant, we will ensure that this is communicated to you in line with your communication preferences.
Your preferences will always be honoured.