We take the privacy of our students, parents, teachers, agents and visitors seriously. We want to make sure that they feel comfortable and reassured whilst visiting our website, meeting our staff and studying at OMBS. They will all be looked after and so will their personal data.
Please scroll down to see our
- Privacy Policy for the Website
- Privacy Policy for Students
If you have any questions about how we look after you and your data please do contact us.
Privacy Policy for the Website
Data protection
Under the Data Protection Act and the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), we have a legal duty to protect any information we collect from you. We do not pass on your details to any third party unless you give us permission to do so. Oxford Media & Business School is committed to good governance and transparency. We can provide you with a full copy of our Privacy Policy.
Cookies
This website uses Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google, Inc. (‘Google’). Google Analytics uses ‘cookies’, which are text files placed on your computer, to help the website analyse how users use the site. The information generated by the cookie about your use of the website (including your IP address) will be transmitted to and stored by Google on servers in the United States.
Google will use this information for the purpose of evaluating your use of the website, compiling reports on website activity for website operators and providing other services relating to website activity and internet usage. Google may also transfer this information to third parties where required to do so by law, or where such third parties process the information on Google’s behalf.
Google will not associate your IP address with any other data held by Google. You may refuse the use of cookies by selecting the appropriate settings on your browser, however please note that if you do this you may not be able to use the full functionality of this website. By using this website, you consent to the processing of data about you by Google in the manner and for the purposes set out above.
Why we use cookies
We use the information to compile reports and to help us improve the site. The cookies collect information in an anonymous form, including the number of visitors to the site, where visitors have come to the site from and the pages they visited.
It is important for you to know that we only use cookies to improve your experience with this website. You can of course REMOVE cookies at any time by using your browser.
For more information about cookies, the Information Commissioner’s Office and the changes in cookie law visit the ICO website.
About this statement
This privacy statement only covers The Oxford Media & Business School website www.ombs.test. This statement does not cover links within this site to other websites.
Download our Privacy Policy for the Website
Privacy Policy for Students
- Introduction
At Oxford Media & Business School we take our responsibilities as a data controller seriously and we are committed to using the personal data we hold in accordance with the law.
This privacy policy provides detailed information about how we obtain, gather, use, process and discard personal data.
If you have questions regarding our privacy policy, your personal data or its use, please contact us at courses@ombs.test or write to us at 1 Cambridge Terrace, Southern House, Oxford OX1 1RR.
- The type of personal data we process
We process personal data about prospective, current and past students and their parents, staff, suppliers and contractors and other individuals connected to or visiting the college.
The personal data we process takes different forms – it may be factual information, expressions of opinion, images or other recorded information which identifies or relates to a living individual. Examples include:
- names, addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses and other contact details
- family details
- medical information (including any learning disabilities or other medical conditions)
- enrolment, academic, disciplinary and other education related records, information about special educational needs and references
- education and employment data
- images, audio and video recordings
- financial information
- courses, meetings or events attended
As a college, we need to process special category personal data (e.g. concerning health) and criminal records information about some individuals (particularly staff). We do so in accordance with applicable law (with respect to safeguarding or employment) or by explicit consent.
- Collection of personal data
We collect most of the personal data we process directly from the individual concerned (or in the case of students, from their parents). In some cases, we collect data from third parties (for example, referees, previous schools) or from publicly available resources. Any third party information is obtained with consent from the individual in question.
Where enquiries are submitted to us we will only use the information supplied to us to deal with the enquiry.
Visitors to our website
We will treat all your Personal Information as confidential. We will keep it on a secure server and we will fully comply with all applicable Data Protection and consumer legislation. The server OMBS uses to store this information is accessible to authorised staff only, is further connected to the internet through a firewall and is therefore not accessible to the public.
When you submit an enquiry or make an application on our website www.ombs.test we will ask you to input and we will collect personal information from you such as your name, email address, address and telephone number or other information.
Google Analytics
We use Google Analytics to monitor traffic on our website, this allows us to measure the quantity of visitors to a particular section of the site and report on overall site performance by considering a number of metrics. While Google Analytics enables us to report on the number of visitors to the site, it does not allow us to identify users directly.
We do not use cookies on our website.
People who email us
If you email us making a request for course information, we will collect your name, email address and the contents of your email.
People who telephone us
If you call us making a request for course information, we will collect the information that we need from you in order to answer your query or deliver the product and services you have requested.
People who we meet at Career Fairs or marketing events
If you speak to a member of the OMBS team at an event and chose to opt in about our Professional Business Diploma course we will collect your name and email address, and school details.
People who make a complaint to us
When we receive a complaint we make up a file containing the details of the complaint. This normally contains the identity of the complainant and any other individuals involved in the complaint. We will only use the personal information we collect to process the complaint and to check on the level of service we provide.
We will keep personal information contained in complaint files in line with our retention policy. This means that information relating to a complaint will be retained for two years from closure. It will be retained in a secure environment and access to it will be restricted according to the ‘need to know’ principle.
- Handling and sharing of personal data
Personal data held by us is processed by appropriate members of staff for the purposes for which the data was provided. We take appropriate technical and organisational steps to ensure the security of personal data about individuals, including policies around use of technology and devices, and access to OMBS systems. We do not transfer personal data outside of the EEA.
Some of our systems are provided by third parties, e.g. the OMBS website. This is always subject to contractual assurances that personal data will be kept securely and only in accordance with our specific directions.
We do not share or sell personal data to other organisations for their own purposes.
- Why we process personal data
OMBS processes personal data for:
- The selection and enrolment of students
- The provision of teaching students including the administration of the curriculum and timetable
- Monitoring student progress and educational needs and reporting these internally and to parents
- Providing references for students (including after a student has left)
- The provision of educational support and related services to students (and parents) including the maintenance of discipline, provision of OMBS’s IT and communications system in accordance with our IT policies
- The safeguarding of students’ welfare
- The research into and development of effective teaching and learning methods and best practice
- Compliance with legislation and regulation including the preparation of information for inspections
- Operational management including the compilation of student records, the administration of invoices, fees and accounts, the management of OMBS property, the management of security and safety arrangements (including the use of CCTV in accordance with our CCTV Policies and monitoring of the OMBS’s IT and communications systems in accordance with our Acceptable Use Policy), management planning and forecasting, research and statistical analysis, the administration and implementation of OMBS rules and policies for students and staff, the maintenance of historic archives and other operational purposes
- Staff administration including the recruitment of staff and engagement of contractors, administration of payroll, pensions and sick leave, review and appraisal of staff performance, conduct of any grievance, capability or disciplinary procedures.
- The promotion of OMBS through its own websites, the prospectus and other publications and communications (including through our social media channels)
- Maintaining relationships with students by communicating with the body of current and former students and / or their parents or fee-payers and organising events
- Keeping in touch
We keep in touch with past students and members of our OMBS Alumni. We will use your contact details to keep you updated about our activities and to invite you to events which may be of interest to you by email, eg. Past Student Day, School visits, etc.
Feedback on services provided
We use a third party research system, SurveyMonkey to help us collect feedback from students on our programmes and services. All data gathered from questionnaires is analysed and used internally by OMBS to improve our Professional Business Diploma course. We will contact respondents regarding comments made only if they indicate in the questionnaire that they are happy for us to do so. For more information, please see SurveyMonkey’s privacy policy.
- How long we keep personal data
We retain personal data only for a legitimate and lawful reason and only for so long as necessary or required by law. We have adopted Records Retention Guidelines, which set out the time period for which different categories of data are kept. If you have any specific queries about our record retention periods, or wish to request that your personal data is considered for erasure, please contact us.
- Your rights
You have various rights under Data Protection Law to access and understand the personal data we hold about you, and in some cases to ask for it to be erased or amended or for us to stop processing it, but subject to certain exemptions and limitations.
- Request access to your personal information (commonly known as a data subject access request). This enables you to receive a copy of the personal information we hold about you and to check that we are lawfully processing it
- Request correction of the personal information that we hold about you. This enables you to have any incomplete or inaccurate information we hold about you corrected
- Request the erasure of your personal information. This enables you to ask us to delete or remove personal information where there is no good reason for us continuing to process it. You also have the right to ask us to stop processing personal information where we are relying on a legitimate interest and there is something about your particular situation which makes you want to object to processing on this ground
- Request the restriction of processing of your personal information. This enables you to ask us to suspend the processing of personal information about you, for example if you want us to establish its accuracy or the reason for processing it
- Object to the processing of your personal information based on legitimate interests, but not if we have a compelling reason to process it
- Object to automated decision making (although this does not currently apply as we do not currently carry out automated decision making)
- Request the transfer of your personal information to another party
You always have the right to withdraw consent, where given, or otherwise object to receiving generic communications. Please be aware however that OMBS may have another lawful reason to process the personal data in question even without your consent. That reason will usually have been asserted under this Privacy Policy, or may exist under some form of contract or agreement with the individual (e.g. an employment or parent contract, or because of a purchase of goods or services).
If you would like to access or amend your personal data, or would like it to be transferred to another person or organisation, or have some other objection to how your personal data is used, please make your request in writing to us.
We will aim to respond to any such written requests as soon as is reasonably practicable and in any event within statutory time limits, which is one month in the case of requests for access to information. We will be better able to respond quickly to smaller, targeted requests for information. If the request is manifestly excessive or similar to previous requests, we may ask you to reconsider or charge a proportionate fee, but only where Data Protection Law allows this.
You should be aware that certain data is exempt from the right of access. This may include information which identifies other individuals, or information which is subject to legal privilege. We are also not required to disclose any confidential reference given by OMBS for the purposes of the education, training or employment of any individual.
- Student Data
The rights under Data Protection legislation belong to the individual to whom the data relates. Our student data protection and GDPR policy provides further information regarding this. All students have access to this and are made aware of where they can read it on their first day at OMBS.
- This Policy
Our privacy notice should be read in conjunction with our other policies and Terms and Conditions of Enrolment which make reference to personal data, including our Safeguarding Policy, Health & Safety Policy, Acceptable Use Policy and IT Policy.
We will update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any substantial changes that affect how we process your personal data will be notified on our website and to you directly, as far as practicable.
If you believe that we have not complied with this Policy or have acted otherwise than in accordance with Data Protection Law, you should notify us. You can also make a referral to or lodge a complaint BAC (British Accreditation Council).
BAC sets standards within the independent further and higher education sector. Their accreditation is held by hundreds of colleges and training providers in the UK and overseas, including OMBS.
Visit the BAC website for a copy of their Handbook and follow the instructions in the Complaints Section: http://www.the-bac.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/BAC-Accreditation-Handbook.pdf. OIA (The Office of the Independent Adjudicator of Higher Education).
The OIA is an independent body set up to review student complaints. Visit the following link for access to their instructions on how to take a complaint further: http://www.oiahe.org.uk/making-a-complaint-to-the-oia/how-to-make-a-complaint.aspx.
Download our Privacy Policy for Students
