Asking for information about you

Who we hold information about

Our University holds information on applicants, current staff and students, and former staff and students. Information is kept in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018 and with our own retention schedules.

How to ask for information

You have a right to ask us for copies of information that we hold about you. It is helpful if you can use our subject access request form (.docx).

You do not need to use the form, but you will need to explain who you are, your relationship with the University, and what information you want. Requests should be sent to the Data Protection Officer by emailing dpo@essex.ac.uk.

Replying to you

We will always acknowledge your request. We may ask some extra questions to be sure of your identity or to clarify what information you are looking for. We have one calendar month in which to send you the information.

We may remove ("redact") some information from the documents we send. This will normally be because there is information in the documents about people other than you. It will normally be clear from the documents where something has been removed.

How to complain

If you are not happy with the response you receive from us you should ask our Registrar and Secretary to review your case. If you are still not happy you then have a right of complaint to the Office of the Information Commissioner.

Find out more about Data Protection

You can find out more from the data protection watchdog, the Office of the Information Commissioner.

Partner institutions

Other than a basic record to enable us to register you for library membership we do not normally keep information about people studying with our partner institutions. If you are studying with one of our partners and want copies of information about you then you will need to contact your own institution.