Day-to-day communications

We process your contact data to facilitate and manage your registration as a student at BU, and to administer your course of study. We create an individual student ID number and a BU email address for each student. Your name, ID number and BU email address are listed in our internal contacts directory which is accessible to all BU staff and students using BU’s email system.

BU academic and faculty staff will use your contact information to communicate with you about your academic work and associated administrative arrangements such as arrangements for examinations and submission of assignments. This type of communication may also be sent to you through Brightspace. BU Professional Services staff will use your BU email address to communicate with you about non-academic matters including support services and management of complaints or disciplinary processes. If you are on a health and social care setting the Dorset HealthCare University Occupational Health Team will use your BU email to contact you and arrange appointments. If you have signed up for a specific service provided by BU, such as accommodation or Sport BU services, the relevant teams within BU will send you communications as necessary for the provision and administration of the service and in accordance with any permissions you have given e.g. to receive information about offers or events.

Between January and February we send all BU students (except BU apprentices) an email informing them of the options for securing accommodation for the next academic year through BU Residential Services. If you do not wish to receive this email please contact us through [email protected].

We use your BU email address to send you frequent communications about matters relevant to your studies, your accommodation (if you are resident in BU accommodation) and about other aspects of the standard BU student experience (such as matters affecting the BU environment on campus and information about BU facilities and events). We may use email to invite you to complete surveys being carried out by BU or external organisations, as described elsewhere in this Notice.

If you have provided us with an alternative email address and/or a mobile phone number, we may use these methods of communication as well as your BU email address.

This processing ensures that you are able to access all elements of your course or research programme in accordance with our commitments under the BU Student Agreement. These include feedback from BU staff and facilities required for your course. It also helps to ensure your safe and appropriate use of BU facilities, and to facilitate your access to the wider student experience at BU which forms part of the core BU offer to its students. It enables you to make informed choices about accessing specific services or experiences available to you as a BU student.

If you are resident in accommodation booked through BU Accommodation Services, you will receive information about ResLifeBU events and activities, as access to these services is covered by your rent payments.

• Necessary for the performance of the contract between you and BU

• Necessary for performance of BU’s core public task, i.e. delivery of higher education and research in an appropriate environment

• Necessary for legitimate interests pursued by BU, i.e. enabling access by students to all services and facilities available to them as a higher education student and ensuring a safe environment