Privacy Policy

Who We Are

Brenkley Doctoral College ("Brenkley Doctoral College", "we", "us", "our") is the data controller for the personal data we collect and process. Our registered address is Suite 4, Cavendish House, 12 King Street, London, EC2V 8AJ. We are registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) under registration number [ICO Ref].

For questions about this policy or your data, contact our Data Protection Officer at dpo@doctoralcollege.ac.uk.

What Data We Collect

We collect personal data in the following contexts:

Enquiries and Applications

• Name, email address, telephone number
• Professional background and employment history
• Academic qualifications and transcripts
• Research proposal and personal statement
• References provided by third parties on your behalf

Enrolled Students

• All application data (retained on enrolment)
• Programme progress records and supervisory meeting notes
• Assessment submissions and examination records
• Financial records relating to fees and payments
• Pastoral support records (held separately and confidentially)

Website Visitors

• Cookies and usage data (see our Cookie Policy)
• Contact form submissions
• Event registration data

How We Use Your Data

We process your personal data for the following purposes:

• Processing applications and making admissions decisions
• Delivering your doctoral programme and associated support services
• Managing fees, payments, and financial records
• Communicating with you about your studies, events, and Brenkley Doctoral College news
• Meeting our legal and regulatory obligations
• Improving our programmes and services
• Statistical analysis and quality assurance (using anonymised data)

Legal Basis for Processing

We process your personal data under the following legal bases as defined in UK GDPR:

• Contract: Processing necessary to fulfil our agreement with you as a student or applicant
• Legitimate Interests: Communications, quality assurance, and programme improvement
• Legal Obligation: Financial record-keeping, regulatory reporting
• Consent: Marketing communications and optional research participation (you may withdraw consent at any time)

Data Retention

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary for the purpose it was collected:

• Unsuccessful applications: 12 months from decision
• Enrolled student records: Duration of programme plus 7 years post-completion
• Financial records: 7 years as required by HMRC regulations
• Website enquiries: 24 months if no application follows
• Event registrations: 12 months

Sharing Your Data

We do not sell personal data to third parties. We may share data with:

• Supervisors and academic staff involved in your programme
• Our learning management system and IT service providers (under data processing agreements)
• Payment processors (for fee transactions only)
• Regulatory bodies where required by law
• External examiners (examination records only, anonymised where possible)

All third parties with whom we share data are required to process it in accordance with UK GDPR and under appropriate contractual safeguards.

Your Rights

Under UK GDPR, you have the following rights regarding your personal data:

• Right of access: Request a copy of the data we hold about you
• Right to rectification: Request correction of inaccurate data
• Right to erasure: Request deletion in certain circumstances
• Right to restrict processing: Request we limit how we use your data
• Right to data portability: Receive your data in a portable format
• Right to object: Object to processing based on legitimate interests
• Right to withdraw consent: Withdraw consent at any time where consent is the basis for processing

To exercise any of these rights, contact dpo@doctoralcollege.ac.uk. We will respond within one calendar month.

Complaints

If you are concerned about how we handle your personal data, please contact our Data Protection Officer in the first instance. If you remain unsatisfied, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk or by calling 0303 123 1113.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. We will notify enrolled students of material changes via email. The date at the top of this page reflects the most recent update. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.