Accessibility statement

Privacy notice - CPD Unit 

The CPD (Continuing Professional Development) Unit is part of the Department of Research and Enterprise within the University of York. We organise corporate training courses, equipping delegates with a mixture of strategic and practical skills to take back to the workplace. We also support internal departments with their CPD provision.

This privacy notice is for businesses and individuals who the CPD Unit holds data for, and partners who work with us to deliver our services. It sets out the ways in which the CPD Unit at the University of York gathers, uses, stores and shares your data. It also sets out how long we keep your data and what rights you have in relation to your data under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

For the purposes of this privacy notice, University of York is the Data Controller as defined in the General Data Protection Regulation. We are registered with the information Commissioner’s Office, and our registration number is: Z4855807.

Where do we get your data from and what data do we collect about you?

We collect personal data, much of it sensitive, about you when you register for one of our online courses via our online booking system or when you consent to signing up to our newsletter database. We typically collect the following data for the purposes of liaising with you about the course you have chosen to book on:

  • Name
  • Job title
  • Company name
  • Company address
  • Company phone number
  • Mobile number
  • Email address
  • Financial details for the purpose of paying for the course if the course is chargeable

If you receive training or support from the CPD Unit through an externally funded project, such as Business Scale Up Development Programme or Specialist Skills Support Programme, we may be required to collect the following information in addition to the information above:

  • Home address
  • National Insurance number
  • Gender
  • Date of birth
  • Disability status
  • Refugee status
  • Right to work in the UK
  • Education
  • Marital and family status
  • Criminal convictions
  • Ethnicity

This information will be used by the funders in accordance with their privacy notices (which will be provided at the time the information is gathered), and will be stored by the University as part of our record keeping for funded projects, but not further processed by the University. 

What is our legal basis for processing your data?

The University needs to collect and retain certain types of data, in various formats, about its current and past delegates in order to fulfil its functions as an education and business support provider and to maintain strategic relationships within the region.

Typically, data will be processed:

  • on the grounds of contractual requirement or to take steps to enter into a contract with you e.g. to provide you with training and support;
  • because it is necessary for our legitimate interests;
  • to monitor equality and diversity; 
  • because you have given us your consent. 

How do we use your data?

The University may process your personal data for the following purposes:

  • to process your booking and to liaise with you about the course logistics e.g. issue joining instructions, course material etc.;
  • to provide you with and manage your use of University facilities and services and your participation at events;
  • to administer the financial aspects of our relationship with you and any funders including processing any payments made by you to the University;
  • to compile statistical and personal returns which the University may be required to publish or pass data to government bodies or the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA); or partner organisations such as Calderdale College. 
  • where you are completing accreditation, to process that accreditation in conjunction with The Chartered Management Institute
  • where you are attending a funded project, to make claims for funding on your behalf, the University may be required to pass your data to partner organisations such as Calderdale College or the Department for Work and Pensions where your data will be used to track outputs and beneficiaries. 
  • (if you have consented) to send marketing once a course is completed. We will keep you updated about future relevant courses, events and activities via our monthly email newsletter, you may opt out at any time. If you no longer wish to be contacted for marketing purposes, you can either contact us at cpd@york.ac.uk and request to be removed or simply click the ‘unsubscribe’ button at the bottom of our marketing e-mails.

Who do we share your data with?

The University may share your data with:

  • employees and associate trainers of the University for the purpose of providing you with appropriate support;
  • third parties that process data on behalf of the University to support it in fulfilling its obligations and responsibilities to and relationship with you (e.g. software and system providers including but not limited to Administrate, MailChimp, MailJet, Zoom, Blackboard, Customer First, and WPM Education) (where applicable) third party funding providers (Calderdale College and the Department for Work and Pensions). You will be advised which funding provider applies to your records when you apply for funding;
  • accrediting bodies where our courses provide you with the opportunity to achieve accreditation. These bodies include but are not limited to: The Chartered Management Institute

The University of York will not share your information externally for any other purposes without your consent unless exceptional circumstances apply. Any such disclosures will be made in full accordance with the data protection legislation and only where necessary.

How do we keep your data secure?

The University takes information security extremely seriously and has implemented appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data and special category data. Access to information is restricted on a need-to-know basis and security arrangements are regularly reviewed to ensure their continued suitability. For further information please see our IT Security webpages.

If you apply for training from the CPD Unit through a funded project, printed copies of your data will also be held in locked filing cabinets at the University of York.

How long will we keep your data?

The University will retain your data in line with legal requirements or where there is a business need. Retention timeframes will be determined in line with the University’s Records Retention Schedule.

If you receive training or support from the CPD Unit through an externally funded project, this data will be maintained in line with the contractual requirements of that project and its funding organisation. For the Business Scale Up Development Programme and the Specialist Skills Support Programme, due to European Union Social Fund requirements, this will be for 10 years, following the final claim payment. These requirements will be clearly outlined at the point at which you apply for support.

If you take part in a Chartered Management Institute (CMI) accredited course, CMI requires the University to maintain records, programme and Learner details, relating to each CMI qualification, for a minimum period of three years and to make them available to CMI for the purposes of resolving any issues arising from external verification or appeals. Such records must be made available to the Regulatory Authorities upon request.

These must include:

  • Learner name
  • Date of birth
  • Contact address
  • Assessor's name(s)
  • Internal Verifier's name(s)
  • Date of registration with CMI

Learner assessment records detailing:

  • Who assessed what and when
  • The assessment decision
  • The assessment methods used for each unit
  • The location of the supporting evidence
  • Records of certificates claimed including unit/credit certificates
  • Details of who claimed the certificate and when

What rights do you have in relation to your data?

Under the General Data Protection Regulation, you have rights in relation to your data, including a right of access to your data, a right to rectification, erasure (in certain circumstances), restriction, objection or portability (in certain circumstances). You also have a right to withdraw consent.

If you would like a copy of some or all of your personal data held by CPD Unit, please email us or write to us at the contact addresses below.

There may be circumstances in which we are unable to erase data held about you, in which case we will notify you. For example, if you have entered into a funding contract with us, we may be contractually required to keep records for a specified time period for reporting and audit purposes.

Photography and Video

The University of York’s Marketing team captures photography and video for marketing purposes. These photos and videos are used to provide information about and promote the University’s courses, research and other activities to audiences including potential UK and international students, parents, the public, policy-makers, benefactors and other stakeholders.

If photography and video capture will be taking place at an event that you attend, you will be informed beforehand and will have the right to opt out. Additionally, you will receive a full Photography and Video privacy notice and be required to complete a form confirming you have received and understand this full privacy notice.

Questions or concerns

If you have any questions about this privacy notice or concerns about how your data is being processed, please contact the CPD Unit at cpd@york.ac.uk or the University’s Data Protection Officer at dataprotection@york.ac.uk

Right to complain

If you are unhappy with the way in which the University has handled your personal data, we ask that you contact us in the first instance, to enable us to resolve your concerns. If you remain dissatisfied, you have a right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office

Changes to our privacy notice

We keep our privacy notices under regular review and we will place any updates on the CPD Unit web page. This privacy notice was last updated on 8 November 2022.