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Data Protection for Alumnae and the Development Office

How we use your data

This statement explains how the College (“we” and “our”) handles and uses data we collect about our alumnae and our past, current and future supporters (“you” and “your”) and those who have requested to be kept informed as a Friend of the Women’s Art Collection.  In broad terms, we use your data to keep in touch with you as alumnae (as life-long members of the College) and supporters, in order to keep you up to date with our activities and developments, to provide services to you, and to identify ways in which you can support us, through donations and/or volunteering your time and expertise.

We will retain your data indefinitely or until you request us to do otherwise.  When changes are made to this statement, we will publish the updated version to our website and notify you by other communications channels as we deem appropriate or necessary.

The controller for your personal data is Murray Edwards College, Huntingdon Road, Cambridge, CB3 0DF.  The Data Protection Officer for the College is Beatrice Jamnezhad at the Office of Intercollegiate Services Ltd (OIS), 12B King’s Parade, Cambridge; 01223 768745; college.dpo@ois.cam.ac.uk. OIS should be contacted if you have any concerns about how the College is managing your personal information, or if you require advice on how to exercise your rights as outlined in this statement. The person responsible for data protection at the time of issue, and the person who is responsible for monitoring compliance with relevant legislation in relation to the protection of personal data, is the Bursar, Rob Hopwood, bursar@murrayedwards.cam.ac.uk.

The legal basis for processing your personal data is that it is necessary for the purposes of our legitimate interests, where we have concluded that our interests do not impact inappropriately on your fundamental rights and freedoms, except where elsewhere in this statement we have indicated otherwise.  You may ask us to explain our rationale at any time.  

How your data is used by the College

Your data is used by us for a number of interdependent purposes, including alumnae relations, communications and fundraising.  These include:

•    Publications
•    Surveys
•    Appeals and requests for donations 
•    The promotion of alumnae and other College events
•    The promotion of other services open to College members

Communications to you may be sent by post, telephone or electronic means, depending on the contact details we hold and the preferences expressed by you about the types of communications you wish to receive. We may use automated or manual analysis to link data together to help us identify your potential for supporting us and/or the University. If you have concerns or queries about any of these purposes, or how we communicate with you, please contact us at the address given below.

What data is held by the College

We work closely with the University as a result of their shared interest in having a coordinated approach to their alumni and supporters. We have a separate database from the University, but we also have access to the University’s database. The University has its own data protection statement and procedures.

Where provided by you, or provided by the University or obtained from public sources, records may contain:

•    Details of your school, College and University education
•    Unique personal identifiers (e.g. student number, date of birth)
•    Your contact details
•    Your attendance at College or University events
•    Other contact with us or the University since graduation
•    Your key relationships with other alumni or supporters of the College and/or the University and other Colleges within Cambridge
•    Your career highlights and other life achievements
•    Financial information relating to you and any of your key relationships (including but not necessarily limited to income, philanthropy and other giving)
•    Information about donations made by you to either the College or the University
•    Information about your areas of personal interest
•    Photographs of you
•    Personal data provided by you for a specific purpose or purposes (for example disability or catering preferences for event management)
•    Your communication preferences


Communications 

If you are a new contact for our Development Office, we will ask you at the outset how you would like to receive news and other communications from us.  If you are already receiving such communications, you are able to change your preferences (or ask us to stop sending you news and other communications completely) by email to newhallsociety@murrayedwards.cam.ac.uk. You may request changes at any time.


When the College shares your data with others

We do not sell your personal data to third parties under any circumstances, or permit third parties to sell on the data we have shared with them.


Depending on constraints set by you, and which you may change at any time, we may share any of the above categories of data with the University.


We believe that most alumnae understand in detail the complex and many interactions of the College with the University of Cambridge.  Personal data of our members is shared with the University routinely throughout any course of study, and it is our strong preference to continue such collaborative working thereafter.  


The University and its partners (including the College) have a data sharing agreement to govern the sharing of personal data of alumni and other supporters.   This is necessary because they are distinct legal entities. The agreement outlines that, depending on constraints set by you, and which you may change at any time, the University and College may share any of the above categories of personal data with the University and can be viewed in full at URL. Any transmission of data to or from the University is managed through agreed processes which comply with UK data protection legislation.  


For clarity, the College has a separate database from the University, but has access to the University’s database: additionally, we maintain other electronic and paper records.  


The University has its own data protection statement and procedures – see:
alumni.cam.ac.uk/data-protection

We share data on a considered and confidential basis, where appropriate, with:

•    Cambridge in America (the University’s affiliate alumni office in the U.S.)
•    Third-party agencies who provide us with data in the public domain about alumnae and supporters (including Prospecting for Gold)
•    Companies who provide College-branded or College-endorsed products and services
•    Volunteers closely related to us (e.g. year and local alumnae representatives)
•    Contractors providing services to you on our behalf or services to us (our ‘data processors’) , including but not limited to database software providers (currently Blackbaud Inc), telephone fundraising and giving day consultants (currently Buffalo Fundraising Consultants) and mailing providers for publications. This list of contractors is updated as required. Use of the data is restricted to purposes defined by the College.

We also facilitate communication between individual alumnae (of the College or the University), but in doing so we do not release personal contact details without prior permission.

Your rights

You have the right: to ask us for access to, rectification or erasure of your data; to restrict processing (pending correction or deletion); to object to communications or direct marketing; and to ask for the transfer of your data electronically to a third party (data portability).  Some of these rights are not automatic, and we reserve the right to discuss with you why we might not comply with a request from you to exercise them. Where you opt out of all future communications or exercise your right to erasure, we will continue to maintain a core set of personal data (name, subject(s), matriculation and graduation details, unique University identification number and date of birth) to ensure we do not contact you inadvertently in future, while still maintaining our record of your academic achievements.  We may also need to retain some financial records about you for statutory purposes (e.g. Gift Aid, anti-fraud and accounting matters).

You retain the right at all times to lodge a complaint about our management of your personal data with the Information Commissioner’s Office at ico.org.uk/concerns


Updated Easter Term 2023