Updated 9 January 2019
How we may use your personal information
This policy explains how we use the personal information you provide to us when your register to attend an event, how we keep it secure and how you can manage the use of the information we collect.
Our privacy policy contains links to websites operated by other organisations. When you click any of these links and leave our site you will see this image . Please make sure you read the privacy policy of the website you are visiting so you know how they will use any information you provide to them.
What is personal information?
Personal information is information that we hold that can identify you, such as your name, email address or date of birth.
If you are under the age of 13, you are welcome to browse this website, but you should not enter any personal information or request a ticket to attend a UCAS event. This is because the services we provide are directed at learners aged 13 and over.
How we use your personal information
We may collect, use and share your personal information in the following ways:
- If you register to attend an event – we collect your name, contact details, date of birth, gender, current school and year of study, subjects you are currently studying and subjects that you may wish to study. We also ask you to tell us if you are considering study overseas, a gap year or an apprenticeship and which area(s) of the country you want to study in. If you scan your ticket at an exhibitor’s stand, we will share this information with them so they can send you information about opportunities that may be of interest to you. They may use this information to see if you subsequently apply to study with them.
- We use your name and contact details to send you our newsletter, tell you about changes to your chosen event and to ask you your opinion about our services.
- If you chose to opt-in or opt-out of receiving further information from UCAS, we record your name, contact details, and how and if you want to be contacted. We use information about the exhibitors you have chosen to share your personal information with to make sure that any further communications you receive from UCAS are relevant and of interest to you, such as sending you information about open days these exhibitors may be holding.
- If you download our events app – we will use your email address and event registration number to check your identity.
- We collect information relating to any dietary and access needs you may have so that you receive appropriate support when you attend an event.
- We retain the information you provide to produce research about such things as attendance at events and their impact on access to higher education. Any statistical analysis reports that we produce will not allow you to be identified.
- If you are an adviser, exhibitor or conference holder, and you are requesting to exhibit at or attend an event we are holding, we will collect your name, role, contact details and the name of your establishment or organisation. If you provide a mobile number, we may use this to contact you in the event of an emergency, or if the event is cancelled at short notice.
If any of your personal details change, it is important that you tell us straight away so that we can keep your information accurate and up-to-date.
Using your image at an event
When you attend an event, you can have your photo taken and it will be stored in Flickr and shared on UCAS’ event web page, to help promote our events. This means that anyone who visits our Event web page will be able to see and download your photo for two weeks after your visit and therefore you must be certain that you are happy for your photo to be shared. You will be asked to provide your permission for us to do so when you have your photo taken.
If you share your picture and want to have it removed, you should contact [email protected] and provide the following information:
- the details of the event you attended (date and venue)
- a copy of the picture you want to be removed
Sending you further information
We ask for your permission to send you further information on subjects that may be of interest to you, such as careers or training opportunities. You can opt-out of receiving further information from UCAS and this will not prevent you receiving further information from event exhibitors. If you want to stop receiving further information from these organisations, you will need to contact them directly.
You can stop UCAS sending you further information using any one of the ways below:
- amending and saving your preferences in your registration page on our Events website
- replying to any opt out instruction detailed in each communication you receive, or by emailing: [email protected]
We will, however, continue to send you information relevant to your attendance at any event you are registered to attend.
All about cookies and how to manage them
A cookie is a small file, typically of letters and numbers, downloaded on to your computing device, such as your tablet or laptop, when you visit a website or when you open an email.
There are two main types of cookie – session and persistent – both are used when you register to attend an event. The cookies we use do not access your computer to obtain your personal information, other than the data you may choose to share, and they do not collect information that can identify you.
We use cookies to enable the functionality of the website, to help you register for events, keep this website secure and to ensure that you receive relevant content and advertising. Please read the cookie descriptions below for more information.
- Session cookies are temporarily stored in a computer's memory during a user's browsing session and automatically deleted when the browser is closed. They do not collect any information from your device and are typically used to allow the functionality of a website.
- Persistent cookies are stored on a user's computing device and are not deleted when the browser is closed. Persistent cookies are typically used by websites to anonymously analyse users' behaviour in the website, such as the pages visited.
- First and third party cookies: first party cookies are set by UCAS. Third party cookies relate to cookies set on our website by other organisations on our behalf. These services provide us with anonymous information such as tracking the use of pages and services, testing, and controlling the time, number and location where advertisements may appear.
Consent to use cookies and how to opt out
When you register to attend an event, you are asked to confirm that you consent to our uses of your personal information and to the use of cookies. If you want to control or delete cookies you can do this through your browser settings or visit www.aboutcookies.org for further information. The list of cookies that we use can be found below and, where relevant, how to opt out of cookies.
| Name of cookie | Type of cookie | Lifespan | First or third party | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UcasSessionId | Session | N/A | UCAS | Used by our website to store the session ID. |
| __RequestVerificationToken | Session | N/A | UCAS | Used to protect our website against Cross Site Request Forgery (CSRF) attacks. |
| CSPSESSIONID-SP-8443-UP- | Session | N/A | UCAS | To maintain a session between Events Force pages, for example so that someone can register for an event using more than one html page. |
| CSPWSERVERID | Session | N/A | UCAS | This is a system cookie that is used as part of the web page generation engine |
Display marketing and how to switch it off
We also use Google, Twitter and Facebook remarketing features which support promotion of our services you have shown an interest in, if you have subscribed to Google, Twitter or Facebook. This may be based on anonymous information collected by cookies when you visit our website. This includes things like your mobile device location (if location features are turned on), browser cookie ID, mobile device identifier, hashed (anonymous) email address, and IP addresses. This helps us provide you with relevant adverts relating to UCAS if you have a Twitter, Facebook or Google account.
You can opt-out of audience advertising by:
- unchecking the box in your Twitter or Facebook account settings that says, Tailor ads based on information shared by ad partners, and opting out of Google’s use of cookies by visiting Google’s ads settings. This will not then match your account to information with us to tailor adverts for you
- Turning on the Do Not Track setting in your web browser so that Twitter or Facebook do not match your account to browser-related information to tailor our ads for you
- Enabling the Limit Ad Tracking setting (on iOS devices) or the setting to Opt-out of Interest-Based Ads (on Android), so that Twitter or Facebook do not tailor our adverts for you by matching your device to information from partners
Further details about cookies which are set when you use this website, including how to disable them can be found in the ‘All about cookies’ section of this policy.
Keeping your information secure
We take steps to make sure we hold your personal information securely and in line with the international standard for information security. When you register to attend an event, you will be asked to choose a password. You should take care to keep your password safe and not share it with anyone, as you it helps stop other people from accessing your information. Guidance on creating a good password can be obtained from the Open University.
If you have any questions about uses of your personal information, please contact [email protected]