Guide to requesting Information from the University
As far as is possible to do so the University wishes to provide a seamless route for staff, students, and members of the public, to obtain any information they need from the University, either about themselves, or about the University itself. There are three main pieces of legislation that allow an individual to request information from Bangor University:
The Data Protection Act 2018, and the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) allows individuals to make a request to access any information held about themselves.
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 allows anyone (an individual or a company) to obtain information held by the University.
The Environmental Information Regulations 2004 allows a right of access to environmental information held by the University.
Before contacting the University and/or completing an application form, please read the notes below to determine the nature of your request.
Request for information relating to yourself
Data protection legislation allows you to ask the University for any information held about you as an individual. For example, you may wish to see your staff or student file, your library borrowing record, etc. If you wish to make an enquiry about data that relates to yourself, then see below. Please give as much information as you can in relation to the request, or complete the form titled "Subject Access Request Form" - there is a link to this form at the bottom of the page.
Please note there is no charge for this service and that the University will deal with your request as soon as possible, and in any event with a month. In certain circumstances, where it is legal entitled to do so, the University may withhold some information.
Please note that if you are making a request to see your counselling records the Governance and Compliance Team (once the administrative requirements have been dealt with) will pass your request on to the Counselling Service to administrate, they may contact you during this process.
Request for information about the University
Freedom of information and Environmental Information legislation allows you to ask the University for any information about the University arising from its day-to-day functions. For example, you may wish to see the minutes of a particular meeting, obtain statistical information relating to student or staff numbers or receive information about energy production or waste management.
If you wish to make a request under freedom of information legislation then please consult the University's Publication Scheme and Guide to Information in the first instance. This is located on the freedom of information webpages . If the information you require is not in the publication scheme then please contact the Governance and Compliance Team. We will then have 20 days to respond.
Please note:
- you cannot use a freedom of information or environmental information request to obtain personal information about yourself (this can be done through the Subject Access process described above) or personal information relating to a third party;
- the freedom of information / environmental information request process is normally free of cOnceharge. Where the request is particularly time consuming there may be a charge. We will make every effort to determine whether any search fee applies as quickly as possible, and any charge will be calculated according to the published 'Fees Regulations'. You will also be given the opportunity, where relevant, to narrow your request so that it can be dealt with free of charge;
- the University will usually have 20 days to respond to your request following receipt of any fee;
- we will make all reasonable efforts to locate the information you require, but we may need to ask you to provide more detail if your original application does not allow us to identify exactly what you want. (It is only once your request is clear to us that the 20 days start);
- the University may decide, in certain cases, that an exemption applies, and the information will be withheld.
Making a request
Once you have decided on the type of enquiry you wish to make, please make your request to the Governance and Compliance Team at the address shown below. Please provide full contact details so that we may contact you should we need to clarify the nature of your enquiry.
You may also wish to access further information on making a request from the Information Commissioner's Office web pages:
- Making a subject access request
- Making a freedom of information request
Governance and Compliance Team Corporate Services
Bangor University
College Road
Gwynedd LL57 2DG
E-mail: info-compliance@bangor.ac.uk
Requesting that data is rectified (if data is inaccurate or incomplete)
Under the provisions of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) individuals have the right to request that the University rectifies their data (if the data is inaccurate or incomplete).
If you wish to inform the University that your data is inaccurate / incomplete then please contact the relevant school, service or department in the first instance. If you are unsure who to contact then please email info-compliance@bangor.ac.uk giving as much information as possible in relation to your request.
Please note that the University will respond to a request for rectification of data as soon as possible, and in any event within a month. If rectification isn’t possible we will provide you with an explanation as to why that is.
Requesting that your data is erased (also known as the right to be forgotten)
Under the provisions of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) individuals have the right to request that the data held about them by the University is (in certain circumstances) erased.
You should be aware that this does not provide you with an absolute ‘right to be forgotten’ in a University context. For example you would have to request that your personal data is erased and to prevent processing where:
1. Your personal data is no longer necessary for the purpose for which it was originally collected or processed by the University (e.g. you are no longer a member of a particular student society)
2. When you have withdrawn your consent to your data being processed, or you object to the processing (and the University does not have an overriding legitimate interest for continuing the processing) e.g. when you have consented to be part of a research study, but now wish to withdraw; when you are exercising your right to object to direct marketing)
3. Where your data is being processed on the basis of the University’s legitimate interest, and you object to the use of your data.
In the University’s view the right to erasure does not apply in all circumstances. For example:
- For the performance of a public interest task or the exercise of official authority
- For public health reasons
- For archival, research or statistical purposes
- Where data is required to establish, exercise or defend legal claims
If you wish to contact the University to request that your data is erased then please contact the relevant school, department or service in the first instance. If you are unsure who to contact then please email info-compliance@bangor.ac.uk giving as much information as possible in relation to your request.
Contacting the University to request that it restricts the processing of your data
In certain circumstances you can contact the University to request that it restricts the processing of your personal data.
For example:
- Where you contest the accuracy of the personal data that we hold you can request that we restrict our processing of that data until the accuracy of the data has been verified;
- Where you object to the University processing your information for the performance of a public interest task or for the purpose of the University’s legitimate interest you can request that we restrict our processing until such time as we have considered our grounds for processing the data;
- Where you wish to request that the University holds on to the data to establish, exercise or defend a legal claim.
In such cases the University can store your data, but cannot process it any further unless you consent or the processing is necessary to establish e.g. a legal claim, to protect another person.
Requesting data portability
Under the provisions of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) you have the right to obtain and reuse your personal data, and to move, copy and / or transfer your data across other services in a safe and secure manner. Where you request your data in a portable format the information must be provided in a structured, commonly used, machine readable form.
Please note that the right to data portability is restricted to data that you have provided to the University, and only in relation to data being processed under consent, or in relation to the performance of a contract.
If you wish to exercise your right to data portability then please contact the IT Services Helpdesk in the first instance giving as much information as possible in relation to your request. The University will endeavour to respond to such requests as soon as possible, and in any event within a month.