Privacy Policy

The University of Manchester is committed to looking after any information that is made available to us when you visit our websites in accordance with data protection and privacy laws. This policy outlines what categories of information we retain and how we use it.

To view our Division of Development and Alumni Relations’ Privacy Statement, please visit Your Manchester Online website.

Personal Data
You don’t have to create an account or provide us with any personal information to access University websites. However, we may ask for some personal details if you wish to access some of our services, for example:

  • To register for open days;
  • To order a publication such as a printed prospectus;
  • To subscribe to email marketing communications such as online newsletters.

The vast majority of the personal information we hold about you will be obtained via our websites’ forms or if you contact us by email.

Some of the personal data we store and process may include:

  • Biographical information consisting of your name, title, birth date, age and gender;
  • Your contact details including address, email address and phone number;
  • Information about your time at the University;
  • Your professional activities;
  • Current interests and preferences;
  • Records of communications sent to you by the University or received from you;
  • Attendance at University events.

We may also collect and store bank or credit/debit card details, however, please note that the University is fully PCI-DSS compliant.

When you provide us with your contact details you will be asked whether you wish to receive any further communications from us.

We will ensure that all personal data you supply is held in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998. We do not sell or otherwise transfer personal data to any third parties unless you have consented to this or this is permitted by law.

Visits to University websites
When you visit any of the University websites the following information is received and stored by our web servers: anonymised details of your IP address, browser type and operating system; and the web pages you visited. This data is known as web server logs. We use this information strictly to analyse how the University websites are used by our visitors and we may archive this information in an anonymous form for historical records.

Cookies
Our websites use ’cookies’ which are text files placed on your computer when you visit a site which help us understand how you use our websites. Cookies don’t collect personal data from your computer, only the data created by your browsing. Some cookies remain on your computer after you leave the website; these are called ‘persistent’ cookies. Others are deleted automatically when you close your browser and others simply expire. We use the following cookies on our websites:

Analytics cookies and advertising cookies set by Google Analytics
We may collect non-personally-identifiable information relating to your use of our sites via Google Analytics technology. This may include: which pages you see; how long you stay; what you click on our pages; if you visit the website again; which country and city you are browsing from; etc. This data is collected for the purpose of monitoring and understanding the effectiveness of our websites. We also collect data relating to the demographics and interests of our users via Google Analytics and cookies set by Google advertising networks. This data is used in aggregated form to help improve the site and the University’s marketing efforts.

Further information and instructions for opting out of Google Analytics tracking are available at: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout/

Session cookies
ASP, PHP, Java and Javascript

Tracking cookies (social media)
ClickTale, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube

Tracking cookies (media)
Vimeo, Flickr and Zmags

Tracking cookies (search)
eScholar, ELGAR and EBSCO

Tracking cookies (web satisfaction survey)
At certain times of the year we may ask users to complete our website feedback survey. As soon as a user opts to complete the survey, or tells us they don’t want to, the website will install a cookie on the user’s machine to remember this choice. This is to ensure that the survey is not presented to users who have already filled it in or who have told us they do not wish to.

Other tracking cookies
BBC, live.com, PowerPoint (Microsoft) and fwmrm.net

You can choose not to accept cookies by changing your browser settings or deleting existing cookies installed on your computer. Visit www.aboutcookies.org for information on how to do this.

Email marketing
We are keen to communicate our activities, institutional views, latest news and points of excellence with staff, stakeholders, students, alumni and supporters. We do this by providing information through a range of online and offline channels including publications, events, press releases, social media and email.

In order to do this we have a database that contains personal data collected by the University during the course of our relationship with our stakeholders, staff, students, and alumni.  We aim to keep your data up to date and welcome any updates to your details or corrections to any inaccuracies you may wish to provide.

You have a right to request copies of the data held about you by the University. To do so, please contact dataprotection@manchester.ac.uk. If you no longer want us to use your data, or wish to amend the type of communications you receive, then you can opt out at any time via the unsubscribe link included in every email.

We value our relationship with you and we use your personal data to personalise our communications, improve our services and ensure we work efficiently and effectively.

Unless you have requested otherwise, your data is accessible to the University and its Schools, Faculties, Institutes, Centres, divisions, directorates and recognised alumni associations connected to the University. It is used and processed for a full range of communications and programmes involving academic and administrative departments. These include the following communications and marketing activities (by mail, email and telephone):

  • Sending University publications;
  • Promoting our services;
  • Notifying you of upcoming events;
  • Promoting discounts and opportunities.

Tools may be used to help us improve the effectiveness of our communications with you, including tracking whether the emails we send are opened and which links are clicked within a message.

Lastly, we use data to undertake analysis projects to ensure only effective and relevant communications are sent to you. A list of suppliers can be provided on request.

We utilise tools and resources to help us understand our stakeholders, staff, students, and alumni and gather information from publicly available resources (e.g. the electoral register, press, the charity register) to assess the capacity of these groups to support the University.

Statement
This privacy statement applies to all University websites that link to this page. Please note that some sites related to the University may collect and use data differently. These sites will have a local privacy policy explaining these practices. If the user leaves a University website and visits a website operated by a third party, The University of Manchester cannot be held responsible for the protection and privacy of any information that users provide when visiting such third-party websites. Accordingly, users should exercise caution and review the privacy statement applicable to the website in question.

Public Twitter data
The University of Manchester uses publicly available information, such as Twitter handles, URLs mentioned in tweets and hashtag usage, to target tweets promoting the University’s research to Twitter users who have indicated an interest in topics relevant to our research activities. This data is collected manually and through third-party analytics platforms that search for links and references to published research on Twitter.

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