General Privacy Notice for Students

This privacy notice applies to all Southern Cross University (SCU) students including former students, graduands and Alumni.

The way SCU handles students' personal information, including health information, is regulated by the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 (the PPIP Act) and the Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 (HRIP Act).

SCU's Privacy Management Plan sets out the types of personal information held by SCU, an inventory of significant information systems, an explanation of how the privacy principles apply to SCU's activities, other legislation and policies affecting how we handle personal information, and how we handle privacy complaints.

This document sets out a number of other purposes for which SCU collects, uses and discloses students' personal information.

Collecting student personal information

SCU collects information about students primarily from students themselves, through online or paper application, via My Enrolment and when we speak to students face-to-face or over the telephone. We may collect students' information when they:

• apply to undertake a course at SCU;
• join student associations managed by SCU or by affiliated third parties, or apply to participate in other activities offered by SCU; or
• make enquiries by email or by telephone.

We also collect information about students from domestic and international educational institutions and organisations such as UAC and QTAC, and by means of an electronic qualification verification search like 'QualSearch'.

In participating in the lecture learning environment, students may be recorded through an 'audience cam' mechanism which operates as part of the 'vod-casting' and other student learning broadcasts available through the 'e-learning' system.

SCU may also collect student personal information from Campus Living Villages, including to investigate matters such as student misconduct.

The different types of personal information SCU collects, including health information, are described in the Privacy Management Plan.

Using student personal information

Students' personal information will be used in a variety of ways throughout a student's time at SCU. Typically, students' personal information will be used to:

• process applications;
• manage study plans;
• manage course timetabling;
• set, receive and grade coursework, assessment and examinations;
• record course grades and outcomes;
• monitor academic progression including academic standing and exclusion;
• deliver student services including health and counselling services;
• manage complaints and student misconduct allegations;
• verify qualifications;
• process graduations;
• process scholarships, prizes and sponsorships;
• operate student organisations managed by SCU or by affiliated third parties, or other activities offered by SCU;
• provide students with services they have requested from SCU or may be interested in receiving including further study options and becoming associate alumni;
• provide data to government departments to fulfil mandatory reporting requirements;
• undertake reviews, questionnaires and surveys; and
• run student representative elections.

Students' personal information may also be used by SCU to invite students to participate in SCU organisations and activities, including student groups, services offered by SCU, and other activities conducted by SCU.

Alumni

Students' personal information may also be used in some circumstances after they have completed their study at SCU, for instance, to promote further academic study options or to participate in graduate surveys. In addition, SCU Alumni may use current or former students' personal information to invite them to join SCU Alumni and provide them with information about activities and opportunities run by SCU Alumni.

SCU may also use Alumni personal information to invite former students to participate in SCU's quality improvement processes, including Course and School reviews, or for other institutional research activities.

Active members may also receive information about activities and opportunities run by third parties such as formal alumni chapters and informal alumni networks which may be of interest to them. SCU may disclose personal information to third parties who operate alumni chapters and networks.

SCU Alumni may also invite individuals who are not current or former students to join SCU Alumni. SCU will handle those individuals' personal information in the same way it would handle student personal information under this privacy notice and the Privacy Management Plan.

Storing student personal information

Students' personal information will be primarily recorded in the Student Management System (known as 'Student One'), as well as the Customer Relationship Management System. Staff with access to these systems include professional and academic staff across SCU. More information about how SCU holds students' personal information is described in the Privacy Management Plan.

SCU may also use student personal information for the purpose of conducting authorised research, on the basis that the identity of individuals will not be disclosed in any resulting report or publication unless the individual concerned first gives his or her specific consent to do so.

SCU may also use student information, by way of images captured in photographs or on video, for SCU publications, on the website and in marketing material. These images may be taken at graduation ceremonies, large events, and around campus.

Disclosing student personal information

SCU may disclose student personal information to authorised external agencies to conduct mailouts or debt collection activities on behalf of SCU. SCU may also disclose student and alumni personal information to authorised external agencies such as the Australian Council for Educational Research and Graduate Careers Australia to administer graduate surveys. These organisations are subject to the same privacy safeguards as SCU.

SCU may disclose student personal information to its education collaboration providers who deliver SCU courses.

SCU may also disclose student personal information to third parties who operate SCU student associations.

SCU may also disclose student personal information to government agencies such as the Department of Industry, Innovation, Science, Research and Tertiary Education (DIISRTE), the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC), Centrelink and the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).

More information about how SCU discloses students' personal information is described in thePrivacy Management Plan.

Third party services

From time to time SCU may inform students, by email or otherwise, about services offered by third parties that may be of interest to them. By providing their personal information to SCU, students consent to their information being used for this purpose.

Access and correction

The Privacy Management Plan contains information about:

• students' right to access personal information SCU holds about them;
• students' right to seek to have personal information SCU holds about them corrected; and
• how students can complain about how SCU has handled their personal information.

SCU Privacy Contact Officer

Any enquiries relating to how SCU collects and handles personal information should be directed to the SCU Privacy Contact Officer using the contact details below.

SCU Privacy Contact Officer
Southern Cross University
PO Box 157
LISMORE NSW 2480
t: (02) 6620 3465
f: (02) 6626 9125
e: privacy@scu.edu.au

Download a copy of SCU's General Privacy Notice for Students.

Updated: 24 December 2012