The Open College Privacy Policy

 

This document refers to personal data, which is defined as information concerning any living person (a natural person who hereafter will be called the Data Subject) that is not already in the public domain. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) seeks to protect and enhance the rights of data subjects.

These rights cover the safeguarding of personal data, protection against the unlawful processing of personal data and the unrestricted movement of personal data within the EU. It should be noted that GDPR does not apply to information already in the public domain.

The Open College is strongly committed to protecting the privacy of its user and student community. The intent of this privacy statement is to detail the information The Open College may gather about individuals who visit its website and how that information is used.

 

What does this privacy policy cover?

The Privacy Policy applies to your use of The Open College’s websites, products and services (collectively, “Services”). Please also see The Open College Terms & Conditions and any End User Licence Agreements that apply to our Courses you are learning on.

By using The Open College’s services, you are consenting to the use of your information in the manner set out in this Privacy Policy.

 

Updates to our Privacy Policy

The Open College may update this Privacy Policy from time to time so you are encouraged to periodically revisit this page for the latest College Privacy Policy. The current privacy policy replaces all previous versions and by your continued use of the Services you accept its terms.

 

What Information do we collect?

The Open College collects information to operate effectively and provide you with the best teaching experiences. Personal information is collected directly from you and other information is collected when you interact with our websites, products and services.

 

Personal Information

Personal information is any information about an identifiable individual and is collected directly from you. Personal information you provide us may include information such as your name, email address, billing address, telephone number, personal profile and PPS numbers (enrolled student only).

The Open College may collect personal information directly from you when you:

You can always choose not to provide personal information to The Open College, but if you choose not to do so, in many cases we will not be able to provide you with our products or Service, or respond to any queries you may have.

The Open College may combine personal information with other information that does not, on its own, directly identify you (“non-personal information”).

For example non-personal information such as which parts of our websites you have visited may be associated with your Open College account. This allows The Open College to provide you with a more personalised experience such as keeping you up to date with relevant course releases, content and sales via marketing communications (with your consent). If we do combine non-personal information with personal information the combined information will be treated as personal information for as long as it remains combined.

 

Other information we collect

We also collect information when you interact with our courses, websites and services. The following are some examples of information we may collect when you interact with particular Open College Services:

The Open College Websites

We collect information when you use our websites. We may collect information sent by your browser to our servers whenever you visit The Open College’s website. For example your browser may tell us your IP Address as well as browser type and language, URLs of referring/exit pages, operating system, time/date stamp, system configuration information and documents and files that you downloaded. We also may collect information about how you use our websites, such as which parts of our website you have visited, by using cookies and similar technologies.

Open College Products

We collect information when you use our products. The following types of information may be collected:

Certain information that we collect when you enrol with us is absolutely necessary in order for us to provide you with our Service. You won’t be able to opt-out from the collection or processing of this information as it is mandatory for completion and certification on our courses.

Emails

Emails or Newsletters we send you may include technology that tells The Open College whether you have received or opened an email, or clicked a link in the email. Marketing emails we send you may be tailored based on your interactions with our websites and courses. If you do not want us to collect information from The Open College emails, or you don’t want to receive The Open College’s marketing emails anymore, you can unsubscribe by using the unsubscribe link within each email or by changing your notifications settings when logged into your Open College account.

The Open College Online advertising

The Open College does work with third party advertisers such as Google and Facebook that use cookies and similar technologies to provide more relevant advertising about our Courses and Services on our website and across the internet. We collect information such as, which ads are shown, clicked on and where the ad was displayed.

 

The Open College does not store your credit card details

Any payment information, excluding name and contact details, provided by you is not stored by us. Enrolments from The Open College, either on The Open College’s websites or by phone, that require the inputting of credit card information use specialised credit card payment service Global Payments (formerly Realex) for the purposes of processing credit card data.

For further information about Global Payment please read their Privacy Policy.

 

Cookies and Similar Technologies

The Open College may from time to time use such information to identify its visitors. The Open College may also collect statistics about the behaviour of visitors to its website. The Open College websites uses cookies, which is a string of information that a website stores on a visitor’s computer, and that the visitor’s browser provides to the website each time the visitor returns.

“Cookies” are small pieces of information stored by your internet browser that collect data such as your browser type, your operating system, web pages visited, time of visits, content viewed, advertisements viewed and other click stream data. We use cookies to help us tailor our websites to your needs, to deliver a better, more personalised service and to remember certain choices you’ve made so you don’t have to re-enter them. Cookies also enable us to identify traffic to our website including pages visited, visitor numbers and traffic paths taken.

More specifically a “cookie” is a small text file which is stored, either on your hard drive, or in memory until your browser is closed. Cookies are used by The Open College to enhance your experience of the site and facilitate ease of navigation through the website. We also collect statistical data via the website, which allows us to assess the number of visitors to the website and to identify what page is viewed most frequently.

You are entitled to object to our use of cookies and you can disable cookies on your website browser. However, you should be aware that certain cookies may be necessary in order to provide you with certain features such as the customised delivery of certain information.

We may use advertising networks to help present advertisements or other content on our website and other websites that display The Open College advertisements. Advertising networks use cookies, web beacons, or similar technologies on your computer or mobile or other device to serve you advertisements or content tailored to interests you have shown by building a profile of your internet browsing on this website and other websites you have visited. Some of the cookies we use are:

How to control and delete cookies

By using our Website, you agree to us placing these sorts of cookies on your device and accessing them when you visit our Website in the future.

If you want to delete any cookies that are already on your computer, the “help” section in your browser should provide instructions on how to locate the file or directory that stores cookies.

Further information about cookies can be found at https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public/online/cookies/, www.allaboutcookies.org and www.youronlinechoices.eu.

Please note that by deleting or disabling future cookies, your user experience may be affected and you might not be able to take advantage of certain functions of our Website, and the complete Open College user experience that we pride ourselves on providing our customers. In addition, disabling a cookie or category of cookie does not delete the cookie from your browser, you will need to do this yourself from within your browser.

 

How we use your information

Your information may be used by The Open College for purposes such as:

Many of the purposes we use your information for are necessary to provide our Services, others are for our legitimate interests such as research, data analysis, improving our Services and developing new courses. Where our basis for processing information is legitimate interests, the information will only be used in an anonymised and/or aggregated form so that it does not identify you. Where our basis for collecting and processing information is your consent, for example, sending you marketing communications and the placement of certain types of cookies and similar technologies, you can withdraw your consent at any time as set out in this privacy policy.

 

Who we share your data with

 

Data storage

Data is held in Ireland using different (multiple) servers. The Open College does not store personal data outside the EEA.

 

Securing your Data

The Open College takes technical measures as well as organisational security measures which are set out in law and by industry standards to ensure that we protect your personal data from unauthorised access, use or disclosure.

We will ensure that we use your personal information as set out in our privacy notice and to the choices that you have made regarding permission. The Open College only partner with reputable service providers who contract to provide the same level of security on information so that your data is at all times protected and used in accordance with our Privacy Notice.

 

Retention Policy & Retention of Learner Information

The Open College will process personal data during the duration of any contract and will continue to store only the personal data needed in accordance with our Data Retention Policy and as required by Law or Regulations.

 

Call Detail Records:

Recorded Calls:

Recorded Calls are stored for a period of up to 30 days.

Invoice Details:

Legally invoice details are required to be maintained for a period of 6 years and the current year.

Student / Customer Support:

The Open College maintains Learner files for a period of 2 years only. After 2 years all the student information is securely destroyed using Secured Shredding and Recycling companies. Learners files will not be accessible after 2 years and learners who have not completed their course at that stage will need to enrol again and pay the appropriate costs if applicable.

No Financial Information is stored either hard or soft copy in any of the cases above.

CCTV Images:

Images are kept for 28 days, unless a request is made from the Police then it can be kept for 2 years which is stored locally.

Cookies:

 

Your rights as a data subject

At any point whilst The Open College is in possession of or processing your personal data, all data subjects have the following rights:

In the event that The Open College refuses your request under rights of access, we will provide you with a reason as to why, which you have the right to legally challenge.

The Open College at your request, can confirm what information it holds about you and how this information is processed.

 

You can request the following information:

To access what personal data is held, identification will be required

The Open College will accept the following forms of ID when information on your personal data is requested: a copy of your national ID card, driving license, passport, birth certificate and a utility bill not older than three months. A minimum of one piece of photographic ID listed above and a supporting document is required. If The Open College is dissatisfied with the quality, further information may be sought before personal data can be released.

All requests should be made to the Data Protection Officer at dpo@theopencollege.com or writing to us at the address further below.

 

Link to Third Party Sites

Please note that this policy applies only to The Open College’s website and not to the websites of other companies or organisations to which we provide links. Any third-party websites are viewed at your own risk.

 

Governing Law

This Privacy Statement is governed by the laws of Ireland and you submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Irish Courts.

 

Complaints

In the event that you wish to make a complaints about how your personal data is being processed by The Open College or its partners, you have the right to complain to The Open College. If you do not get a response within 30 days, you can complain to the Data Protection Regulator.

The details for each of these contacts are:

 

The Open College
Attention of the Complaints Department
Unit 9,
Leopardstown Business Centre, Ballyogan Road
Dublin 18, Ireland.

Telephone +353 1 2061828 or email info@theopencollege.com

 

Data Protection Regulator
Canal House, Station Road
Portarlington
Co. Laois, R32 AP23

Telephone +353 761 104800 or email: info@dataprotection.ie