Student data: Data Futures collection

Dear Jen Persson
I acknowledge receipt of your email received by this office on 22 July 2023.
Your request will now be dealt with under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and has been allocated reference FOI23-279 which should be quoted in all correspondence. We will respond to your request within 20 working days starting the next working day after receipt, therefore you can expect to receive a response no later than 21 August 2023.
In some circumstances a fee may be payable and, if that is the case, we will let you know. A fees notice will be issued to you, and you will be required to pay before we will proceed to deal with your request.
Yours sincerely

Swyddfa Ysgrifenydd y Brifysgol
Prifysgol Caerdydd
Ebost : [email address]

Mae'r Brifysgol yn croesawu gohebiaeth yn Gymraeg neu'n Saesneg. Ni fydd gohebu yn Gymraeg yn creu unrhwy oedi.

University Secretary’s Office
Cardiff University
Email: [email address]

The University welcomes correspondence in Welsh or English. Corresponding in Welsh will not lead to any delay.

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Dear Jen,

Further to our email of 24th July 2023 we are unfortunately not able to respond to your freedom of information request by today’s date.

We are waiting on information to fulfil your request. The industrial action across the sector together with staff shortages in the teams who manage the data has caused a significant delay in providing the data you have requested. We will endeavour to respond in full as soon as we are able to.

Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience this may cause.

Yours sincerely

Swyddfa Ysgrifenydd y Brifysgol
Prifysgol Caerdydd
Ebost : [email address]

Mae'r Brifysgol yn croesawu gohebiaeth yn Gymraeg neu'n Saesneg. Ni fydd gohebu yn Gymraeg yn creu unrhwy oedi.
University Secretary’s Office
Cardiff University
Email: [email address]

The University welcomes correspondence in Welsh or English. Corresponding in Welsh will not lead to any delay.

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Jen Persson

 

Dear Jen,

 

 

I am writing in response to your Freedom of Information request dated 22
July 2023.

 

 

For ease of reference, I have reproduced your questions below and set out
our corresponding responses.

 

Please provide the following information with regard to students and staff
enrolled or employed respectively at your organisation, and the new Data
Futures programme, led by HESA with Jisc as the technical delivery
partner.  The interim submission deadlines are 31 May 2023 and 18 August
2023 for providers in all nations.

 

 

Please provide

(a) a copy of your Data Protection Impact Assessment for this processing;

We do not hold this information.

 

 

(b) If your DPIA does not exist, please confirm the lawful basis and its
data protection condition under which you are processing the personal data
listed in the HESA coding manual 22056 including explicitly for special
category data;

Our legal basis for processing personal data is that it is “necessary for
compliance with a legal obligation to which the data controller is
subject”, UK GDPR Article 6(1)(b), and our condition for processing
special category data is that it is “necessary for reasons of substantial
public interest”, UK GDPR Article 9(2)(g). The substantial public interest
condition is “statutory and government purposes”, Data Protection Act 2018
Schedule 1 Part 2 Para 6. The university is [1]mandated to return data to
HEFCW under Section 27 of the Higher Education (Wales) Act 2015.

 

 

(c) Any copy of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) or data sharing
agreement (most recent version) about the distribution or other processing
of the data in this collection;

The University adheres to the mandated [2]Financial Management Code (and
signs up annually) to its specific [3]Terms and Conditions of Funding
2023/24). The code requires HE providers in Wales to provide the
information to HEFCW that it reasonably requires. 

 

 

 

(d) The total numbers of (1) students' and (2) staff records you have
supplied to JISC so far under the programme in the academic year 2022-23
(As of June 21, 2023) and on what date(s) the transfers to JISC were made;

(1)        We have made a singular student submission within the timescale
specified to HESA on 16/05/2023 using the HESA Online Validation Tool
(OVT), this same file was reprocessed 01/06/2023. A frequency count of
36292 students is attributed to our submission in the HESA OVT in regards
to this submission.

 

(2)-      zero

 

(e) The total number of (your) students for whom data was processed in the
(i) GENDER ID data field and (ii) SEXORT Sexual Orientation and for each
the total per yes, no, prefer not to say etc;

Under the Freedom of Information legislation our first responsibility is
to confirm whether we hold the information, and we can confirm that the
University holds information about student GENDER ID and SEXORT Sexual
Orientation. The data submitted on 01/06/23 has not yet been finalised.
However, the information that you have requested in relation to academic
year 2022/23 is due to be published by HESA in Spring 2024 and will be
available on the HESA website at: [4]http://hesa.ac.uk . It will also be
published in [5]Annual monitoring report - Public information - Cardiff
University  before March 31^st 2024. As this information is intended for
future publication it is exempt from disclosure by virtue of Section 22 of
the Freedom of Information Act 2000 subject to a public interest test. 

It is acknowledged that there is a public interest in making information
available that contributes to public debate and understanding about higher
education and this would include information around staff and student
numbers. However, HESA is the official agency for the collection, analysis
and dissemination of quantitative information about higher education in
the UK. It would not be in the public interest to undermine established
processes for the publication of such information particularly where a
commitment has been made to make this information generally available and
a date for publication has been fixed. Therefore, in the absence of any
compelling public interest to disclose this information prior to its
scheduled release date it is considered reasonable, in all the
circumstances, to withhold this information prior to HESA's publication
date. As such Section 22 of the FOI Act applies.

 

 

 

(f) Evidence of fair processing eg. the date on which and how the (1)
students and (2) staff were actively informed who will be the new data
controllers of the personal data to be collected under the new program and
its ongoing schedule;

 

(1)        Students are provided with information via the Student and
Applicant Data Protection notice: [6]Data protection notice for students
and applicants - Public information - Cardiff University .The specific
section is under ‘Sharing information with others’, listing the following:

Agents include JISC, acting as data controller for
the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), and
The Higher Education the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA). Further
Funding Council Wales information about the relationship between JISC and
(HEFCW) and its agents HESA, what HESA collect and how it will be used can
be found via the Student Collection Notice on
the [7]HESA website.

Furthermore, information on data sharing is provided in the declaration of
enrolment which students are required to read upon enrolment:
[8]Declaration of enrolment - Public information - Cardiff University

 

(2)        Cardiff University does not return information on staff and,
therefore, this is not held.

 

 

 

(g) Evidence of how the students were given a choice to opt in or out of
this programme.

 

As Cardiff University has a legal duty to provide data to HESA, and is not
relying on the legal basis of consent, this information is not held.

 

 

I trust this information satisfies your enquiry.  Should you feel
dissatisfied with this response or the way in which your request was
handled you can request an Internal Review. This should be made in writing
within 40 working days of the date of this email. Please provide your
unique reference number of your request, information on why you are
dissatisfied and any detail you would like us to consider as part of the
Internal Review process. Email your request to
[9][email address] where it will be forwarded to the Head of
Compliance and Risk who will be responsible for overseeing the review.

 

 

If you remain dissatisfied following the outcome, you have the right to
apply directly to the Information Commissioner for consideration.  The
Information Commissioner can be contacted at the following address:
Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow,
Cheshire, SK9 5AF.

 

 

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your interest in
Cardiff University. If you require further assistance, please feel free to
contact me.

 

 

Kind regards,

 

 

 

Swyddfa Ysgrifenydd y Brifysgol University Secretary’s Office

Prifysgol Caerdydd Cardiff University

Ebost : Email:
[10][email address]   [11][email address] 

   

Mae'r Brifysgol yn croesawu The University welcomes
gohebiaeth yn Gymraeg neu'n Saesneg.  correspondence in Welsh or English. 
Ni fydd gohebu yn Gymraeg yn creu Corresponding in Welsh will not lead
unrhwy oedi. to any delay.

 

 

 

 

 

References

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1. Original URL: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/about/regulation/... Click to follow link.
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4. http://hesa.ac.uk/
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9. mailto:[email address]
10. mailto:[email address]
11. mailto:[email address]