Is it always illegal to share other people's contact info?

crispsandwich

Hello,

I'm a University student and I've been getting letters and telephone calls from some research company about my experience as a student. It's the National Student Survey. My University have shared my mobile telephone number with this company and I'm not very happy about it. I haven't given permission or signed anything to say they can share my mobile number. However, I did provide my number for emergency contact from the University. I have ignored the various letters and emails from this company - I don't want to partake in the survey.

Do I have grounds for a complaint here or can my University share my information as they please? The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) apparently authorise the sharing of this information (MY information!) as this particular survey is aimed at improving students' experiences. However, I'm still pretty annoyed that my number has been passed on. I don't see this as being any different from a company giving out my mobile number to third party companies.

Do I have grounds for a complaint?

Thanks for reading

fluffnutter

Have you spoken to the university about it?

If you did complain, what would you like the outcome to be?

Mankysteve

I suspect they may find A you have agreed that you'll share your details or
B some else has has railcard, student discount cards in certain pubs and shops bank account, facebook even.

Before you can complain about the uni you'd have to find out how they got your contact details.

Darksun

I would assume that since the NSS is acting under authority from a statutory body the rules regarding data protection would be different.

That said, if you just let them know you don't want to complete it, they shouldn't contact you again.

http://www.thestudentsurvey.com/documents/NSS%202010%20-%20Privacy%20Statement%20for%20Students.pdf

Rosie75

This issue came up in my department's staff-student committee a couple of years ago as students were unhappy about constant text and phone contact from the NSS people. I raised it with the Students' Union, but their education officer at the time was unbelievably rude, and couldn't see anything wrong with this. The information you have is correct, in that HEFCE can legally give out your details to the people who run the NSS (who used to be, and probably still are, Ipsos / MORI) - and, in turn, your university can legally give your personal details to HEFCE.

The university won't do anything about it, since they want people to fill out the surveys - the data from which is used to compile university league tables. Students' Unions are also motivated by getting their members to complete the surveys in the interests of improving the student experience, so you'll probably find that the best thing to do is to either complete the survey or tell the NSS people to leave you alone.

Wicked_witch

I was going to say, it may well be the student union who has shared, not the university itself. I filled them out happily myself, but then I like sharing my opinions! ;-)

epatolles

im pretty sure this form had a tick box for being contacted to share your opinions...

Rosie75

Wicked_witch wrote: »

I was going to say, it may well be the student union who has shared, not the university itself. I filled them out happily myself, but then I like sharing my opinions! ;-)

It's definitely the university who will have passed the information on. Here is some information from the University of Essex's website:

HESA and HEFCE

We will send some of the information we hold about you to the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). This information forms your HESA record, which does not include your contact details.
Your contact details may be passed to survey contractors to carry out the National Student Survey and surveys of student finances, on behalf of the education organisations listed below. These organisations and their contractors will use your details only for that purpose, and will then delete them.
About six months after you graduate, we will contact you to ask you to fill in the HESA ‘Destinations of Leavers from HE' questionnaire. We will not give your contact details to HESA. You might be included in a sample of leavers who are surveyed again a few years after they graduate. If so, we will pass your contact details to the organisation that has been contracted to carry out that survey. That organisation will use your details only for that purpose, and will then delete them.
If you do not want to take part in these surveys, please let us know.


The HESA record is used for three broad purposes:

1. Statutory functions The HESA record is used by the organisations listed below, or agents acting on their behalf, to carry out their public functions connected with education in the UK.
   

• Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
• Welsh Assembly Government
• Scottish Government
• Department for Employment and Learning, Northern Ireland
• Higher Education Funding Council for England
• Higher Education Funding Council for Wales
• Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council
• Training and Development Agency for Schools
• Research Councils
• Department for Children, Schools and Families
• Learning and Skills Council

The HESA record may also be used by the Office for National Statistics and the National Audit Office to fulfil their statutory functions of measuring population levels and monitoring public expenditure.
Equivalent and Lower Qualifications - This applies only to students enrolling at institutions in England: We and the Higher Education Funding Council for England may compare your data to educational records from previous years to help determine the levels of your current qualifications. This may in turn affect the fees you are required to pay.
Your HESA record will not otherwise be used in any way that affects you personally.

Kayteehee

I haven't filled in the survey and don't want to - we were given a talking to at university about what kind of things to write in it!!

I haven't had very good experiences at uni but that was down to personal problems so i don't really know what to write in the survey.

For some reason i haven't had any calls from them yet - maybe they have got an old number? I don't know but anyway apparently the survey is "compulsary" what does that even mean really? What is going to happen if I don't do it? Hardly going to go to prison are we?

Rosie75

It's not compulsory at all.