At West Thames College we are totally committed to protecting your personal information and will look after the information you entrust to us, keeping it safe and secure.

Companies that gather personal data have to, by law, notify the Information Commissioner that they are doing so. West Thames College complies with this requirement, and its Data Protection Registration No. is Z6966878.

Principles of Data Protection

Anyone processing personal data must comply with the eight enforceable principles of good practice. The Data Protection Act 1998 states that data must be:

• fairly and lawfully processed;
• processed for limited purposes;
• adequate, relevant and not excessive;
• accurate;
• not kept longer than necessary;
• processed in accordance with the data subject's rights;
• secure;
• not transferred to countries without adequate protection.

Personal data covers both facts and opinions about the individual. It also includes information regarding the intentions of the data controller towards the individual, although in some limited circumstances exemptions will apply. With processing, the definition is far wider than before. For example, it incorporates the concepts of 'obtaining', holding' and 'disclosing'. To read the full explanation of the principles go to www.ico.gov.uk/

West Thames College Privacy Policy

The sections below explain the West Thames College privacy policy:

1. Statement of Intent
2. Information on Users
3. Use of Cookies
4. Disclosing Personal Information
5. Access to your Personal Information
6. Direct Marketing
7. Users under 18 Years

1. Statement of Intent

From time to time, you may be asked to submit personal information about yourself (eg name, e-mail address etc) in order to receive or use services on our web site. By entering your details in the form fields requested, West Thames College will be able to provide you with the services you choose and provide you with the information you wish to receive. Whenever you provide such personal information, we will treat that information in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and will not in any event share or disclose your data with any other third party without first obtaining your consent. West Thames College will act in accordance with current UK legislation and aim to meet current Internet best practice.

2. Information on Users

During the course of any visit to the West Thames College web site, the pages which you see, along with something called a 'Cookie', are downloaded to your computer (see below for more information on Cookies). Most, if not all, web sites do this, and that's because Cookies allow the web site to do useful things like find out whether the computer (and probably you its user) has visited the web site before and re-use any preferences set from previous visits. Any information that is supplied by cookies can help us to provide you with a better service and assists us to analyse the profile of you our visitor.

3. Use of Cookies

A Cookie is a small text file stored on your computer. The one set by the West Thames College web site can only be read by the West Thames College web site and will not expose you to any security risks. Cookies in themselves do not identify the individual user, just the computer used, this is perfectly safe and doesn't affect the performance of your computer in any way. It does mean that if you're using the same computer we can potentially recognise you when you revisit to our web site.

4. Disclosing Personal Information

When you supply any personal information to West Thames College we have legal obligations towards you in the way we handle that data. We have to collect the information fairly, and to let you know how we will use it and whether we will pass the information on to anyone else. We will hold your personal information on our systems for as long as you use the service you have requested, and remove it in the event that the purpose has been met. We will ensure that all personal information supplied is held securely, in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998.

5. Access to your Personal Information

You have the right to access and correct your personal information and privacy preferences. This may be accomplished by writing to West Thames College at:

West Thames College, London Road, Isleworth, Middlesex TW7 4HS
Tel: 020 8326 2000
Fax: 020 8326 2001
Email: registry@west-thames.ac.uk

Please include your name, address, and/or e-mail address when you contact us. Please note that West Thames College reserve the right to charge a fee for responding to information requests.

6. Direct Marketing

As West Thames College's web site expands, there will be more opportunities to enhance what we provide to you. From time to time we may provide you with details of other West Thames College services and products which may be of interest to you and offer you the opportunity to receive information on them. West Thames College will keep a record of information provided by you. Please note that any information you provide to West Thames College will only be used within West Thames College, and will never be supplied to third parties without first obtaining your consent. The only time we may do so is if we are obliged by UK governing law to disclose information to law enforcement agencies as required.

7. Users under 18 years

Should you be under 18 years, please seek your parent/guardian's permission before you provide personal information to the West Thames College web site.

Updated: September 2009