Website Privacy Policy

This privacy policy relates to information you submit to us, particularly via our website, www.uwc.org. We are The United World Colleges (International) (“UWC”, “our”, “we” or “us”). UWC is a charitable company registered in England and Wales with company number 908753 and charity number 313690. Our registered office is at 55 New Oxford Street, London WC1A 1BS. At UWC we take your privacy seriously and understand our responsibility to keep your personal details confidential.

Please note that we have a separate privacy statement setting out how we use and protect your data when you use the UWC Hub which can be found here.

The way UWC processes your data is governed by the UWC International Data Protection Policy, which is reviewed regularly and can be found here.

UWC may change this privacy policy from time to time by updating this page. You should check this page regularly to ensure that you are up to date and happy with any changes. This policy is effective from June 2017. 

Ways that we collect information

We may collect and process the following personal information or data (information that can be uniquely identified with you) about you:

• Certain information required to access the services provided by us (for example our newsletter), including your name, address, or telephone number;
• Your e-mail address; 
• Information you submit to us when you make a donation;
• A record of any correspondence between you and us;
• Your replies to any surveys or questionnaires that we may use for research purposes;
• Details of accounting or financial transactions that relate to your donations (this may include information such as your credit card, debit card or bank account details but we do not store this information);
• Details of your visits to our website and the resources that you access;
• Information we may require from you when you report a problem with our website.

We only collect such information when you choose to supply it to us. You do not have to supply any personal information to us but you may not be able to take advantage of all the services we offer without doing so.

Information is also gathered without you actively providing it, through the use of various technologies and methods such as Internet Protocol (IP) addresses and cookies.

An IP address is a number assigned to your computer by your Internet Service Provider (ISP), so you can access the internet. It is generally considered to be non-personally identifiable information, because in most cases an IP address can only be traced back to your ISP or the large company or organisation that provides your internet access (such as your employer if you are at work).

We use your IP address to diagnose problems with our server, report aggregate information, and determine the fastest route for your computer to use in connecting to our website, and to administer and improve the website. 

Use and Disclosure

We may use this information to:

• ensure that the content of our website is presented in the most effective manner for you and for your computer and customise the website to your preferences;
• assist in making general improvements to our website;
• carry out and administer any obligations arising from any agreements entered into between you and us;
• allow you to participate in features of our website and other services;
• contact you and notify you about changes to our website or the services we offer (except where you have asked us not to do this);
• collect payments from you (where you are making a donation);
• analyse how users are making use of our website and for marketing and research purposes.

We do not disclose any information you provide via the website to any third parties except: 

• as provided in the “Cookies” section of this policy set out below;
• if we are under a duty to disclose or share your personal data in order to comply with any legal obligation (for example, if required to do so by a court order or for the purposes of prevention of fraud or other crime);
• in order to enforce any terms of use that apply to any of our website, or to enforce any other terms and conditions or agreements for our services that may apply;
• to protect the rights, property, or safety of UWC, our website’s users, or any other third parties. This includes exchanging information with other companies and organisations for the purposes of fraud protection and credit risk reduction. 

Other than as set out above, we shall not disclose any of your personal information unless you give us permission to do so.

Cookies 

A cookie is a piece of data stored locally on your computer and contains information about your activities on the internet. Our website uses cookies to distinguish you from other users of our website. By continuing to browse the website, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.

We may use cookies to recognise and count the number of users and to see how users move around our website when they are using it. This helps us to improve the way our website works.

We may also use cookies to record your visit to our website, the pages you have visited and the links you have followed. We will use this information to make our website and the advertising displayed on it more relevant to your interests. We may also share this information with third parties for this purpose.

Once you close your browser, our access to the cookie terminates. You have the ability to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer. To change your browser settings you should go to your advanced preferences.

If you choose not to accept the cookies, this will not affect your access to the majority of information available on our Website. However, you may not be able to make full use of our website functionalities.

Web Statistics

We use log files generated by our web servers to analyse website usage and statistics but the files do not identify any personal information. Log file analysis helps us to understand usage patterns on our website and to make improvements to our service.

Access to and correction of personal information

We will take all reasonable steps in accordance with our legal obligations to update or correct personally identifiable information in our possession that you submit via this website.

The Data Protection Act 1998 gives you the right to access information held about you. Your right of access can be exercised in accordance with the Act. Any access request may be subject to a fee of £10 to meet our costs in providing you with details of the information we hold about you. If you wish to see details of any personal information that we hold about you please contact us by way of our contact page.

We take all appropriate steps to protect your personally identifiable information as you transmit your information from your computer to our website and to protect such information for loss, misuse, and unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. We use leading technologies and encryption software to safeguard your data, and operate strict security standards to prevent any unauthorised access to it.

Other websites

This website contains links and references to other websites. Please be aware that this Privacy Policy does not apply to those websites. This includes websites owned by our affiliates such as UWC college websites and National Committee websites.

We cannot be responsible for the privacy policies and practices of websites that are not operated by us, even if you access them via the website that is operated by us. We recommend that you check the policy of each website you visit and contact its owner or operator if you have any concerns or questions.

In addition, if you came to this website via a third party website, we cannot be responsible for the privacy policies and practices of the owners or operators of that third party website and recommend that you check the policy of that third party website and contact its owner or operator if you have any concerns or questions.

Transferring your information outside of Europe

As part of the services offered to you through our website, the information you provide to us may be transferred to, and stored at, countries outside of the European Union (“EU”). By way of example, this may happen if any of our servers are from time to time located in a country outside of the EU or one of our service providers is located in a country outside of the EU. We may also share information with other equivalent national bodies, which may be located in countries worldwide. These countries may not have similar data protection laws to the UK. If we transfer your information outside of the EU in this way, we will take steps with the aim of ensuring that your privacy rights continue to be protected as outlined in this privacy policy.

If you use our website while you are outside the EU, your information may be transferred outside the EU in order to provide you with those services.

By submitting your personal information to us you agree to the transfer, storing or processing of your information outside the EU in the manner described above.

Notification of changes to our Privacy Policy

We will post details of any changes to our Privacy Policy on the website to help ensure you are always aware of the information we collect, how we use it, and in what circumstances, if any, we share it with other parties.

Contact us

If at any time you would like to contact us with your views about our privacy practices, or with any enquiry relating to your personal information, you can do so by way emailing us at dataprotectionofficer@uwcio.uwc.org.

Cookies Used

Strictly Necessary Cookies

These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms.

You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable information.

Performance Cookies

These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site.

All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site, and will not be able to monitor its performance.

Targeting Cookies

These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites.

They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.