All,
The Lancaster University Data Protection Project has recently (01/11/00) sent
out the letter below to all Data Protection Officers in Higher Education
Universities and Colleges (as listed by HESA). If you have not received one of
these letters and have any comments regarding the implications of the 1998 Act
on HE Institutions and what you would like this project to investigate/provide
then please contact me direct via email (see reply form below).
Thanks
Mark
Letter sent 01/11/00
Dear Data Protection Officer
Re: HEFCE-funded Data Protection Project - Lancaster University
Lancaster University is home to a HEFCE-funded project looking at the
implications of the 1998 Data Protection Act on Higher Education Institutions.
The central objective of the project is to provide for the HE sector guidelines
on how to comply with the 1998 Act. As you may be aware there is already some
guidance available in this field, notably the recently published
JISC-commissioned Code of Practice. However, there remain a number of issues
yet to be addressed or resolved and this Project also intends to emphasise the
production of practical guidelines on how to comply with the Act. Further
details about the Project can be found at www.lancs.ac.uk/users/fdgmp/
The first phase of the Project is now underway. As part of this we are seeking
to identify: i) data protection issues within the sector which are of
particular concern and ii) requests for the specific practical guidance that
you would like the Project to provide. From your collective responses the
Project Group will compile a list of key issues, a combination of those most
frequently raised and those identified as having to be implemented prior to 24
October 2001. These will then be raised with the Office of the Data Protection
Commissioner as a priority for discussion and resolution so that advice to the
sector on these key issues can be delivered as soon as possible.
I hope you can find the time to respond to this communication so that we can
make your concerns known. Please reply either via the form below (adapted for
mailbase) or email comments direct to [log in to unmask] (writing DP
Officers Reply in the subject field).
We look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely
Dr Mark Mukerji
Data Protection Project
Student Registry
Lancaster University
LA1 4YW
[log in to unmask]
Tel: 01524 592086
Data Protection Survey
Name:
..................................................................
Institution:
..................................................................
Please provide details below if you are willing to be contacted regarding this
survey
Tel:
..................................................................
Email:
..................................................................
Would you like to be included on a DP Officers email list to receive
notification of updates as the Data Protection Project progresses?
Sample Queries / Requests:
1. Provide a model data-protection proforma for student registration, ideally
in time for production of 2001 undergraduate registration forms. Include
opt-out clauses for membership of alumni associations etc.
2. Is the university obliged to inform past students of their subject rights
with respect to personal data held in archived records? This would be a
potentially exhaustive task for student registries. Many older records include
sensitive personal data- how would this affect any guidance given?
Your Queries / Requests (please include some indication of priority if
possible):
Please return comments either direct via email (writing DP Officers Reply in
the subject field) or to the address above.
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