Privacy notice | Alumni Relations | The University of Aberdeen

Privacy notice

Information that we collect and use about you

The University collects and uses the following personal information about graduates, honorary graduates, former non-graduating exchange or study abroad students of the University, and graduates of institutions that have since merged with the University.

(Please note that we do not hold all categories of personal information for all individuals.)

Your personal details: your title, name, gender preference, date of birth, and familial relationships. We also record date of death, if applicable and if known.
Your contact details: postal addresses, email addresses, telephone numbers
Your education: the subject of your degree and your year of graduation
Your employment: job titles, employer, and work contact details
Your personal interests, University event attendance, University volunteering activity, and records of meetings and/or correspondence with colleagues at the University
Your contact preferences

We collect core personal information from the details you provided to the University at registration as a student and at graduation.

We collect information about your contact details, employment, interests and activities since graduation from you through the University’s online Alumni Hub or in response to mailings and other types of communication.

We also collect information about your employment, activities and interests from public sources and from your engagement with our partner, the University of Aberdeen Development Trust SCIO. We gather information to validate contact details of graduates using companies acting on our behalf.

last updated: 25 July 2023

Why we process this information, and our lawful basis

The University collects and uses your personal information for the following purposes:

To administer the General Council
To administer the survey of Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education in the UK
To provide benefits and services to alumni
To inform alumni about University news, opportunities, activities and events
For research purposes

The University has a legal obligation to keep a register of members of the General Council. All graduates of the University are automatically members of the General Council.

The University has a statutory obligation to collect and provide personal information to the Scottish Funding Council and its agent, the Higher Education Statistics Authority, for the survey of Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education in the UK.

The University processes other personal information about graduates on the basis of consent and this includes for electronic direct marketing purposes.

last updated: 25 July 2023

Disclosing your information

We share your personal information with the Higher Education Statistics Authority (HESA) to administer the survey of Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education in the UK. Details of the collection and use of your personal information are provided in the DLHE privacy notice.

The third party suppliers we use for IT support, distributing the alumni magazine and validating contact details also have access to a limited amount of your personal information in order to provide these services to the University.

We do not routinely share your information with any third parties without your consent. We may disclose personal information to other recipients in exceptional circumstances or when required to do so by law.

last updated: 25 July 2023

How long your information is kept

The University retains the register of members of the General Council in perpetuity.

We retain your other personal information whilst the information is relevant to our ongoing contact, or until you update your details.

You can update your personal information and manage your preferences for contact at any time via the online Alumni Hub, or by contacting the Development & Alumni Relations team at:

Development & Alumni Relations
University of Aberdeen
Powis Gate
College Bounds
Aberdeen AB24 3UG
alumni@abdn.ac.uk