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Data protection and data privacy for alumni groups

The information on this page is to help UCL’s official Global Alumni Groups manage the data they hold for alumni in a secure, fair and transparent manner.

Volunteer-led alumni groups play an important role in the development of a strong and engaged global community of UCL alumni and supporters. Alumni groups are a great way to bring people together, but when organising group activity, it is important to be mindful of the data privacy of group members and event attendees, to collect only the information you need, and to store any data you do capture in a safe and secure way. The information on this page is relevant to groups in all countries. 

What is personal data and data processing?

  • Personal data is any information that can directly or indirectly identify a living person.
  • Processing data covers anything from storing to deleting information.

It’s really important that the personal data you collect is minimised and is only used for specific and reasonable purposes. These principles are enshrined in law, including the 2018 Data Protection Act in the UK and the General Data Protection Regulation in EU member states. 

Personal data relating to alumni is held by the UCL Alumni Relations Team. Alumni groups do not have access to this data, but we can work with groups to advise on the best way to promote events and activities to alumni in your region. The Alumni Relations Team can use UCL’s central communications tools to contact alumni by email on behalf of alumni groups.  If you would like to discuss the best way to engage alumni in your area, please speak to your Alumni Relations Team contact.

How should alumni update their contact details?

UCL’s Alumni Relations team securely store and manage the use of all alumni contact data. For any alumni wishing to update their contact details or communication preferences, our Alumni & Supporter Care team can help. Call the team on +44 (0)20 3108 9037, email alumni@ucl.ac.uk or register for an alumni account and update your details.

Events best practice

When alumni groups hold events, they will inevitably process personal data for attendees. These best practise steps below will help minimise the amount of data you capture and ensure it is only used to help run the event. 

Event registration

Attendee lists

  • If you plan on sharing an attendee list at your event, make sure you’ve asked permission to include personal data and told attendees exactly what you plan to share. 
  • Attendees can only give permission to share their own data and not that of their guests.
  • At an event, keep paper attendee lists in a secure place where a member of the public couldn’t simply pick one up.
  • Only keep this information for a specific period of time. You must not use the attendee list for any purpose other than managing the event.
  • Make sure you destroy any paper copies of attendee data following the event, and ensure any electronic copies are deleted.

Sharing information with suppliers

  • It is always best practice to have a contract with your supplier (venue, caterer, etc.) that refers to data privacy.
  • Information that is required in order to run your event can usually be shared. Dietary requests are essential for caterers, as are full guest lists when venues have security responsibilities. However, if your venue only needs to know how many people are attending, only give them a number. If in doubt, share as little information as possible.

If you have any questions about data privacy and alumni groups, please speak to your UCL Alumni Relations Team contact.