University of London Centre for Distance Education
Privacy policy
Data protection and privacy are important issues, particularly with regard to the World Wide Web. We take your personal privacy seriously and seek to protect that privacy in accordance with the UK Data Protection Act (1998). The following statement explains what information is collected from you when you access the Centre for Distance Education website and how this information might potentially be used.
Accessing the Centre for Distance Education website
The web site has two main areas: a public area - open to all - and a restricted area - open only to registered members of the Centre for Distance Education.
Accessing the public area
When you access the public area of the website you are not required to submit any personal information. However, during the time you are accessing pages in the public area certain anonymous data is gathered. For each visitor, our web server collects usage data, including the number of page requests per week, domain names (e.g. .com, .ac.uk, .net), referring sites (e.g. Google.com, Yahoo.com), browser summaries (e.g. the number of visitors using Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape) and operating system reports (e.g. the number of page requests made using Windows NT, Windows 98, Macintosh or Unix). Usage data is regularly analyzed and presented in statistical form. On occasion a summary of this statistical data may be disclosed to third parties, however, it is important to understand that at no time does this data make reference to personal information of any kind (as defined in the DPA) which may lead to the identification of specific individuals or organisations.
Accessing the restricted area
In order to access the restricted area of the Centre website you will have to register and provide limited personal data (name, address, email, profession, etc.) about yourself in order that your membership can be approved and processed. Any data that you provide is securely stored by the University and can be accessed only by bona fide University employees. This data is not shared with third-parties or used for purposes other than Centre for Distance Education related activity. If you wish your personal data to be removed from the repository, you can request its removal by contacting the Centre administrator at cde@london.ac.uk
Cookies
The Centre for Distance Education website does not use cookies*.
*Cookies are small data files used by a website to 'request' basic information, such as IP address and email address, from a client (user). They return the information they collect to the originating web site and then store this information.
Workgroups
In certain instances the website facilitates communication between Centre members via its workgroup facilities. To use these facilities you must provide personal data about yourself. Any data that you provide is securely stored and can be accessed only by bona fide University employees. This data is not shared with third-parties or used for purposes other than Centre-related activity.
Workgroups operate on an 'opt-in' basis. This means that you have to request that your details are added to the network and consent to their inclusion. It should be noted, however, that University staff do not generally monitor such services. Consequently, we do not accept responsibility for any information or other material transmitted by individuals using the service. Similarly, the views expressed by individuals using workgroups do not necessarily reflect the views of the University or its staff.
If you experience any problems with or have any concerns about the workgroups, please contact the Centre administrator at cde@london.ac.uk.
Third party links and information
The Centre for Distance Education website contains many links to third party websites and information. These links and information are only added if they are perceived to be of value to our users However, the University does not accept responsibility for their content or services.