About this Website
Privacy Policy
This policy outlines what personal information may be gathered when you visit this website and how this information will be used, as well as some of the steps we take to safeguard information. We hope this will help you to make an informed decision about using this website.
Please note that this policy only applies to the School of Geography and the Environment website (www.geog.ox.ac.uk). You should check any affiliated or associated websites directly for their privacy policies. The School of Geography and the Environment is not responsible for, nor endorses, the content of any websites or resources which may be linked to from this website.
This policy has been developed by the School of Geography and the Environment Websites Manager in line with the University of Oxford's Privacy Policy with advice from the School of Geography and the Environment's IT/Web Committee. Any queries regarding this privacy policy should be sent to the School of Geography and the Environment Websites Manager, Chris White.
Any changes to this privacy policy will be posted on this webpage.
Last updated: Monday 28 May 2012
What information is collected?
Logged information
In common with most websites, this website automatically logs certain information about the requests made of it. This information is used for system administration, for bug tracking, and for producing usage statistics. The logged information may be kept indefinitely.
The following data is automatically logged for each request:
- The name or network address of the computer making the request. Note that under some (but not all) circumstances it may be possible to infer from this the identity of the person making the request. Note also that the data recorded may be that of a web proxy rather than that of the originating client;
- The username, when known during authenticated (logged in) access to the website;
- The date and time of connection;
- The HTTP request, which contains the identification of the resource requested;
- The status code of the request (success or failure, etc.);
- The number of data bytes sent in response;
- The contents of the HTTP Referrer header supplied by the browser; and
- The content of the HTTP User-Agent header supplied by the browser.
Logging of additional data may be enabled temporarily from time to time for specific purposes.
In addition, the servers on which the website is hosted keep records of attempts (authorised and unauthorised) to use them for purposes other than access to the website. This data typically includes the date and time of the attempt, the service to which access was attempted, the name or network address of the computer making the connection, and may include details of what was done or was attempted to be done.
Online Forms
On some parts of this website, you may be asked to provide some limited personal information via forms in order to enable the provision of certain services (e.g. prospectus ordering, requesting IT Support, requesting email addresses, registering for conferences, etc.) or to take part in surveys.
On each online form, a Collection Notice gives information about how your details will be used for that specific purpose in accordance with the Data Protection Act (1998).
Throughout the website the Information Padlock / Signpost symbol is provided to alert people to the fact that their information is being collected and to direct them to this policy statement. The Collection Notice should also provide the contact details of the individual responsible for the form, and the individual processing any collected personal data should they be different, that you may approach with any queries. The School of Geography and the Environment may store this information manually or electronically. By supplying this information you are consenting to the School of Geography and the Environment holding and using it for the purposes for which it was provided. Information provided will be kept for as long as is necessary to fulfil that purpose. Personal information collected and/or processed by the School of Geography and the Environment is held in accordance with the provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998.
If you are unsure, or unable to complete a form, please contact the School of Geography and the Environment webmaster before you proceed. Contact details for the webmaster are provided at the bottom of every webpage.
Cookies
This website does not use cookies apart from the those required to access our Intranet and by Google Analytics. To learn more about cookies and how to manage and/or refuse them, visit AboutCookies.org.
Intranet
Cookies may be used as part of user authentication (login) processes and to store information needed by our online services for the duration of your session. When you visit our Intranet, your computer may be issued with a small file (a cookie). These cookies do not contain any personally identifying information and do not store any personal or sensitive information about the client machine or the user and are deleted at the end of your session. You may refuse the use of cookies by selecting the appropriate settings on your browser, however please note that if you do this you may not be able to use the full functionality of this website.
Google Analytics
Please note that this website uses Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google, Inc. ("Google"), to help analyse how this website is used. Google Analytics uses cookies, which are text files placed on your computer. The information generated by the cookie about your use of this website (including your IP address) will be transmitted to and stored by Google on servers in the United States. We use this information for the purpose of evaluating the use of this website, compiling reports on website activity for website operators, and providing other services relating to website activity and internet usage. Google may also transfer this information to third parties where required to do so by law, or where such third parties process the information on Google's behalf. Google will not associate your IP address with any other data held by Google. By using this website, you consent to the processing of data about you by Google in the manner and for the purposes set out above. For more information please see the Google Analytics website. You may refuse the use of cookies by selecting the appropriate settings on your browser, however please note that if you do this you may not be able to use the full functionality of this website.
The following cookies may be set by Google Analytics:
| Name | Typical Content | Expires |
|---|---|---|
| utma | randomly generated number | 2 years |
| utmb | randomly generated number | 30 minutes |
| utmc | randomly generated number | when you close your browser |
| utmx | randomly generated number | 2 years |
| utmxx | randomly generated number | 2 years |
| utmz | randomly generated number and information on how the site was reached (e.g. direct or via a link, organic search or paid search) | 6 months |
How the information collected is used
Personal information provided to the School of Geography and the Environment by you will only be used for the purpose stated at the time when the information was requested. Personal information will not be passed to third parties, or provided to direct marketing companies or other such organisations without your permission.
The School of Geography and the Environment's IT and web staff have taken appropriate technical and organisational measures against unauthorised or unlawful processing of personal data and against accidental loss or destruction of, or damage to, personal data. They have also taken steps to ensure that personal data is accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date.
Relevant subsets of logged information (see Information Collected above) may be passed to computer security teams as part of investigations of computer misuse involving this website or other computing equipment in the School of Geography and the Environment or University. Data may be passed to the administrators of other computer systems to enable investigation of problems accessing this website or problems with the system configuration. Otherwise the logged information is not passed to any third party except if required by law.
Summary statistics are extracted from the logged data and some of these statistics may be made publicly available, but those that are do not include information from which individuals could be identified. Demographical and statistical information about user behaviour may also be extracted and used to analyse the popularity and effectiveness of the School of Geography and the Environment's websites. Any disclosure of this information will be in aggregate form and will not identify individual users.
Information retention
The School of Geography and the Environment recognises the importance of the information it provides online not only for its current needs but also potentially for longer-term accountability, evidential and historical purposes. As such, the School of Geography and the Environment attempts to determine the relative importance of information included on its websites in order to allocate retention periods commensurate with its perceived value. These retention periods will determine how long a webpage is retained as an active component of the main website and how long it will be retained in an unmodified form as part of the School of Geography and the Environment web archive. Archived data is not accessible through the website and archived personal information is subject to the same privacy policy as outlined above. For more information on the School of Geography and the Environment's web retention policy please contact please contact the School of Geography and the Environment webmaster. Contact details for the webmaster are provided at the bottom of every webpage.
Access to personal data
For the purpose of the Data Protection Act 1998, the 'Data Controller' for the processing of data collected, or served as content by this websites, is the University of Oxford.
The School of Geography and the Environment, as part of the University of Oxford, conforms to the University's policies on data protection and freedom of information in line with the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Freedom of Information Act 2000 respectively. More information on the University of Oxford's Data Protection Policy and the University of Oxford's Freedom of Information Policy are available from the University's website.
The initial point of contact for subject access requests is the School of Geography and the Environment's Data Protection Representative, Chris White. Any concerns regarding data protection issues not covered in the above policy statement should be emailed to the School of Geography and the Environment's Data Protection Representative in the first instance. Failing that, please e-mail the University of Oxford's Data Protection Section