Privacy Policy

We know that your privacy is very important to you. We make it our business for it to be as important to us. We aim to be as clear as possible about how and why we use information about you on this website. If your questions are not fully answered by the information below, please contact us. We'll be happy to help.

In order to make this information easier to read, we have organised it into a series of headings. Simply click on a subject to go straight to it or scroll through the page for full details.

Our guiding privacy principles

Compliance with the Data Protection Act 1998 underlies all of our personal information privacy practices. We also have a set of guiding principles which govern how we use the information that we collect about you on this website. These principles are:

  1. We aim to continuously improve our website for you. We use information about you to help us to do this.
  2. We give you control over the information that we hold about you, who is allowed to see it and how it is used.
  3. We will not use your information for any other reason it was provided.
  4. We take all reasonable care to safeguard your information through security policies and secure business processes.

Why we collect information about you

  1. To provide you with online services. Each service has different information requirements. Therefore the information we need, and what it is needed for, can differ. For full details please refer to the terms and conditions for each service.
  2. To enhance or improve your experience on our website. When you indicate your preferences through our registration forms or through your use of our site, we will use this information to personalise the site to better meet your needs.
  3. To provide you with information about courses and services that we believe will be of interest to you. We will only do this with your consent. You give us your consent by completing our registration form. You can change your mind and request we do not contact you again at anytime.
  4. To keep your information secure. To minimise the risk of unauthorised access to your information, we use some of your information to authenticate you when using the website and our helpdesk.

How we collect information about you

We collect information from you in two (2) ways:

  1. Directly from you. Sometimes we'll ask you for information about yourself, for example in our registration form.
  2. From what you do on our site. This can show us for example which courses you visit most and least. We will use this information to personalise the site to better meet your needs.

Who sees your information?

The information we collect through our website will be used within Goldsmith IBS only. We do not share your information with any third party.

How long is your record maintained?

  1. We will keep your information that's necessary for us to provide you with a service you have requested or purchased through this website for as long as it takes us to provide that service.
  2. We will keep your contact details for as long as we have your consent to send you marketing information.
  3. We will keep records of any transactions you enter into on this website for up to six years. This is so that we can respond to any complaints or disputes that arise in that period.
  4. We will keep other information about you if it is necessary for us to do so to comply with the law.

Maintaining the information we hold for you

We aim to give you control over the information we hold about you. You can request that we update or correct the information we hold about you at anytime by completing and signing the necessary forms at the student registry office. This service is free.

Please note: We can only delete information about you that we don't need to hold for legal reasons. (i.e. the type of information described in (3) and (4) under "How long do we keep your information?").

You can request details of all the information Goldsmith IBS holds about you, including on this website's databases, by requesting it in writing. We will send you an application form which you should complete and return. The charge for this service is £2.00 for each request.

You can contact us by sending an email to: qualityassurance@goldsmithibs.com

Here are some of the ways we protect your information:

Access to our online services is protected by something called SSL 128 bit session encryption. Encryption is the process through which sensitive information is scrambled before it is transmitted so that it remains private even if it is intercepted. 128-bit encryption is the strongest encryption currently used commercially. However, unless your Internet browser supports 128-bit encryption you will not be able to take advantage of this level of security. (See the How you can help keep your information secure.(section below).

Off-line, your information is kept securely in our databases and offices. We only allow our employees and trusted contractors access to your information, and then only if they need it for a specific authorised task. The computers on which we store your information are kept in a secure environment. We do not store payment card details from this website.

We will take all reasonable steps to protect your information, but data can never be guaranteed 100% secure. Please note that we will not be liable for any breach of security unless we have been negligent. How you can help keep your information secure. As you would expect of us, we will take all reasonable measures to ensure that the information you provide through our website is held and managed securely. However, there is a lot that you can do to help keep your information safe - not just on our website, but whenever you provide information online.

Here are some simple ways you can improve the security of your information:

Use a strong password: This will help you choose a password that will be difficult for other people to guess but easy for you to remember. Combine capital letters, numbers etc. to create a strong password.

Keep your password private and secure: Your password is a key to your personal information and online identity. Don't tell anyone your password or write it down. If you are concerned that somebody else knows your password, you can change it by requesting a new password from us. We recommend that you change your password from time to time.

Use a secure browser: Encryption is the process through which sensitive information is scrambled before it is transmitted so that it remains private even if it is intercepted. 128-bit encryption is the strongest encryption currently available, but not all browser versions support it. Two popular browsers that support 128-bit encryption are:

  1. Microsoft Internet Explorer version 5.5 and later versions, and;
  2. Mozilla Firefox 1.5 (Download Firefox)

Security upgrades for some older browser versions are available. We recommend that you contact your preferred browser provider for further information.

How we use cookies

A cookie is a small text file that is saved to the hard drive of your computer when you use a website. Our website uses both persistent and session cookies. Persistent cookies are cookies that stay on your computer permanently until you “manually” delete them. Session cookies delete themselves.

Links to other sites

This website includes links to other sites. We make every effort to provide links to high quality, reputable sites but we're not responsible for their privacy practices or, site content, or the services they offer.