Residence Life
Residence Life Logo coloured beams depicting the wellness wheel

Privacy Notice

How we use any personal information we collect on you as a student resident in our managed accommodation.

Residence Life is an operating division of Accommodation, Catering and Events (ACE), which is part of the core services provided by The University of Edinburgh to its students. 

This Privacy Notice explains how we use any personal information we collect on you as a student resident in our managed accommodation. The Residence Life team adhere to the Privacy Policies of both the University of Edinburgh and Accommodation, Catering and Events.  

These can be found at the following locations using the links below:

Residence Life manages the following on behalf of ACE:

The University’s complaints handling procedure on behalf of ACE. Therefore, we hold information in relation to complaints made / action taken and report on this to the Complaints Handling Team of the University.

Complaints Handling Procedure

The University’s Code of Student Conduct on behalf of ACE. Therefore, we hold records relating to conduct investigations in relation to a breach of the Code, the outcome of the investigations and we report on this to the Student Conduct Team of the University. 

Code of Student Conduct                           

Personal  Information 

The data and information you have provided as part of your accommodation application and contract acceptance is used as the source of basic information about you. It is used by The Residence Life team to help respond to welfare concerns and assist residents to access appropriate support where necessary. We will record details of the incident / concern and action taken, this includes, but is not restricted to, the following:

  • Name
  • Matriculation Number
  • Address
  • Contact information
  • Medical information if appropriate
  • Emergency services involvement                       

All records are held securely on a password protected University of Edinburgh network drive. Access to this information is controlled and limited to Residence Life full time personnel only.

Residence Life use a dedicated incident tracking system with access restricted to the Wardens in residences and Residence Life full time personnel only.

The incident reports provide a detailed account of any interactions, usually out of hours, to which our staff have responded. Within the Residence Life team, this will usually relate to welfare concerns. The reports allows us to review steps taken to ensure the appropriate follow up action, if needed, is taken.

The incident tracker system is hosted by McKula Inc: http://incident-tracker.com/

The Residence Life team interact with other University services, including academic Departments, to link students with support when needed. We keep computer based records of any issues you raise with us so that we can ensure that the appropriate action has been taken – legitimate interest

We may share your data with the following:

  • University Support Services – Legitimate Interest
  • Personal Tutors – Legitimate Interest
  • Student Support Officers – Legitimate Interest
  • Emergency Services where there are concerns for your welfare and/or safety – Vital Interest

Residence Life also offer the opportunity for students to apply to be Resident Assistants (RAs) in our accommodation. This application and any data provided will be stored and processed in the eRez software which is hosted by https://www.erezlife.com/  This information allows us to assess if you are a suitable candidate for the role, assist with the administrative process of recruitment and create and maintain your staff file should you be successful.

How long do we keep your personal data? 

Residence Life retain the data we hold in relation to you in line with The University of Edinburgh guidelines

  • Incident tracker – 1 year after the incident date
  • Code of Student Conduct – 1 year after leaving University or 4 years since last contact, whichever is the sooner
  • Complaints – 5 years after the date of the resolution of the complaint
  • Records of pastoral care - 1 year after leaving University or 4 years since last contact, whichever is the sooner
  • Skyfactor survey statistical data -  5 years,  personal data is anonymised after 6 months 
  • Online Surveys - 5 years,  personal data is anonymised after 6 months
  • eRez for Res Life recruitment – 0.5 years for unsuccessful candidates, 6 years for successful candidates

We do not use profiling or automated in our decision-making processes.

If you have any questions, please e-mail reslife@ed.ac.uk or contact the Residence Life Administrator on 0131 651 2004. 

Subject access requests - Records Management 

You have the right to access all notes kept about you, under the Data Protection Act 2018 and General Data Protection Regulations. 

If you wish to see any notes specific to you please email reslife@ed.ac.uk. We aim to respond to your request within 7 calendar days.