Data Protection, Privacy & Cookies
This section explains how the Royal College of Art (RCA) collects and uses personal data, why we collect it, how it is used, and what processes are in place in respect of personal information.
The Royal College of Art (the College) processes the personal data of staff, students and other individuals who come into contact with the College. This information is gathered in order to enable the provision of education and other associated functions. In addition, the College may be required by law to collect, use and share certain information.
The College is registered as a Data Controller, with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). Details are available on the ICO website:
RCA registration number: Z5688595
The College has a series of Fair Processing Notices for Staff, Students and Alumni. These detail the purpose of processing personal data as well as the legal bases that they rely on.
All data kept within the College that falls within the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is recorded in the central Information Asset Register and associated Retention Schedule.
Visitors to Our Websites
The RCA’s websites collect data from website visitors for specific purposes that relate to legitimate interests concerning the College’s core activity, as a world-leading university with academic schools and centres in research, knowledge exchange, executive education and innovation.
The RCA may also use ‘cookies’ and ‘tracking pixels’ on any of its web sites. A cookie is a small text file that is sent from a web server to your browser and may be stored on your computer, designed to collect data for statistical purposes. A tracking pixel is a marker inserted into a website page that connects your data to other information you have made available on other platforms.
RCA website cookies and tracking pixels do not collect any identifiable personal information, but can automatically collect data based on visitor browser settings and context (e.g. location, device, browser, preferences) and the use of our websites. You can configure your own browser or social media platforms to control how much of your data is available through cookies and tracking pixels.
How will we use the data?
- for analytics purposes – to count the number of unique visits to a page or click patterns, and understand the context in which visitors navigate through the website, so that we can improve the content and navigation
- to provide visitors with a tailored and appropriate experience, when they return to a website
- to match profiling data from third parties, to improve our services to users
- to report statistics internally and to regulatory authorities on request
- to measure website performance
- where such storage or access is strictly necessary for the provision of a service requested by the subscriber, visitor or user.
Links to other websites
The RCA’s websites contain links to other websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of other sites. We encourage our visitors to be aware when they leave our website, and to read the privacy arrangements of other sites that collect or use personal data.