Office of the University Registrar - Privacy Policy

 

Personal information collected from registered students will be held and used in accordance with the Freedom of Information Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA).

To review our Student and Applicant Record Policy, please click here.

To review the University-wide policies relating to student privacy and access to student information, please click here.

• Student Security - Complete Privacy

  Students requiring complete privacy should speak with the Associate University Registrar (Student Records and Services) in Gordon Hall, Room 125.

• Student Authorization to Release Information

  Students wishing the University to release financial and/or academic information to an individual, including a parent, or to an agency external to the University may do so on SOLUS. Such authorization will be effective until the student cancels the authorization. For instructions on how to assign authorizations, please visit our information page.

• Disclosure and Use of Student Information - Internal to Queen's

  Pursuant to the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act and as stated in the Student and Applicant Policy, students should note that the following is defined as the student's public record: name, date of convocation, degree awarded, the faculty conferring the degree, and any award or honours conferred. This information is available to the public and will be published by Queen's University. If you do not wish to have your information in the public record, please contact the Office of the University Registrar. Personal information, including name, birth date, address, e-mail address, telephone number, student number, degree program, and academic plan - may be used by Health, Counselling and Disability Services (HCDS) for the purpose of identifying and contacting students who access HCDS services.   Personal information - including name, birth date, address, e-mail address, telephone number, student number, degree program, and academic plan - may be used by the Office of Advancement for the promotion of student and alumni relations programs (e.g.: student/alumni mentoring, jobs mentoring), sending invitations to student send-offs, Alumni Weekend, as well as branch events, and the mailing of the alumni magazine. If you have any questions or require additional information, please contact the Advancement Business Office at 613.533.6000, extension 75623.   Personal information - including name, birth date, address, e-mail address, telephone number, student number, photos from the photo identification database, degree program, academic plan, and course schedule - may be used by Campus Security to contact students involved in alleged breaches of the University's Code of Conduct, situations involving the health and safety of a student, or students, and in compassionate circumstances (e.g.: the death of a family member, or a fellow student).   The Office of the University Registrar (OUR) and IT Services (ITS) use personal student information--specifically name and email address--to communicate with students in relation to services and programs. IT Services also shares student name and email address with Microsoft for the purpose of providing Queen’s email services to students. Personal information - including name, address, and e-mail address - may be used by IT Services to contact students with respect to student-specific programs or services offered by Campus Computer Sales and Service.   Personal information - including name and photo as submitted to the Office of the University Registrar for use on Queen’s Photo Identification Student Card – may be provided to the Office of the Provost and Vice-Principal (Academic),  the Office of the Vice-Principal (Finance and Administration),  Residences, Athletics and Recreations, the Libraries,  Campus Security,  and Faculties/Schools to help identify students who have been issued a formal Notice of Prohibition.   Personal information - including name, student number, e-mail address, degree program, and academic plan - is disclosed to and may be used by the Alma Mater Society of Queen's University (AMS, or Society), the Arts and Science Undergraduate Society (ASUS), the Engineering Society (EngSoc), the Commerce Society (ComSoc),  and the Society of Graduate and Professional Students (SGPS) for identifying and contacting students to provide them with access to student society membership and information about affiliated or sponsored programs, services, and activities; for verification and validation of voters for society referenda and elections; for the administration of the non-academic discipline system; and for communicating with members about student society matters. AMS and SGPS administrators may also use birth date, gender, and academic concentration data of dental and health plan participants. If you have any questions or require additional information, please contact the AMS Commissioner of Internal Affairs at 613.533.6000, extension 74815, or the SGPS  Administrator.   Personal information - including name and/or email address - may be provided to external third-party survey agencies for the sole purpose of conducting surveys related to Queen's experiences (admission process, facilities, etc.) with the goal of improving the services provided by the University.  Those students who do not wish to have some or all their information released to their student society are to inform the University Registrar's Office by 15 September of the academic year.

• Disclosure and Use of Information - External to Queen's

  Health and Dental Plan Carriers
  Personal information of participating student will be provided by the University Registrar's Office to the Health and Dental Plan carriers in accordance with the Memoranda of Agreement and Understanding between the carriers and the student societies, AMS and SGPS, and between the carrier and the International Centre.
  Statistics Canada
  Statistics Canada is the national statistical agency. As such, Statistics Canada carries out hundreds of surveys each year on a wide range of matters, including education.   It is essential to be able to follow students across time and institutions to understand, for example, the factors affecting enrolment demand at post-secondary institutions. The increased emphasis on accountability for public investment means that it is also important to understand 'outcomes'. In order to conduct such studies, Statistics Canada asks all colleges and universities to provide data on students and graduates. Institutions collect and provide to Statistics Canada student identification information (student's name, student ID number, Social Insurance Number), student contact information (address and telephone number), student demographic characteristics, enrolment information, previous education, and labour force activity.   The Federal Statistics Act  provides the legal authority for Statistics Canada to obtain access to personal information held by educational institutions. The information may be used only for statistical purposes, and the confidentiality provisions of the Statistics Act  prevent the information from being released in any way that would identify a student.   Students who do not wish to have their information used can ask Statistics Canada to remove their identifying information from the national database. On request by a student Statistics Canada will delete an individual's contact information (name, address, or other personal identifiers) from the Postsecondary Student Information System (PSIS) database. To make such a request, please contact us:
  Via Telephone: Via Mail: Via e-mail: 1-800-307-3382 or 1-613-951-7608 Monday to Friday  - 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. EST/EDST Institutional Surveys Section Centre for Educational Statistics Statistics Canada Main Building, SC 2100-K Tunney's Pasture, Ottawa, Ontario   K1A 0T6 PSIS-SIEP_contact@statcan.gc.ca Further details on the use of this information can be obtained from the Statistics Canada website ( http://www.statcan.gc.ca/concepts/psis-siep/index-eng.htm)
  Federal and Provincial Governments
  The University is required to report student-level enrolment-related data to the Ministry of Training, Colleges, and Universities as a condition of its receipt of operating grant funding.  The Ministry collects this enrolment data, which includes limited personal information such as Ontario Education Numbers, student characteristics, and education outcomes, in order to administer government post-secondary funding, policies, and programs, including planning, evaluation, and monitoring activities.   Further information on the collection and use of student-level enrolment-related data can be obtained from the Ministry of Training, Colleges, and Universities website: http://www.tcu.gov.on.ca/ (English) or http://www.tcu.on.ca/fre/ (French) or by writing to the:   Director, Postsecondary Finances Branch, Postsecondary Education Division,  Ministry of Training, Colleges, and Universities 7th Floor, Mowat Block, 900 Bay Street, Toronto, ON. M7A 1L2.       Personal information is also shared with the Member of Parliament for Kingston and the Islands to mail letters of congratulation upon graduation.
  Health and Hospital Insurance
  The University accepts no responsibility for uninsured medical expenses incurred by students or their dependants.   International students registered at Queen's University and residing in Ontario must enroll themselves, and their dependents in Ontario, in mandatory basic health insurance through the University Health Insurance Plan (UHIP).   Canadian students from other provinces must inform their local Ministry of Health that they will be studying in Ontario. Canadian students from outside Canada are eligible to apply for free provincial basic health insurance (Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP)) while studying in Ontario.   You are eligible to apply for the University Health Insurance Plan (UHIP) if you have no health or hospital insurance valid in Ontario during OHIP's 3-month waiting period.   Application forms are available at the Queen's University International Centre (QUIC). For more information please contact the Queen's University International Centre

• Guidelines / Procedures for Assigning Access to Student Records

  Introduction
  This section describes the Office of University Registrar (OUR) guidelines and procedures, in accordance with the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, for assigning access to student and applicant records. These records are collected to assess students' qualification for entry, establish a record of their performance in programs and courses, provide the basis for awards and government funding and to assist the University in the academic and financial administration of its affairs.   Also, as stipulated in the OUR's Student Applicant and Record Policy: Faculty and staff members of the University are given access to information contained in student records if they need to know the information in order to perform their official duties.
  Guidelines and Procedures
  Faculty and staff holding certain positions in academic departments (e.g., Chair of Undergraduate Studies, departmental administrator) and Faculty Offices may request access to the contents of students' records contained in the PeopleSoft Student Information System, and the Student Photo Identification Card database. Notes: Through the University's Student Information System, each student has access to his/her academic record. If an individual student seeks academic advice from a faculty or staff member who does not have OUR-authorized access to student record information, the student may, at his/her discretion, elect to share their academic record with the member. Access to the Student Information System is assigned according to the required level of access as determined by a member's official duties connected with the purpose for which the data was collected (i.e. to assess students' qualification for entry, establish a record of their performance in programs and courses, provide the basis for awards and government funding and to assist the University in the academic and financial administration of its affairs). Differing levels of access are available and these levels are defined as a series of "profiles." Each profile allows access to specific information and on either a query or update basis. Students of Queen's University may be assigned access to students' records in the capacity of employees or volunteers. Supervisors assume the responsibility for ensuring confidentiality is maintained and for ensuring that students understand that violation of confidentiality constitutes a breach of the agreement to maintain confidentiality and a breach of the University's Code of Conduct. Access for a defined period of time will be provided via the completion of a request submitted into the PeopleSoft Student iTrack system. The procedure for obtaining access to the contents of students' records in the data bases referred to in 1. above, requires the faculty or staff member wishing access to complete a submission into the PeopleSoft Student iTrack system which will be approved by both an OUR staff member and a PeopleSoft Sustainment Team staff member..