Engineers Academy – Privacy Policy

Last updated: 15/08/2018

Privacy Policy

Engineers Academy LTD uses a number of different mechanisms to collect, process and control the data of website visitors, Contacts, Customers, Students and Stakeholders. We are committed to protecting your privacy and recognise the importance of carefully managing the personal information that we collect from you.

This Privacy Policy details the information that we collect and explains how that information is used. In addition, you will  find details on how to modify or remove any of your personal information from our records.

The categories where individuals’ data is collected and used by the Engineers Academy are as follows:

  1. Website visitors
  2. Contacts
  3. Course applicants
  4. Customers
  5. Students
  6. Assessors
  7. Stakeholders

1. Website Visitors – Cookies

The Engineers Academy front-end website uses the WordPress platform, as well as the WooCommerce extension to enable the sale of online subscription courses.

WordPress uses Cookies to verify logged in users, when submitting comments and reviews for posts and products. This aspect of Cookie use will only affect you if you have purchased products (setting up a Customer account) and have logged in to your account with the intention of leaving a comment or submitting a review.

WooCommerce uses Cookies to manage products that have been added to the shopping cart, as well as to respond to cart data changes. There is also a Cookie which contains a unique code for each potential customer so that WooCommmerce knows where to find the cart data in the database for that potential customer. No personal information is stored within these Cookies and they are only stored on the user’s computer. The Engineers Academy database does not control your personal data in this regard, only the product data for items that have been added to your cart.

The use of Cookies ensures the seamless operation of the WordPress and WooCommerce platforms for site visitors and is required to provide you, the Website Visitor, with uninterrupted navigation of our website.

2. Contacts – Email Opt-ins

Individuals who are interested in learning more about the Engineers Academy and those who wish to gain access to sample lessons (“Contact(s)”), are required to opt-in to an email mailing list maintained by GetResponse.co.uk to receive further information.

Engineers Academy requires Contacts to provide their name and email address, so that we are able to send additional information via email. The Contact is required to click a confirmation link in the initial email to confirm that they wish to receive further information. If you choose to opt-in, but later decide not to confirm your request for information, then no further information will  be sent to you.

The details given on the website’s Webform clearly states that ‘opted-in’ Contacts, will receive company information and sample lesson access via a confirmed email address. The name and email address supplied by the Contact will be used to provide the information requested and will never be shared with any other companies.

The types of information sent to Contacts by the Engineers Academy will include (but is not limited to) the following:

  • Sample lesson password and access instructions
  • Company founder and background information
  • Course offers and course development rationale
  • Information relevant to the development of new courses
  • Other relevant development updates

Contacts have the option to unsubscribe, or change their personal details using a link at the end of each email that is sent to them.

GetResponse.co.uk has implemented their own GDPR Compliance Plan to ensure that new Data Protection legislation is fully adhered to. The following excerpt is from the company’s GDPR documentation:

“We’ve always taken your data security seriously. And we observe all European laws, especially those that safeguard personal data …

Beyond that, we carefully weigh up recommendations made by data protection bodies, as well as the Article 29 Working Party on the protection of individuals. ”

The full PDF GDPR Compliance document from GetResponse.co.uk is available upon request.

3. Course Applicants – Web Form

Higher-level Course Applicants are required to submit an online application form. The information from the Applicant is stored in a database that is also maintained by GetResponse.co.uk. A copy of the application is emailed to an Engineers Academy email address for processing.

The ‘qualifications and experience’ information is required to determine an Applicant’s suitability for the higher-level programme that they have chosen to apply for. Contact details are required so that the Applicant can be contacted for further information, if necessary.

This information will not be shared with any other companies. If the Applicant is accepted onto the programme and enrols onto the course with one of our partner colleges, then they will be required to complete a separate learning agreement with the partner college. The college will be responsible for collecting, processing and controlling the data required for enrolment. This data is not required by the Engineers Academy.

Below the application form, Applicants are informed as to how their information is used and are given instructions on how to change their details or remove their information entirely from our database.

4. Customers – Account Information

Note:  For the purpose of this document, a Customer is defined as the individual or company paying for a course (“Customer(s)”). A Student is defined as the individual participating in the course (“Student(s)”).

For subscription courses, the Customer is usually the Student, but for higher level programmes, the Customer is often an employer, paying the course fees for an employee, the Student.

There are two types of Customers. Those who pay for subscription courses and those who pay for full higher-level programmes.

When a Customer chooses to register for (and / or purchase) subscription courses, they are required to provide their name and a billing address for invoicing purposes. They are also required to provide an email address and phone number in case there are any problems when processing their order. In addition, they are required to choose a username and password for the Student to access the course materials. All of these details are stored in a secure MySQL database, with hosting provided by the 1and1 webhost. The 1and1 data centres are based in the UK.

Students enrolling on to full higher-level programmes will have previously had access to subscription courses (using a unique username and password), as relevant subscription courses must be completed to meet the entry requirements for all higher-level programmes. When the partner college confirms the identify of Students who have enrolled and completed a learning agreement for their chosen higher-level programme, the relevant units / courses will be enabled for that existing Student on the Study Platform. No personal information is required by the Engineers Academy that has not previously been chosen and used by the Student for subscription courses (i.e. username).

Any Customer can update their address, contact details and Student user details at any time using the ‘Customer Account’ tab on the website.

No card payment information is collected or required for payment of subscription courses, as all subscription payments are processed via PayPal (secure payment portal), using an email address only. No payment information is collected by Engineers Academy for higher-level programmes, as partner colleges invoice and collect payments from the Customer for all higher-level programmes. This information is not required, or requested by the Engineers Academy, for any purpose.

An individual’s ‘Right to Erasure’ has been accommodated for any Customer / Student, with the inclusion of the ‘Delete Account (Full Removal)’ option on the ‘Customer Account’ page. All information attached to that Customer / Student will be removed from the database, once they have confirmed their removal request. This will include all course progress data stored in the database of the Study Platform.

5. Students – Email Reports

Email reports are an important mechanism for enabling Students to track their progress. Each week, Students receive a progress report outlining their weekly and overall progress in a given course or unit. This information is sent to the email address attached to the Customer / Student account. Details of the reporting mechanism are explained in the site’s Terms and Conditions, which must be accepted in order to purchase courses.

Email reports are considered to be a fundamental aspect of progress tracking for Students, but each email that is sent contains instructions for removal from the email reporting schedule, if a Student would prefer to no longer receive weekly progress emails.

6. Assessors – Progress Data and Email Reports

Assessors on given higher-level courses / units will be assigned to groups of Students for assessment purposes. They will have a non-editing role, with limited access to Student data. The Assessor will be able to view attempts at practice questions and submitted assessments for all Students in their groups, but only for Students in their groups. The only personal information that they will be able to view is the Student’s username and email address, which are essential for the Assessor to carry out their duties.

In addition, Assessors will receive a weekly report summarising weekly and overall progress in the course / unit, for all Students in their groups.

Access to progress data, along with weekly progress reports, are essential for assessors to carry out their role. All Assessors will be required to complete and sign a data protection declaration prior to commencing a role as an Assessor.

7. Stakeholders – Email Reports

It will often be the case that Students are sponsored by their employer, the Customer, for higher-level programmes. Where this is the case, employers may request a weekly summary of Student progress. Students will be asked to consent to their progress data being shared with their employer, in the form of a weekly progress report. In addition to progress data, these reports will only contain the Student’s name and no other personal information. Without the Student’s consent, the reports will not be sent to the employer.

Every email that is sent to Stakeholders will include instructions on how they can be removed from the reporting schedule.

Data Protection and Security

All pages on the Engineers Academy website are protected by a Secure Socket Layer (SSL) certificate. As a result, all information entered into forms and fields via a web-browser is encrypted for transfer to the web server. Therefore, information entered by site visitors, Contacts, Applicants, Customers and Students remains secure and private.

Students are only able to access course materials for courses and programmes on which they are enrolled. These can only be accessed using authentic login credentials (username and password). If you are a Customer / Student, then it is your responsibility to ensure that your login credentials remain private and are not shared with any other person or persons. Sharing login credentials would violate our Terms and Conditions of use, as well as risking the security of personal data.