Privacy Policy

October 16, 2025

The African and Caribbean Students Network (ACSN) respects your privacy. We are committed to handling your personal information responsibly, transparently and securely.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, share and protect personal information when you visit our website, contact us, register with our network, apply for our programmes or participate in our activities.

We want you to understand what happens to your information and feel confident when engaging with ACSN.

1. Who we are

The data controller responsible for the personal information covered by this policy is:

African and Caribbean Students Network (ACSN)

Legal form: Community Interest Company (CIC), registered in England and Wales.

Company registration number: 16691553

Registered office:
86–90 Paul Street
London
EC2A 4NE
United Kingdom

Website: https://acsn.org.uk

Email: contact@acsn.org.uk

In this policy, “ACSN”, “we”, “our” and “us” refer to the African and Caribbean Students Network.

2. Who this policy applies to

This policy applies to individuals whose personal information we may collect or use in connection with our website and activities, including:

Students and prospective members.
African and Caribbean student societies and their representatives.
Alumni and other members of our community.
Applicants to our programmes, opportunities and initiatives.
Event attendees, speakers, volunteers and prospective volunteers.
Mentors, partners, sponsors, donors and supporters.
People who contact us or interact with our website and communications.

Some activities may have additional privacy notices explaining how personal information is handled for a specific programme, event or application.

3. Personal information we collect

3.1 Information you provide directly

This may include:

Contact details: your name, email address, telephone number and other contact information you choose to provide.
Education and university details: your university, course, year of study, study status and relevant educational background.
Society information: your student society, role, institution, membership details and information about your society's activities.
Alumni information: your educational background, industry, professional interests and career experience.
Application information: information you provide when applying for a programme, volunteering opportunity, internship, mentoring scheme, laptop scheme, funding opportunity or other initiative.
Event information: registration details, accessibility or dietary requirements where requested, attendance and participation records.
Communications: enquiries, feedback, correspondence, survey responses and other information you send us.
Media and testimonials: photographs, video recordings, quotations or other content you provide or consent to us using.

We aim to collect only information that is relevant and necessary for the purpose for which it is requested.

3.2 Information relating to eligibility

Some programmes may have specific eligibility requirements. Where necessary, we may ask for information to assess eligibility, such as university enrolment, study status, financial circumstances or other relevant criteria.

For initiatives that require applicants to identify as being of African or Caribbean descent, we may ask for information about ethnicity or racial origin. Information revealing racial or ethnic origin is special-category personal data under UK data protection law. We will only collect and use it where necessary, with an appropriate lawful basis and an applicable special-category condition. Where explicit consent is the appropriate condition, we will request it separately and explain how the information will be used.

We will not request sensitive information simply because it might be useful. Any additional information required for a particular programme will be explained during the application process.

3.3 Information collected automatically

When you visit our website, certain technical information may be collected, depending on the website's configuration and the tools it uses. This may include:

IP address and general device information.
Browser type and operating system.
Pages visited and interactions with website features.
Dates, times and duration of visits.
Referring websites and basic diagnostic information.
Cookie preferences and similar technical identifiers.

We will only collect and use this information for appropriate purposes, such as website security, troubleshooting, understanding website performance and improving user experience, in accordance with applicable law.

3.4 Information from other sources

In some circumstances, we may receive information about you from your university or student society; a programme partner or referring organisation; an event organiser or collaborating organisation; publicly available professional or organisational sources; or service providers supporting our website or programmes.

Where we obtain personal information from another source, we will provide any additional privacy information required by law.

4. How we use your personal information

We may use your personal information for the following purposes:

Managing our network and membership

Registering students, alumni and society representatives.
Maintaining membership and participation records.
Communicating relevant information to members and societies.
Understanding the needs of our community.

Delivering programmes and opportunities

Processing applications and assessing eligibility.
Organising mentoring, leadership development and careers initiatives.
Administering relevant benefits, resources and support schemes.
Communicating application outcomes and programme updates.

Organising events

Managing registrations, attendance and event communications.
Coordinating speakers, volunteers, venues and logistics.
Accommodating relevant accessibility or dietary requirements.
Evaluating events and improving future activities.

Communicating with you

Responding to enquiries and requests.
Sending information you have requested.
Sharing relevant opportunities and updates where permitted.
Sending newsletters or promotional communications where we have an appropriate legal basis.

Working with partners

Coordinating activities delivered jointly with universities, student unions, sponsors, funders and other partners.
Reporting programme outcomes where necessary.
Demonstrating the reach and impact of our work, using aggregated or anonymised information where appropriate.

Operating and improving our website

Maintaining website functionality and security.
Identifying technical problems.
Understanding usage and improving accessibility and user experience.
Managing cookie preferences and website settings.

Meeting legal and organisational obligations

Maintaining appropriate financial and administrative records.
Responding to lawful requests from authorities.
Establishing, exercising or defending legal claims.
Preventing fraud, misuse or serious security incidents.

We will not use your personal information for a new purpose that is incompatible with the original purpose without first considering the applicable legal requirements and providing any information required by law.

5. Our lawful bases for processing

UK data protection law requires us to have a lawful basis for using personal information. The appropriate basis depends on the activity and the relationship we have with you.

Consent: where you have freely agreed to a specific use of your information, such as certain marketing communications, optional cookies or the use of identifiable photographs and testimonials.
Legitimate interests: where processing is necessary for our legitimate organisational interests, such as managing our network, improving our services or maintaining website security, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms.
Contract or steps taken at your request: where processing is necessary to provide a service or fulfil an agreement with you, or to take steps you request before entering into an agreement.
Legal obligation: where we need to process information to comply with a legal requirement.
Vital interests or public task: only where the relevant legal conditions apply.

Where we process special-category information, such as racial or ethnic origin, we must also satisfy a separate condition under data protection law.

The lawful basis and any additional condition will be assessed for each relevant activity. Where required, we will explain the applicable basis when collecting your information.

If we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time. Withdrawal does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before consent was withdrawn.

6. Email updates and marketing

We may send you communications about ACSN's activities, events, programmes and opportunities.

Where you have subscribed to a newsletter or other optional mailing list, you can unsubscribe using the link provided in our emails or by contacting contact@acsn.org.uk.

We will only send electronic marketing where permitted by applicable data protection and electronic communications laws. We will not assume that applying for a programme or attending an event automatically gives us permission to send unrelated marketing.

We may still send essential administrative messages where necessary, such as application updates, event arrangements, changes to a programme or responses to enquiries.

Unsubscribing from marketing does not necessarily stop these service-related communications.

7. When we share personal information

We do not sell your personal information.

We may share information where necessary and lawful with the following categories of recipients:

Universities and student societies: where needed to coordinate membership, activities or opportunities, or where you have been informed of and agreed to the relevant sharing.
Programme and event partners: where they help deliver an initiative, administer applications, coordinate participation or provide an agreed benefit.
Funders and sponsors: where necessary for legitimate programme administration, reporting or funding requirements, using appropriate safeguards and only the information required.
Service providers: organisations supporting our website, email communications, registration forms, event management, data storage, analytics or administrative systems.
Professional advisers: such as legal, accounting or other advisers where reasonably necessary.
Public authorities and regulators: where disclosure is required by law or is otherwise legally justified.

We aim to share only the information needed for the relevant purpose.

Where a partner independently determines how it uses information it receives, its own privacy policy may also apply. We will explain relevant data-sharing arrangements where required.

We will not routinely disclose individual application details, contact information or sensitive information to partners simply because they support ACSN.

8. International transfers

Some of our service providers or partners may store or process personal information outside the United Kingdom.

Where personal information is transferred internationally, we will assess the applicable legal requirements and put appropriate safeguards in place where necessary. These may include an applicable adequacy regulation, an approved international data transfer agreement or addendum, or another lawful transfer mechanism.

Where required, we will provide information about the relevant transfer and the safeguards available.

9. How long we keep your information

We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including applicable legal, accounting, reporting and record-keeping requirements.

Retention periods will depend on the type of information and the reason it is held. For example:

Enquiries: for the time needed to respond and manage any necessary follow-up.
Membership and society records: while the relationship remains active and for a reasonable period afterwards where needed for administration, continuity or accountability.
Programme and application records: for the duration of the application or programme and any additional period justified by reporting, funding, dispute-resolution or legal requirements.
Event records: for event administration, follow-up and any necessary reporting.
Marketing records: until you unsubscribe or withdraw consent, subject to retaining minimal information where necessary to honour your preferences.
Financial and legal records: for the applicable statutory or otherwise justified retention period.
Technical and security records: for a period proportionate to the security, diagnostic or operational purpose.

We will establish and periodically review appropriate retention periods for our different records. When personal information is no longer needed, we will securely delete it, anonymise it or otherwise dispose of it appropriately.

10. How we protect your information

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration or disclosure.

Depending on the systems and information involved, these measures may include access restrictions, appropriate account security, secure storage, staff and volunteer guidance, and procedures for managing suspected data breaches.

Access to personal information will be limited to people who need it for an authorised purpose.

No method of internet transmission or electronic storage is completely secure. Although we take reasonable precautions, we cannot guarantee absolute security.

If a personal data breach occurs, we will assess it and notify affected individuals and the relevant regulator where required by law.

11. Cookies and similar technologies

Our website may use cookies and similar technologies to support essential functionality, remember preferences, measure website performance or provide other features.

Where applicable, strictly necessary cookies may be used to provide a service you request. Non-essential cookies and similar technologies will only be used in accordance with applicable consent requirements.

You will be able to manage your cookie preferences through the website's cookie controls where these are provided. Changing your browser settings may also allow you to block or delete certain cookies, although some website features may not function as intended.

The types of cookies used, their purposes and any relevant third-party providers should be explained in our cookie notice or consent interface.

12. Your data protection rights

Depending on the circumstances and the lawful basis for processing, you may have the right to:

Access: request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
Rectification: ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
Erasure: ask us to delete your personal information where the legal conditions are met.
Restriction: ask us to limit how we use your information in certain circumstances.
Objection: object to processing based on legitimate interests or another applicable basis where the law provides this right.
Data portability: request certain information in a commonly used, machine-readable format where the legal conditions apply.
Withdraw consent: withdraw consent where we rely on it, without affecting processing already carried out lawfully.
Complain: raise a concern with us or lodge a complaint with the relevant supervisory authority.

You have an absolute right to object to the use of your personal information for direct marketing.

These rights are subject to legal conditions and exemptions, so not every request can be granted in every circumstance.

To exercise your rights, contact us at contact@acsn.org.uk. We may need to verify your identity before responding.

We will respond within the timeframe required by applicable law.

13. Children's privacy

ACSN's activities are primarily directed towards students, societies, alumni and other members of the community. Some individuals engaging with our activities may be under 18.

Where we knowingly collect personal information from children or young people, we will take appropriate steps to handle it fairly and lawfully, taking account of their age, understanding, the nature of the information and the purpose of collection.

Where required, we will obtain appropriate consent or authorisation and provide clear privacy information suitable for the individuals concerned.

If you believe a child has provided personal information in circumstances where it should not have been collected, please contact us so we can review the matter.

14. Third-party websites and platforms

Our website may link to external websites and platforms, including university websites, event registration services, social media platforms and partner organisations.

When you follow an external link, the third party may collect and process your information under its own privacy policy. We do not control the privacy practices of external websites and are not responsible for their independent handling of personal information.

We encourage you to review the privacy information of any third-party service you use.

15. Automated decision-making

We do not intend to make decisions about individuals based solely on automated processing where those decisions have legal or similarly significant effects.

Where this changes, we will provide any information required by law and implement the necessary safeguards.

16. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy to reflect changes in our activities, website, service providers or legal obligations.

The latest version will be published on our website, together with the date it was last updated.

Where a change materially affects how we use your personal information, we will provide additional notice where required by law.

17. Contact us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, want to exercise your data protection rights or wish to raise a concern about how your information is handled, please contact us.