With consent

Guidance for staff disclosing student information in response to non routine enquiries with consent

You should ask a student for consent to share information about them, where:

  • you would not share the information without consent if the student refuses
  • you believe that it may be in the student's best interest, or the student may wish the University to share the information in the circumstances

Alternative:  forward a message to the student

Consider whether it is simpler to pass on a message to the student, so the student can decide for themselves whether to share information direct with the enquirer.

Passing a message

If the student has asked you to share personal information about them with a third party, this would also be sharing information with consent. You must still make sure the criteria below are met.

Criteria

You must ensure that consent is freely given, specific and informed. This means you must:

  • be clear exactly what information will be shared. 

  • provide the student with enough information to help them to make an informed decision.

  • be clear to the student that sharing of information is optional.

  • not pressurise a student one way or the other

Record keeping

You must

  • keep a record of the consent gained. 

How you do this depends on the risk involved. If the information shared is sensitive, for example information about the student's health or mental wellbeing you should usually ensure you have the information in a recorded format where you have verified is from the student.

Further guidance

More detailed guidance on consent.

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