Student Learning Services

In order for Student Learning Services (SLS) to deliver appropriate support, it is essential for SLS tutors to keep a record of their engagement with students. Typically, these brief notes will include limited personal information, such as student name and student number, as well as a summary of the key issues discussed, guidance provided by the tutor and any agreed actions. Recording and storing of these notes is necessary to ensure that SLS can deliver appropriate and relevant academic support to students, in turn enabling them to progress with their educational programmes of study.  

During the course of engagement with a tutor, sensitive information, such as medical details or a disability, may be disclosed. If SLS think it would be advantageous to the student to record this information as part of the ongoing academic support provided, this will be discussed with the student. The student will be asked to provide written consent to allow the service to record and store this specific information.

It is essential for our staff to keep brief records on their engagement with students, for the following reasons:

• Engagement notes provide a reliable history of important information relating to a student’s academic progress and support requirements - they therefore ensure the delivery of appropriate and high-quality support;
• As the student may engage with several different SLS tutors over the course of their university career, the engagement notes ensure that continuity of support is provided.

Student Learning Services staff are committed to protecting and respecting a student’s confidentiality and privacy. Our staff will not pass on personal information about students, except in the following circumstances:

• Where the member of staff has the consent of the student to disclose the information (e.g. to a GP, another university staff member or the Student Union);
• Where the member of staff believes the student is in danger/at risk of harm and it is in their vital interest to extend confidentiality.

Wherever possible, we will seek the consent of students to share information and we will encourage students to disclose information to relevant third parties where appropriate. Shared information will only be on a need to know basis and in the interests of providing robust and appropriate support to the student.  However, in cases where the risk of harm is sufficiently acute and where there is no indication that a student has or will disclose information to the third party, we may pass on the information directly to relevant staff or to external parties, such as the student’s GP.

Student Learning Services collects data on, for example, how many students access our service, which modules and study topics students have questions about and how satisfied students are with the support they receive. Student information will at times be used for statistical monitoring purposes, but no students will be identifiable from reports produced using that data. 

Actual student engagement notes are only used by SLS and a small number of other support staff for the purposes of providing ongoing academic support. The notes are not used by any other university staff.

All SLS tutors’ notes and any information provided during meetings with SLS staff will be held securely within the case management system operated by the SLS team.  This system is restricted to a small number of staff who need access to provide support and to maintain the IT system. The notes are not available to academic staff or other university services, except under exceptional circumstances.

The SLS team will retain student information and case notes for one year after a student graduates from the University of Stirling. Information will then be destroyed confidentially.

A student has the right to request a copy of the information that SLS holds about them and to request corrections or deletions of that information. In cases where consent has been provided for the recording and storage of sensitive information, the student has the right to subsequently withdraw that consent.

If a student is not content for SLS to record, use or share their information, the student is welcome to use the service but it may not be possible to provide them with the best support possible as the lack of records will prevent continuity.

Students can gain right of access to their SLS engagement notes by making a Subject Access Request. To request corrections to or deletions of that information, the student should contact us at sls@stir.ac.uk or call SLS on 01786 466188.  For more information, students can contact the University of Stirling’s Data Protection team (data.protection@stir.ac.uk).