Privacy

BCIT collects information about students (“personal information”) under the authority of the College and Institute Act, RSBC, 1996, c. 52 and section 26 of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, RSBC, 1996, c. 165.

The personal information that you provide through your application will be placed in your BCIT student record. This information will be used and disclosed only for purposes directly related to and needed by BCIT to assess your eligibility for admission, enrolment, decisions on your academic status, graduation, record keeping, statistical research or program evaluation, and other purposes consistent with BCIT’s mandate and the administration and operation of its programs and services pursuant to the College and Institute Act and you being a member of the BCIT community and attending a public post-secondary institution in the Province of British Columbia, including the programs of the BCIT Student Association, the BCIT Alumni Association and the BCIT Foundation, and as required by provincial and federal government authorities or authorized by law.

We use your personal information to:

• Evaluate your application for admission to BCIT and retain you as a student. This includes recruitment, admission, enrolment, graduation, and recording your academic achievements. Additionally, BCIT may share this information with other post-secondary educational institutions in order to administer collaborative programs.
• Collect personal information from other relevant sources, including, but not limited to: secondary schools, colleges, universities, and other educational institutions that you have previously attended, including third party services and test score providers, where the information collected forms a part of the application or admissions process to a BCIT program.
• Contact you to administer and provide you with information about BCIT courses and programs, including upcoming information and recruitment events.
• Create a digital photo of you for purposes of validating you as a member of the BCIT community to gain access to the BCIT campus and student services.
• Verify your Personal Education Number (PEN) or assign a PEN to you as required by the province of British Columbia.
• Provide ongoing services to understand your post-secondary educational needs, including, but not limited to: issuance of transit and parking passes; provision of computing and email accounts; the administration and operation of academic, library, recreational, residence, alumni, and other BCIT programs; and management of BCIT information and communication systems.
• Send you newsletters and other materials to inform you about BCIT news and updates, including, but not limited to: campus activities, promotions, volunteer and other opportunities to engage with BCIT, BCIT services relevant to your enrolment, student achievements, and other information related to the BCIT community and student life. If you wish to remove your name from the BCIT student newsletter mailing list, please contact: Manager, Communications, British Columbia Institute of Technology, 3700 Willingdon Ave, Burnaby, BC V5G 3H2; Tel: 604-432-8306; Email: jleszczynski2@bcit.ca.
• Grant awards to individuals and honour award recipients at BCIT ceremonies, and publicize award winners’ names, photo images, resident municipality, and BCIT program name or criteria in marketing materials for the purpose of publicizing any award granted or received by BCIT students, graduates, and their achievements.
• Determine your eligibility for a credential (certificate, diploma, or degree), and once you are eligible, to issue your credentials. The names of BCIT alumni, their faculty and program, awarded credentials, and the date of graduation is considered public information and may be published by BCIT and listed in the convocation program.
• As applicable, for apprenticeship training, to communicate with your employer and SkilledTradesBC about your training dates, grades, attendance, and related academic information for purposes of scheduling intakes and administering the apprenticeship training programs.
• Maintain accreditation from regulatory bodies who may review your academic documents as required for program accreditation or regulatory compliance.
• Conduct approved research. Researchers working on approved studies have access to personal information, provided that consent and privacy issues have been addressed.
• Provide information on admission, registration, and academic achievement for statistical and research purposes by BCIT, other post-secondary educational institutions, and the provincial government. In such cases, individual identities will not be disclosed.
• Report information to Statistics Canada under the authority of the Statistics Act.
• Contact you to administer and provide you with information about BCIT, BCIT Alumni Association, and BCIT Foundation programs, services, special events, funding needs, and volunteer and donor opportunities. If you wish to remove your name from the BCIT Alumni Association or the BCIT Foundation contact list, please contact the Director, Advancement Services, British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT), 3700 Willingdon Ave, Burnaby, BC V5G 3H2; Tel: 604-431-4922; Email: david_read@bcit.ca.
• Fulfill any other purpose that is authorized or required by law (i.e. law enforcement agencies).

As permitted under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, personal information about an individual may be reasonably used or disclosed without the consent of that individual in relation to:

• Emergency situations where there are compelling circumstances affecting public health and safety to implement emergency alert and community notification services and other emergency management measures or where BCIT is compelled to avert imminent danger to someone’s health or safety or to protect an individual’s health or safety.
• Investigation of a possible violation of law or Institute policy.

BCIT will not disclose your personal information to a third party without your consent unless permitted by law.

Disclosure of Personal Information to Statistics Canada

To comply with the federal Statistics Act, BCIT collects and provides 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 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 may contact Statistics Canada to remove their identification and contact information from the national database. Further information on the use of this information can be obtained from Statistics Canada’s website.

Disclosure of Personal Information to the Ministry of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills

In May and October of each year, BCIT provides student demographic information, previous education, and student enrolment information to the Ministry of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills Post-Secondary Central Data Warehouse. Individual students cannot be identified. Student names are not included, and all other student level data is encrypted.

On an annual basis, the Ministry, on behalf of BCIT and other contributing B.C. post-secondary institutions, provides this data to the federal government’s Post-Secondary Student Information System (PSIS), a national survey used by Stats Canada to provide detailed information on enrolment and graduates of Canadian public post-secondary institutions to support policy development and planning in the field of post-secondary education.

Disclosure of Personal Information to the BC Student Outcomes Project

Each year, the BC Student Outcomes Project gathers student outcomes information from graduates of BCIT and other BC publicly funded universities, colleges, and post-secondary institutions. In collaboration with the Ministry of Advanced Education, each BC post-secondary institution provides student identification information (students’ names and ID numbers), student contact information (address and telephone number), student demographic characteristics, and academic program information to BC Stats who manage data collection for the BC Student Outcomes project.

This information is used by BC Student Outcomes to contact BC post-secondary institution graduates and conduct voluntary telephone and online surveys within two years after students graduate or complete a diploma, associate degree, certificate, or apprenticeship training program. Degree graduates may be surveyed again five years following graduation. Currently, BC Student Outcomes conducts annual surveys in four areas: Baccalaureate Graduate Outcomes, Diploma, Associate Degree, and Certificate Student Outcomes, Apprenticeship Student Outcomes, and Trades Foundation and Trades-Related Vocational Student Outcomes.

Survey participants are asked to report their level of program satisfaction, degree of skill development, education financing and debt load, participation in further education, and employment outcomes. The information gathered by the survey is summarized in aggregate form without identifying individual students. The data is used to meet the demand for post-secondary institutions accountability at the system level in BC; to gather timely and relevant data for use in program evaluation and planning processes; and to ensure that new, continuing, and prospective students are provided with information they can use to help them make informed career decisions.

Disclosure of Personal Information to Academica Group

On occasion, for institutional research purposes, BCIT employs the services of Academica Group Inc., (“Academica”) a market research and consulting company specializing in syndicated research for post-secondary educational institutions including the University/College Applicant Study™ (UCAS) and the Accepted Declined Study™ (ADS).

In order to conduct this research, BCIT shares limited student or applicant personal information such as email address and first name with Academica, and students and prospective students may be contacted by Academica to participate in research surveys. Survey participation is voluntary and information collected from respondents is kept strictly confidential and used solely for the purpose of BCIT institutional research.  For Academica’s privacy practices, see the Academica Group Privacy Policy. For questions about BCIT research initiatives administered by the Academica Group, or if you do not wish to receive communications and research survey materials from Academica, please contact Institutional Research and Planning, BCIT, 3700 Willingdon Ave., Burnaby, BC at email: ir@bcit.ca.

Disclosure of Personal Information to EducationPlanner BC

In collaboration with the Ministry of Advanced Education and the BC Council on Admissions and Transfers (BCCAT), BCIT and all other BC government-supported universities, colleges, and post-secondary institutions provide student application information, including applicant name, date of birth, gender, PEN number, aboriginal identity, city, province/state, country, program code, name/title, session, and start date of program applied to, to EducationPlanner BC, the provincial education planning and application service.

Personal information provided to EducationPlanner BC is used to consolidate BC public post-secondary resources for the purpose of administration and delivery of the services of EducationPlanner, including support services and other learning resources that enable students to plan, search, and apply directly to the BC public post-secondary institution(s) of their choice through a common online application platform. EducationPlanner BC may also use your application information to generate Summarized Data (data that has been manipulated or combined to provide generalized or aggregated information) for internal EducationPlanner BC use and for sharing with BC post-secondary institutions and government bodies. Your identity and personal information will be kept anonymous in Summarized Data.

For questions about the collection, use, and disclosure of your personal information by EducationPlanner BC, please contact the Director, Information and Technology, BC Council on Admissions & Transfers (BCCAT), 709 – 555 Seymour Street, Vancouver, BC V6B 3H6; Tel: 604-412-7700; Email: info@bccat.ca.

Disclosure of Personal Information to the BCIT Student Association

In addition to collecting personal information for BCIT’s own purposes, the Institute also collects personal information on behalf of the BCIT Student Association (BCITSA). BCIT discloses personal information to the BCITSA only for these purposes.

Further information on the collection, use, and disclosure of this information can be obtained by contacting the Marketing and Communications Manager, BCIT Student Association, 3700 Willingdon Ave, Burnaby, BC V5G 3H2; Tel: 604-432-8600; email: jforan@bcitsa.ca.

Disclosure of Personal Information to the BCIT Alumni Association

BCIT discloses alumni information in compliance with Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act to the BCIT Alumni Association for the purposes of administering alumni relations and fund development program for BCIT and the BCIT Alumni Association. BCIT discloses personal information to the BCIT Alumni Association only for these purposes. This information is needed to register you as a member of convocation and the BCIT Alumni Association and may be used to inform you about the benefits of BCIT and BCIT Alumni Association career, educational, volunteer, networking, award, and social programs; provide you with information about alumni benefits and services; facilitate alumni participation in research projects, surveys, and fundraising and development activities; and administer elections for Institute and Alumni Association governing bodies. BCIT may also disclose your contact information, under strict confidentiality agreements, to third party service providers solely for the provision of mailing or telephone services on behalf of BCIT or the BCIT Alumni Association.

For more information about the collection, use, and disclosure of your personal information by the BCIT Alumni Association, contact the Director, Finance & Advancement Services, BCIT Alumni Association, 3700 Willingdon Ave, Burnaby, BC V5G 3H2; Tel: 604-431-4922; Email: david_read@bcit.ca.

Disclosure of Personal Information to the BCIT Foundation

BCIT may disclose your personal information in compliance with the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act to the BCIT Foundation for the purpose of administering the delivery of the BCIT Foundation’s programs and services and keeping Foundation donors informed and up-to-date on the activities of BCIT and the BCIT Foundation, including Foundation programs, services, special events, funding needs, and volunteer and donor opportunities. BCIT discloses personal information to the BCIT Foundation only for these purposes.

For more information about the collection, use, and disclosure of personal information by the BCIT Foundation, contact the Director, Finance & Advancement Services, BCIT Foundation, 3700 Willingdon Ave, Burnaby, BC V5G 3H2; Tel: 604-431-4922; Email: david_read@bcit.ca.

Disclosure of Personal Information for Apprentices

SkilledTradesBC

For the purposes of scheduling intakes and administering apprentice programs, BCIT shares information with SkilledTradesBC, including training dates, grades, attendance, and related academic information.

Employers

For the purposes of scheduling intakes and administering apprentice programs, BCIT may share training dates, grades, attendance, and related academic information with your active employer sponsor.

Work BC

For the purposes of determining eligibility for the Employment Program of British Columbia (EPBC) Apprentice Program Financial Supports and for Employment Insurance (EI) through Service Canada, BCIT sends apprentice registration information to Work BC.