Nov 24, 2024  
2024-2025 Graduate Academic Calendar 
    
2024-2025 Graduate Academic Calendar

Student privacy



Protection of privacy

Ontario Tech University respects your privacy. Personal information that you provide to the university is collected under the authority of the University of Ontario Institute of Technology Act (2002). Personal information provided to the university and any other information placed into the student record will be collected, protected, used, disclosed and retained in compliance with Ontario’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (R.S.O. 1990, c. F.31) (“FIPPA”).

Personal information is collected by the university for the purpose of administering admission, registration, academic programs, university-related student activities (including, without limitation, athletic, academic support, recreational, residence, library and alumni programs), activities of student organizations, financial assistance and awards, academic accommodations, graduation, academic and non-academic investigations, hearings and appeals, and university advancement, as well as for statistical, research, and program improvement purposes. Such information may also be shared with other educational institutions and partners involved in the delivery and accreditation of programs offered at, with, or through the university, including but not limited to joint degrees, programs, practicums, exchanges, placements, co-op positions, and other learning opportunities. The university may also disclose personal information regarding registration, academic progress and graduation to professional bodies for the purpose of confirming eligibility for professional designations and/or licenses.

Personal information may be disclosed to external third-party service providers for purposes of, including but not limited to: academic integrity and plagiarism detection, satisfaction surveys, educational verification services, verification of international enrolment documents, or to otherwise support and enhance the programs and/or services provided by the university.

Personal Information may also be shared where you have consented, in writing, to our sharing it with a third party for a particular purpose.

Disclosure of personal information to Durham College

The University of Ontario Institute of Technology Act requires that the university and Durham College enter into agreements to share services. The university may disclose your personal information to Durham College employees who are providing services to the university. Such information will be shared only to the extent required to provide the service.

Disclosure of personal information to the Ministry

The university is required to disclose personal information such as Ontario Education Numbers, student characteristics and educational outcomes to the Minister of Colleges and Universities under s. 15 of the Ministry of Colleges and Universities Act, F.S.O. 1990, Chapter M.19, as amended. The Ministry collects this data for purposes such as planning, allocating and administering public funding to colleges, universities and other post-secondary educational and training institutions and to conduct research and analysis, including longitudinal studies, and statistical activities conducted by or on behalf of the ministry for purposes that are related to post-secondary education and training. Further information on how the Minister of Colleges and Universities uses this personal information is available on the Ministry’s website.

Further information on the collection and use of student-level, enrolment-related data can be obtained from the Ministry of Colleges and Universities website or by writing to the Director, Post-secondary Finance Branch, Post-secondary Education Division, 7th Floor, Mowat Block, 900 Bay Street, Toronto, Ontario M7A 1L2.

Disclosure of personal information to the Ontario Tech Student Union

In addition to collecting personal information for its own purposes, the university collects specific and limited personal information on behalf of the Ontario Tech Student Union (OTSU). The OTSU uses this information for the purpose of membership administration, elections, annual general meetings and its health plans. The university discloses personal information to the OTSU only for those purposes. Please direct any inquiries to the OTSU at 905.721.1609 or uoitsu@ontariotechu.ca.

Disclosure of personal information to Ontario Tech Talent

The university may share certain personal information belonging to registered students and alumni to Ontario Tech Talent, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the University of Ontario Institute of Technology. Such personal information will be limited to the name, email address, faculty and program of students and alumni and will be used for the sole purpose of sending commercial electronic messages that contain relevant information relating to programs, courses and educational services offered by Ontario Tech Talent. Electronic communications that are delivered by Ontario Tech Talent are subject to Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL). This notice constitutes express consent under CASL, and all commercial electronic messages will contain an unsubscribe link to opt-out of receiving future electronic messages or to change your contact preferences.

Questions regarding privacy of personal information

If you have any questions about the collection, use and disclosure of your personal information by the university, please contact the chief privacy officer by sending an email to accessandprivacy@ontariotechu.ca.

Notification of disclosure of personal information to Canada Revenue Agency

Canada Revenue Agency administers tax laws for the Government of Canada and for most provinces and territories. The federal Income Tax Act provides the legal authority for the university to collect personal information, including the Social Insurance Number (SIN) or Individual Tax Number (ITN), and to share personal information with the Canada Revenue Agency for the purposes of administering tax laws.

Notification of disclosure of personal information to Statistics Canada

Statistics Canada is the national statistical agency. As such, Statistics Canada carries out hundreds of surveys each year on a wide range of matters, including education.

It is essential to be able to follow students across time and institutions to understand, for example, the factors affecting enrolment demand at post-secondary institutions. The increased emphasis on accountability for public investment means that it is also important to understand outcomes. In order to conduct such studies, Statistics Canada asks all colleges and universities to provide data on students and graduates. Institutions collect and provide 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 federal Statistics Act provides the legal authority for Statistics Canada to obtain access to personal information held by educational institutions. The information may be used for statistical purposes only, 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 can ask Statistics Canada to remove their identifying information from the national database. On request by a student, Statistics Canada will delete an individual’s contact information (name, address, or other personal identifiers) from the Post-secondary Student Information System (PSIS) database. To make such a request, please contact us:

Via telephone:
Monday to Friday - 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. EST/EDST
1.800.307.3382 or 1.613.951.7608

Via mail:
Institutional Surveys Section
Centre for Education Statistics
Statistics Canada, Main Building, SC 2100-K
Tunney’s Pasture, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0T6

Via email:
PSIS-SIEP_contact@statcan.gc.ca

Further details on the use of this information can be obtained from the Statistics Canada website at statcan.gc.ca.