Privacy policy

What we collect, why we collect it, who sees it, and how you stay in control of it.

Version 2026.1. This policy applies to this website, the Student Portal and the University's student records.

In short

Six things to know

  • Your data is used for your education

    We collect what we need to admit, teach, assess and certify you, and to answer you when you write to us.

  • We never sell personal data

    Not to advertisers, not to recruiters, not to anyone.

  • Verification shows very little

    A person checking a certificate sees only what confirms it. Grades, contact details and photos are not shown.

  • We do not store card numbers

    Card details are entered with the payment provider. The University keeps only the amount, the date and the status of each payment.

  • A person stays accountable

    Automated tools help with reading documents and marking tests. Any decision about you can be reviewed by a person.

  • You can see and correct your data

    You may ask for a copy, ask for a correction, or ask us to delete what we no longer need.

Section 1

What we collect, and why

We ask only for what a step needs. If a field is optional, the form says so.

InformationWhen you give itWhy we need it
Name, date of birth, nationality, email, phone, countryWhen you request information or applyTo identify you, to reply to you and to prepare your offer.
Passport or national IDWhen you applyTo confirm who you are, at admission and before each assessment.
CV, certificates, proof of work experienceWhen you apply and during experience assessmentTo map your record to the courses of your program.
PhotoWhen you enrolTo confirm that the registered student is the person taking an assessment.
Answers, practice work and study activityWhile you studyTo teach you, to give you feedback and to record your progress.
Assessment results and gradesAt every assessmentTo build your transcript and to decide graduation.
Questions typed into the site assistantWhen you use itTo answer you. Your question is sent to our AI provider to produce the answer. We do not store the conversation. Please do not type personal details.
Payment recordsWhen you payTo keep your account. We hold the amount, date and status. Card details stay with the payment provider.
Device, browser and sign-in timesWhen you use the site or the portalTo keep accounts secure and the service working.
Health informationOnly if you ask for an adjustmentOnly to arrange the adjustment you asked for. See the accessibility policy.
Section 2

How we use it

What we do

  • Review your application and prepare your written offer and study plan.
  • Provide your courses, assessments, feedback and advising.
  • Record your grades and issue your certificate and transcript.
  • Confirm a certificate to a person who holds its number and its verification code.
  • Write to you about your application, your study, your account and changes to our policies.
  • Audit our own decisions and improve our courses, using records with names removed wherever that is enough.

What we do not do

  • We do not sell or rent personal data.
  • We do not publish a graduate's name, photo, story or certificate without that graduate's written consent.
  • We do not use your documents for any purpose other than the ones listed on this page.
Section 3

Artificial intelligence and your data

We use AI tools to do careful work quickly. We do not let them have the last word.

  • Where AI is used. To read the documents you submit, to suggest how your experience maps to courses, to give coaching feedback on practice work, and to help mark assessments and prepare reports. The study assistant that gives the coaching feedback is a separate tool from the one that marks, and it takes no part in graded assessments.
  • Who is accountable. A named officer of the University audits a sample of decisions every month. Any decision about you can be appealed, and every appeal is decided by a person.
  • Who processes it. AI services are provided by companies that work on our instructions. We use only providers that agree not to train their models on your data.
  • The assistant on this site. Questions typed into "Ask Berkshire" are sent to an AI service to produce the answer. Please do not type personal or confidential details into it.
Section 4

Who sees your data

  • University staffAdmissions advisors, academic advisors, assessors and the registrar. Each sees only what their role needs.
  • Authorized representativesIn some countries an authorized representative helps applicants prepare an application. A representative sees only the applications they handle, and works under a confidentiality agreement.
  • Service providersCompanies that host the site, store records, send email, process payments and provide AI services. They act on our instructions and may not use your data for their own purposes.
  • People checking a certificateOnly what the next section lists, and only when they hold the number and the code printed on the document.
  • AuthoritiesOnly when the law requires it. We tell you when this happens, unless the law forbids us to.
  • Nobody elseWe do not share personal data with advertisers, recruiters or other schools.
Section 5

What the public verification page shows

Verification exists so that your degree can be trusted. It is built to confirm a document, not to describe a person.

Shown

  • Status of the certificate
  • Graduate's name
  • Degree and program
  • Date of award
  • Issuing university
  • Certificate number

Never shown

  • Date of birth
  • Email, phone and address
  • Passport or ID details
  • Photo
  • Grades and grade point average
  • Payment records

A transcript or a verification letter is sent to an employer or another university only when you authorize it. Each check on the verification page is recorded with its date, so that misuse can be detected.

Section 6

Where it is kept, and for how long

RecordHow long we keep itReason
Enquiries and messages of interest that do not become applications24 months, then deletedTo answer you if you write again.
Applications that do not lead to enrolment12 months after the decisionTo handle an appeal or a new application.
Study activity and practice workFor the length of your study, then 2 yearsTo support appeals and quality audits.
Academic record: name, program, courses, grades, dates and document numbersPermanentlyA university must be able to confirm a degree for the whole of a graduate's life.
Supporting documents of graduates5 years after graduationTo answer questions about how a degree was earned.
Payment records7 yearsAccounting and tax obligations.
Verification log2 yearsTo detect misuse of the verification page.

These periods are a working draft and are being reviewed by our legal adviser. Student records are kept for the time that applicable rules require.

  • Where

    Records are held with cloud service providers. Your data may be processed outside your own country, including in the United States.

  • How it is protected

    Connections to the site and the portal are encrypted. Access to student records is limited by role and recorded. Staff accounts need a second verification step. No password is ever printed on a document.

  • If something goes wrong

    If a security incident affects your personal data, we tell you without undue delay, and we tell you what we have done and what you should do.

Section 7

Your rights

  • See a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
  • Have a mistake corrected.
  • Have data deleted when we no longer need it. The academic record of a graduate is the exception, for the reason given above.
  • Withdraw a consent you gave, such as consent to publish your story.
  • Ask a person to review a decision that was reached with the help of an automated tool.

How to use them

  1. Write to usSend your request to [email protected] from the email address on your record, with the subject "Privacy".
  2. We confirm it is youWe may ask one question to confirm your identity, so that nobody else can obtain your data.
  3. We reply within 30 daysThere is no fee. If we cannot do what you ask, we tell you why.

Depending on where you live, the law may give you further rights, including the right to complain to the data protection authority of your country.

Section 8

Cookies and storage on your device

  • The site stores on your device only what it needs to work: to keep you signed in to the portal, and to remember your answers in the experience estimator and your card in the sample lesson.
  • The estimator answers and the lesson card stay on your own device. They reach the University only if you choose to send them with a request.
  • If we add visitor statistics or advertising measurement in future, this page will say so first, and the site will ask for your choice.

Age

The University's programs are for adults with work experience. We do not knowingly collect personal data from anyone under 18.

Section 9

Changes and contact

  • ChangesEach version of this policy carries a number. If a change affects how we use your data, enrolled students are told by email before it applies.
  • Who is responsibleBerkshire University is responsible for the personal data described on this page.
  • Email[email protected]
  • PostBerkshire University, 620 Jessup St, Brighton, CO 80601, USA
Related

The other University policies

Assessment, grading, academic integrity, appeals, equal opportunity, accessibility and refunds.

Read the policies →