The day your son or daughter leaves home to go to university is a momentous occasion. It marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter in their education and, in most cases, the start of their adult lives.
University is a formative time for many young people and you can feel confident that Imperial makes every effort to ensure each student thrives during their time with us. However, when it comes to sharing information about individual students, the College must adhere to the United Kingdom’s Data Protection legislation. As a legal adult, your son or daughter enters into a private contract with the College upon their enrolment. As such, any information they provide us with, or that we gather during their time here, is deemed confidential and cannot be disclosed to third parties, including parents or guardians, unless the student has explicitly consented to its disclosure. This includes the student’s enrolment status, academic progress, or any information gathered through our support services or halls of residence.
We understand that this may come as a surprise to some parents and that these practices may differ greatly to those in other countries. However, we hope you will understand that these policies reflect not only our legal obligations, but the respect we have for our students and our confidence in them as mature, independent adults. Please also rest assured that we collect emergency contact details for all our students, so if your son or daughter has listed you as their emergency contact, we will be in touch in the rare event of an emergency situation.
If you have any concerns about your child’s academic progress or wellbeing, do keep in touch with them directly. If you feel they need some extra support from the College, you may wish to visit our Student support web pages or our Frequently asked questions so you can help them find the right people to talk to on campus. And don’t forget to sign up to Imperial Today for daily news from the College, or join us at one of our Festivals, events or public lectures if you can – we would love to see you.