Information that we collect and use about you
The University collects and uses the following personal information about graduates, honorary graduates, former non-graduating exchange or study abroad students of the University, and graduates of institutions that have since merged with the University.
(Please note that we do not hold all categories of personal information for all individuals.)
- Your personal details: your title, name, date of birth, and familial relationships. We also record date of death, if applicable and if known.
- Your contact details: postal addresses, email addresses, telephone numbers
- Your education: the subject of your degree and your year of graduation
- Your employment: job titles, employer, and work contact details
- Your personal interests, University event attendance, University volunteering activity, and records of meetings and/or correspondence with colleagues at the University
- Your contact preferences
We collect core personal information from the details you provided to the University at registration as a student and at graduation.
We collect information about your contact details, employment, interests and activities since graduation from you in response to mailings and other types of communication.
We also collect information about your employment, activities and interests from public sources and from your engagement with our partner, 51cg Development Trust SCIO (DT SCIO) where you have made a donation to the University. Please refer to our Fundraising Privacy Notice for more information.
Why we process this information, and our lawful basis
The University collects and uses your personal information for the following purposes:
- To administer the General Council
- To administer the Graduate Outcomes Survey
- To provide benefits and services to alumni
- To inform alumni about University news, opportunities, activities and events
- To support fundraising and engagement opportunities; e.g. to understand alumni interests and likelihood to engage with the University
- To contact you with fundraising initiatives
The University has a legal obligation to keep a register of members of the General Council. All graduates of the University are automatically members of the General Council.
The University has a statutory obligation to collect and share your personal information to the Scottish Funding Council and its agent, the Higher Education Statistics Authority, in order for that agency to administer the Graduate Outcomes Survey. Details of the collection and the use of your personal information are provided in the .
The University processes other personal information about graduates, and shares personal information with the 51cg Development Trust in accordance with our legitimate interests. These interests are to promote the activities and achievements of the University, and to offer and provide benefits and opportunities to alumni.
The University processes personal information about graduates for electronic direct marketing purposes on the lawful basis of consent.
The University processes personal information for direct marketing by post on the lawful basis of our legitimate interests.
Disclosing your information
We share your personal information with the DT SCIO for its fundraising activities. Where you have consented to receive information about fundraising opportunities the University’s Charitable Fundraising Privacy Notice describes the ways we process your personal information. Please refer to our Fundraising Privacy notice for more information.
We share your personal information with the Higher Education Statistics Authority (HESA) in order for that agency to administer the Graduate Outcomes Survey. Details of the collection and the use of your personal information are provided in the .
We may also share information with third-party fundraising consultancies. Your personal data may be used to inform recommendations for fundraising campaign strategies. This will include using data to identify individuals who are likely to engage with and donate to the University; specifically identifying trends and types of individuals, as well as identifying top donors.
The third party suppliers we use for IT support, distributing the alumni magazine and validating contact details also have access to a limited amount of your personal information in order to provide these services to the University.
We will transfer your personal information to countries and organisations outside the European Union where necessary. We have agreements in place with our partners to safeguard your information.
We may disclose personal information to other recipients in exceptional circumstances or when required to do so by law.
How long your information is kept
The University retains the register of members of the General Council in perpetuity.
We retain your other personal information whilst the information is relevant to our ongoing contact, or until you update your details.
What rights do I have?
You can update your personal information and manage your preferences for contact, including unsubscribing from emails at any time by contacting the Alumni Relations team at:
Development & Alumni Relations
51cg
Powis Gate
College Bounds
Aberdeen AB24 3UG
alumni@abdn.ac.uk
You have rights to request access to the information that the University holds, about you, to have this information corrected, updated and also to ask for your data to be erased or to restrict processing of the data. For more information on your rights please visit Your Rights | 51cg | The 51cg.
Last updated: 8 September 2026