Introduction
So far as is possible, the University of Strathclyde wishes to provide its staff and students, and other members of the public, with any information they need that is held by the University. The University is committed to promoting public understanding of its nature and activities via the systematic publication of all relevant information, and will make every effort to provide, where practical and permissible, additional information to members of the public in cases where routinely published information does not provide them with the information they require.
Under the terms of the Data Protection Act 1998, the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 and the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004, individuals have rights in regard to obtaining information held by the University. An example of an appropriate information request form is given below. Before completing a request form, please read the notes below to determine the nature of your request. Requests can be made by email to foi@strath.ac.uk
Request for information relating to yourself
Under the terms of the Data Protection Act 1998 you have the right to ask the University for any information held about you as an individual. If you wish to make an enquiry about data that relates to yourself, then please first consult the University's Data Protection pages
Please note that there will usually be a charge of £10 for this service and that the University will normally have 40 calendar days to respond to your request.
Request for other information held by the University
Under the terms of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 you have the right to ask the University to provide you with any information held by the University. For example, you may wish to see the syllabus of a particular course, or obtain standard information about student numbers.
The University already makes public large quantities of the information that it holds, and a description of all that we publish is available in our Publication Scheme or from the University Freedom of Information Office. Before submitting any request you are advised to check the University's Publication Scheme to determine whether the information you require is already available.
If you wish to make an enquiry about information held by the University and which does not seem to be already available, then please complete the form titled "Freedom of Information Request Form" and return it to the appropriate address :
- if you know which department holds the information you are seeking, send the request directly to the relevant department at the University of Strathclyde.
- alternatively, send the request to the Freedom of Information Office
When we receive your request, we will then instigate a search for the information you need. Please note :
- please be careful to specify clearly all the information you require; we will make all reasonable efforts to locate this information, although we may need to ask you to provide more detail if your original application does not allow us to identify exactly what you want. If you require advice on how to specify the information you want, please contact the University Freedom of Information Office;
- where the information you request is already routinely published by the University (or some other public body) then we will provide you with guidance on how to find this information, rather than the information itself;
- the University will usually have 20 working days to respond to your request;
- we may need to charge a fee to cover the costs of our search and any copying: if this applies, we will contact you to inform you of the amount. Until the fee payment is received, the information you require will not be released to you;
- the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 provides some exemptions to your access to information. Should such exemption(s) apply, we will provide what information we can and also provide reasons why other information has not been released to you;
- if you wish to obtain personal information relating to yourself then we may need to ask for a more detailed request from you (please see http://www.strath.ac.uk/dataprotection/)
- if you require information in a particular way, (for example, a photocopy or on computer disk) then this should be stated in the request;
- we will not provide statistical information analysed to any greater level of detail than is normally provided with the University's standard published information;
- if it transpires that the University does not hold the information you have requested, then we will write to you to inform you of this. Where possible, we will suggest alternative ways in which you may be able to access the information you require;
- if some or all of the information you request is held by another Public Authority then we will provide what information we can and then consider transferring the request to the relevant Authority. Should we need to transfer your request, you will be informed as soon as possible.
Making a request for information
Once you have decided the type of enquiry you are making, please complete the appropriate request form and return it to the Freedom of Information Office. Please provide full contact details so that we may contact you quickly should we need to clarify the nature of your enquiry. Requests can be made by email to: foi@strath.ac.uk.