Data privacy notice - Graduate early-stage career monitoring surveys

Name of the register

The Register for Career Monitoring Surveys at Finland’s universities for graduates with a master’s degree or those who have completed a bachelor’s degree leading to a professional qualification and for graduates with a doctoral degree.

Data controller

University of Helsinki; University of Eastern Finland; University of Jyväskylä; University of Lapland; University of Oulu; University of Turku; University of Vaasa, Åbo Akademi; Lappeenranta University of Technology; Svenska Handelshögskolan; Hanken School of Economics; University of the Arts Helsinki; Aalto University Foundation operating as Aalto University; Tampere University Foundation operating as Tampere University (each university is a controller in terms of the personal data in its own sub-register).

University of Oulu
Pentti Kaiterankatu 1
P. O. Box 8000, 90014 OULU

Contact information of the responsible unit:
The unit responsible for students’ personal information in the University of Oulu is Academic Affairs.
Academic Affairs, Director Vesa-Matti Sarenius, email: study(at)oulu.fi

Contact persons for issues related to the register: career(at)oulu.fi

University Data Protection Officer: dpo(at)oulu.fi

Description of the processed personal data

Master’s and doctoral degree career monitoring at Finnish universities is performed by Aarresaari, the national cooperation network for career and working life services. The target group of the master’s degree career monitoring comprises all persons who have five years earlier graduated with either a master’s degree or a so-called ‘concluding’ bachelor’s degree (a professional qualification such as nursery schoolteacher or pharmacist). The integration of doctoral graduates into the labour market is examined 3 years after graduation. Data is collected each autumn.

Purpose of processing personal data and legal basis for processing personal data

The purpose of the career monitoring surveys is to monitor the early career stages of university graduates and the labour market (5 years after graduation for those with a master’s degree or a bachelor’s degree that gives a professional qualification, for example, nursery school teachers and pharmacists, and 3 years after graduation for those with a doctoral degree), and utilise the monitoring information about the early career stages of people with an academic education for research, for the development of higher education and student guidance, as well as for offering information for potential students, current students and graduates in planning their own studies and careers.

From the career monitoring survey, the information is produced and used without identifying individual participants. This information is university-specific, and used for cooperation between the universities, with collaborating partners (e.g. professional organisations such as Akava - the Confederation of Unions for Professional and Managerial Staff in Finland or Suomen Ekonomit) and generally for research through the Finnish Social Science Data Archive (FSD).

The personal data is processed in accordance with public interest (evaluation and development of university education; the Universities Act 2009/558 Sections 2 and 87, and the Decree of the Ministry of Education and Culture on the Calculation Criteria for University Core Funding (119/2019) and production of related statistics)

Personal data to be processed

The following background information on the career monitoring survey’s target group (respondents) will be recorded in the register:

a.) Background information:

• university
• major subject and faculty
• year of university offer
• starting year
• length of time registered
• length of time actively studying
• date and year of graduation
• grade and grade scale of thesis
• field of education
• place of study
• degree level
• scope of the degree
• gender
• age
• nationality
• native language
• place of residence
• possible date of death
• migrated from Finland and date of migration
• home municipality

b.) Identification information:

• name
• postal address and post code
• country
• student ID number
• response ID
• phone number

c.) Survey answers:
With regard to those who have taken part in the career monitoring survey, the following information will be added, based on the information given:

• job appointment
• factors related to the quality of employment
• the satisfaction of graduates with their studies from the working life perspective.

The respondent's identifying information (student ID, name and contact information) and information on the date of death will only be used in connection with sending the survey and for combining the aforementioned background information.

Regular data sources

The background and identification information of the group of respondents will be gathered in a centralised manner from the national VIRTA study information service and, in supplementary parts, from the student information systems of universities (study subject, faculty). Address data will be supplemented using the Finnish Government’s Digital and Population Data Services Agency, and telephone numbers will be acquired from phone directory services (Posti/Fonecta/other). Response data will be gathered from the answers of the respondents. The respondents can choose to fill in a paper survey or an electronic online survey. Data from the paper surveys will be recorded in the electronic system through outsourcing by the controllers of sub-registers using a subcontract agreement.

Recipients or categories of recipients of personal data

Based on subcontracting by the controllers of sub-registers, the register is processed by TUPA - Research Stats Service of Tampere University, and CSC - IT Center for Science Ltd.

CSC - IT Center for Science Ltd selects the target group, enriches the contact information, creates the survey links and collects the online answers, as well as combines the material for reporting. CSC processes direct personal data during data collection and the survey data without the direct data when reporting the results. CSC discloses the personal data (contact information, background information and survey IDs) to TUPA for the purposes of sending the survey, the reminders and data analysis.

TUPA - Research Stats Service of Tampere University coordinates the implementation of career monitoring and processes personal data for sending, analysing and reporting the survey. TUPA discloses university-specific data to each university and national data for national reporting of the survey to Aarresaari, Career Services Network of Finnish Universities and to CSC. Data may be disclosed to partners (such as professional associations) for research purposes, excluding any personal data whereby data subjects can be directly identified.

In addition, data is also disclosed, without any identifiable personal data, to the Finnish Social Science Data Archive (FSD) for archiving and more detailed anonymisation for later research use. Public reporting of the data will be conducted in such a way that no single individual can be identified from the results.

Data transfers

Data are not transferred outside the EU and EEA or to an international organisation.

Personal data retention period

Identification information enabling the identification of respondents is retained in the register only until data is combined, and later destroyed after the data has been processed.

TUPA will retain data from different years for ten years for the purposes of compiling time datasets without any direct identification data.

The university will retain data from different years for ten years for the purposes of compiling time series without any direct identification information in its sub-register.

In the Finnish Social Science Data Archive (FSD), the data are stored anonymously, so it is not possible to link them to specific individuals.

Principles of protection of personal data during processing

The systems in which personal data are collected are password-protected. Each person entitled to the processing of personal data has been given a unique password, the use of which can be monitored. Key control documents are stored in locked key cabinets in facilities protected by access control.

Data subject rights

You have the following rights as a data subject:

• Right of access to your own data
• Right to rectify incorrect information
• Right to have data erased ("right to be forgotten")
• Right to restriction of processing
• Right to object to processing

Please note that the applicability and scope of your above-mentioned rights will be specified on a case-by-case basis in accordance with the EU General Data Protection Regulation and that you do not have the above-mentioned rights in all cases.

If you want to use the above-mentioned rights, please send a request to the University’s registry office: kirjaamo(at)oulu.fi, where you will get the necessary additional instructions.

Data subject’s right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority

In addition to the rights mentioned above, you have the right to lodge a complaint about the processing of your personal data with the Office of the Data Protection Ombudsman acting as the supervisory authority. You can find the contact information and the opening hours of the Office of the Data Protection Ombudsman at the website of the Data Protection Ombudsman.

Use of personal data for automated decisions and profiling

Personal data is not used for automated decisions, including profiling.

General description of the technical and organizational protection measures

The University as the Data Controller uses appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect personal data against unauthorized or unlawful processing and against damage or loss.