Data Security Information concerning the University of Göttingen Student Survey

Why can the University of Göttingen use my email address for the student survey?

Within the University, address data may only be shared and used where this is necessary to fulfil scientific tasks and/or the duties of the institution. In the case of the student survey, this condition is met:
Feedback and information provided by students are a key foundation for ongoing quality development at the University of Göttingen. The University’s Executive Board, faculties, and central services review and discuss the survey results, using them to inform improvements to degree programmes and student support services.
Your personal data will be processed solely by staff in the Quality Management team within the Department for Academic Affairs, specifically those responsible for the Student Survey instrument. All members of staff who have access to personal data in the course of this project are bound by the relevant data protection legislation. The disclosure of address data to third parties – including other parts of the University – is strictly prohibited, and this obligation remains in force even after the staff member has left the University. Personal data will be deleted once the evaluation has been completed and its purpose fulfilled.
The legal basis for the collection of personal data is set out in Section 17(2) of the Lower Saxony Higher Education Act (NHG). The University of Göttingen has implemented this via the PersDatO (Section 10) for evaluations carried out to fulfil its responsibilities in research and teaching, as well as in QMO-SL Section 14.
What happens to my data during the online survey?
During the survey period, your responses are stored on servers at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, which is conducting the survey on behalf of the University of Göttingen. Survey data are always transmitted via an encrypted connection. At no point does the survey software record your personal data.
Once the fieldwork phase ends, the Centre for Quality Assurance and Development (ZQ) at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz uses the survey data to produce course reports for the University of Göttingen. After the survey is completed, the raw dataset is transferred to the University of Göttingen and deleted from the survey software. This enables the University to conduct its own analyses of the survey data.
All survey data used by the University of Göttingen are fully anonymised and stored in line with the retention periods set out in §49, paragraph 11 of the QMO-SL. On request, the Faculty Boards of Studies may receive anonymised survey data concerning students in their faculty; these are provided in such a way that identification of individual persons is not possible.


Notifications under Articles 13 and 14 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)


In accordance with Article 13 of the GDPR (Regulation (EU) 2016/679), the following information must be provided when personal data are collected:


Article 13(1)(a) and (b).


The Controller within the meaning of Article 4(7) GDPR is:
Georg-August-Universität Göttingen,
Foundation under Public Law (excluding University Medical Centre),
Wilhelmsplatz 1,
37073 Göttingen,
represented by the President [hereinafter: University of Göttingen].
The specific unit processing the data is the Division for Academic Affairs, Quality Management section, as part of the centrally conducted Student Survey.
Data Protection Officer:
Prof. Andreas Wiebe, LL.M. (Virginia)
Platz der Göttinger Sieben 6
37073 Göttingen
Email: datenschutz@uni-goettingen.de


Article 13(1)(c)

Personal data are collected in order to complement the evaluation of degree programmes with a survey at programme level and to integrate the survey results into Quality Management for teaching and learning. The legal basis is your consent under Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR in conjunction with §13 NDSG.


Article 13(1)(e)

Personal data are processed solely for the purpose of contacting you to take part in the Student Survey by the Quality Management section of the Division for Academic Affairs, and deleted at the end of the survey.


Article 13(2)(a)

Personal data are stored only for the duration of the survey period and deleted immediately thereafter.


Article 13(2)(b)

You have the right to obtain information from the Quality Management section regarding your personal data, and where applicable, the right to have them rectified, deleted, or to restrict processing, as well as the right to object to processing. The right to data portability does not apply to the performance of public tasks. These rights can only be exercised for as long as the data can still be linked to you. The right to receive a negative confirmation and to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority remains unaffected.


Article 13(2)(c)

Where processing is based on your consent, you may withdraw this consent at any time. Processing carried out before withdrawal remains lawful; withdrawal applies only to future processing. In this case, your data will be deleted immediately.


Article 13(2)(d)

You have the right to lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority (Art. 77 GDPR). For the University of Göttingen, the competent authority is:
The State Commissioner for Data Protection in Lower Saxony
Prinzenstraße 5
30159 Hannover
Email: poststelle@lfd.niedersachsen.de


Article 13(2)(e)

You are under no obligation to provide data; provision is entirely voluntary.


Article 13(3)

If it is intended to process your personal data for a purpose other than that for which they were originally collected, the Quality Management section of the Division for Academic Affairs will inform you of the new purpose and provide all other relevant information before further processing begins.


Information under Articles 13 and 14 GDPR when collecting personal data



Article 14(1)(a) and (b), 13(1)(a) and (b)


Controller: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Foundation under Public Law (excluding University Medical Centre), represented by the President, Wilhelmsplatz 1, 37073 Göttingen.
Specific unit processing the data: Division for Academic Affairs, Quality Management section.
Data Protection Officer: Prof. Andreas Wiebe, LL.M. (Virginia)
Platz der Göttinger Sieben 6
37073 Göttingen
Email: datenschutz@uni-goettingen.de


Article 14(1)(c)

Data are collected and processed to obtain programme-level evaluation results. Legal basis: §1(3) QMO-SL.


Article 14(1)(d)

Data collected: First name, surname, and student email address.


Article 14(1)(e)

Data are processed and transmitted as follows: recipients are faculties and committees directly involved in Quality Management for teaching and learning.


Article 14(2)(a)

Data are stored until the evaluation purpose has been fulfilled, and for no longer than 12 years.


Article 14(2)(c) and (d)

You have the right to obtain information from the Quality Management section regarding your personal data, and where applicable, the right to have them rectified, deleted, or to restrict processing, as well as the right to object to processing. The right to data portability does not apply to the performance of public tasks (Art. 20(3), sentence 2 GDPR).
Where processing is based on your consent, you may withdraw this consent at any time. Processing carried out before withdrawal remains lawful; withdrawal applies only to future processing, and your data will then be deleted immediately.


Article 14(2)(e), 13(2)(d)

You have the right to lodge a complaint with:
The State Commissioner for Data Protection in Lower Saxony
Prinzenstraße 5
30159 Hannover
Email: poststelle@lfd.niedersachsen.de
or with any other data protection authority under Art. 77 GDPR.
Article 14(2)(f)
Data source: HisinOne.


Publication of results

The results of the Student Survey are published by the Quality Management section only in aggregated report form, with a minimum of five responses, ensuring that no individual can be identified.
Data Protection Officer
Information on the University of Göttingen's Data Protection Officer can be found at:
https://www.uni-goettingen.de/en/653088.html


Further questions

For any questions regarding the Student Survey, please contact the designated person in the Quality Management section responsible for the survey:
Anke Klingebiel
Tel. +49 551-39-29915
bereich_qm@zvw.uni-goettingen.de