Privacy Policy

This privacy policy declaration refers to the handling of the personal data of individuals who visit our Website (www.unidistance.ch/en) and of other interested persons by UniDistance Suisse, Schinerstrasse 18, 3900 Brig, Switzerland (hereafter UniDistance Suisse).

UniDistance Suisse is the controller of the data file covered by this privacy policy.

Our Data Protection Officer is at your entire disposal if you have any questions about the processing of your personal data or the use of your rights. You can write to her by email at the following address: dpo@unidistance.ch.

In accordance with the provisions currently in force, we process the personal data of data subjects for various purposes and founded on various bases:

• Initiating a contractual relationship, in particular receiving and considering enquiries regarding admission and registration and contacting persons in connection with this.
• Fulfilling contractual obligations and claiming contractual rights from any contracts that have been concluded. In particular, providing the agreed educational services, handling the administration of your school records, invoicing tuition fees, etc. The legal basis for this is an existing or contractual relationship between you and UniDistance Suisse.
• In the context of applications for vacancies advertised online, carrying out the recruiting process. Here, the legal basis is again the initiation of a contractual relationship.
• Accounting within the framework of the legal responsibility and fulfilling other legal requirements regarding data retention, in particular the specific retention responsibilities regarding certificates, diplomas and other documented proof of attainment.
• For internal archiving purposes within the framework of any contractual relationships, as well as archiving in our own legitimate interests.
• For purposes not relating to a specific person, in particular for the purposes of research, planning and statistics. This may be provided for by law (thus, in particular, with regard to registrations, completion of courses and students leaving before completion, including ECTS points attained, in particular under Art. 10(3) Federal Statistics Act and related Ordinance on Statistical Surveys), but may also be in UniDistance Suisse’s own interests. In all other respects, we expressly reserve the right to further uses prescribed by law.
• Operating the website of UniDistance Suisse. Processing the IP address as a log file should also be mentioned here. The website may, on the one hand, be provided within the framework of any existing contractual service provision (in particular E-Campus), on the other hand, however, the running of the website is also in the legitimate interests of UniDistance Suisse. Please see point 7 hereafter on the use of analysis tools and cookies;
• For advertising purposes and marketing measures, in particular also for newsletter distribution and sending out information on request. UniDistance Suisse has a legitimate interest in this. If applicable, depending on the type of marketing measure and on the relevant law that applies, a separate consent is obtained.

In connection with the processing of personal data, the data subjects are entitled by law to the rights listed below. Please note that continuance and scope may vary in detail depending on the data protection legislation that actually applies:

• Information: You have the right to find out from UniDistance Suisse whether personal data from you is being processed and, respectively, which data that is. Information requests can be made for this.
• Rectification: If your personal data is incorrect, you have a legal right to have it rectified.
• Objection: In so far as the processing of personal data is based on the legitimate interests of UniDistance Suisse, you may object to the processing of your personal data. However, this applies only in the event that you are in such a special situation that any processing of your personal data is against your own interests. Here, too, compelling, predominant reasons of UniDistance Suisse remain reserved. Please also note that you can, furthermore, object to the use of your personal data for direct advertising purposes. Processing founded on other bases is unaffected by the objection.
• Revocation of consent: In so far as the processing of personal data is based on your consent, you can revoke it. Processing founded on other bases is unaffected by revocation of consent. The revocation is only for the future.
• Restriction: Under certain conditions, you can demand that the processing of your personal data be restricted. This may, for instance, be the case if the accuracy of your personal data is in doubt. Please bear in mind that, in detail, this may, if applicable, restrict or even render impossible the provision of services by UniDistance Suisse.
• Data portability: In so far as provided for by law, you may, depending on the applicable data protection law, ask to have and - subject to significant conflicting interests - reuse the personal data that you have made available to us, in a commonly used and machine-readable form.
• Deletion: You have a legal right to deletion of your personal data if it is no longer required for the purpose for which it was collected or in the case of a legitimate objection and revocation of consent respectively. In any case, the use for statutory reasons as well as for asserting, exercise and defend legal claims is reserved.
• Complaints: We also inform you of the fact that, depending on the applicable data protection law, you have, if applicable, a legal right to complain to the relevant data protection authority responsible for you, if you do not agree with the handling of your personal data.

We may, in particular for the purpose of providing our services or for organisational purposes, use external service providers as contract data processors. These may include, for instance, marketing partners, external IT service providers, external consultants or external administrative / business service providers.

Your personal data may, in so far as necessary, be passed on to other responsible parties (e.g. to partner universities) in order to provide any contractually agreed services or with your consent. Your personal data is, in addition, forwarded to the competent authorities for statistical purposes (see point 2 above for this).

UniDistance Suisse is, in particular, under an obligation to pass on to the Federal Statistical Office of Switzerland and to the Swiss Conference of Cantonal Ministers of Education the following information, which is, however, supplied in the form of codes and, therefore, remains anonymous:

• matriculation number;
• course of studies;
• current semester (half-year term) and the number of semesters already completed;
• type of Matura (A-level equivalent school leaving exam and university entrance qualification) or diploma that facilitates admission to UniDistance Suisse;
• number of ECTS credits;
• canton where the student is currently living;
• canton where the student has completed his/her Matura.

In addition, the Canton of Valais requires that UniDistance Suisse passes on to the Valais Department for Security, Institutions and Sport the following information:

• surname, first name;
• canton where the student is currently living;
• course of studies;
• matriculation number;
• current semester and the number of semesters already completed;
• number of ECTS credits.

Basically, UniDistance Suisse processes the data in Switzerland. However, personal data may be disclosed beyond its borders. Such disclosure takes place, if necessary, in countries that have an equivalent data protection standard to that of Switzerland or by applying appropriate data protection guarantees or in view of the consent of the data subject.

We will be glad to assist you with any questions on this.

The personal data of the data subjects is retained for as long as may be required for fulfilment for the purposes of processing and, respectively, as long as UniDistance Suisse has a legitimate interest in doing so.

Within the framework of contractual relations, in this regard, the duration of the contractual relationship and the duration of applicable guarantee and limitation periods intended as minimum retention periods are, in particular, definitive. In addition, retention periods, as provided for by law, for retaining relevant business records are also definitive. For personal data in connection with certificates, diplomas and other documented proof of attainment, the legal retention periods especially provided for, for that purpose, then apply.

This website uses cookies and makes use of Google Analytics as well as various social media plugins. For more details about this, please see our declaration on the use of cookies and plugins. If, in individual cases, the processing of personal data is required in this connection, the legitimate interests of UniDistance Suisse are deemed to be the legal basis for this.

This Privacy Policy was last amended on 22.01.2021.

We may change this Policy at any time. Any changes to this Policy will be posted on this page. Please check this Policy regularly to identify any changes.