BU Privacy Notice

Privacy Notice for Prospective Students and Applicants to Boston University

Boston University collects and processes certain types of personal information from prospective students, applicants, and their families in connection with its undergraduate programs. Boston University is committed to safeguarding the privacy of the personal information it collects, and the following privacy notice explains what information is collected, how it is used and how the University safeguards it. Please contact Undergraduate Admissions with any questions or concerns regarding this notice.

Whose Information is Collected?

Boston University collects information about prospective students and applicants to its programs (referred to herein collectively as “students”), as well as family members or guardians.

What Information is Collected?

Boston University collects:

  • Contact information for students and their family members or guardians, including names, titles, telephone numbers, email and home addresses, and similar type information;
  • Demographic information for students, date of birth, citizenship status, birthplace, race, ethnicity, information about family, marital status, and gender;
  • Academic information about students, including grades and enrollment status at secondary school or a previous institution of higher education or the University, standardized test scores;
  • Information about students’ interests, such as activities, clubs, etc. which students share through their applications;
  • Information about students’ disciplinary history at secondary school or a previous institution of higher education or at the University;
  • Financial information of students and their families for students who seek financial assistance, including social security numbers;
  • Via the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and the College Board College Scholarship Service Profile, information about students’ families’ income, assets, household size, citizenship information;
  • For international students, travel documents, including passport and visa information.

Why is Personal Information Collected?

Boston University must collect personal information about students to effectively attract, recruit, admit, enroll, and in some cases provide financial aid to undergraduate students. Students cannot be admitted into a BU program without providing contact information and academic information described above. Additionally, the University cannot assess whether to award grant or scholarship aid without the financial information described above.

How is Information Collected?

Information is collected through a variety of sources, including:

  • Student-provided information through inquiry form or through application for admission;
  • Information from students’ secondary school or previous institution of higher education;
  • College Board, ACT, Educational Testing Service, International English Language Testing System, DuoLingo, and other similar third parties, which provide information to BU and other colleges and universities at students’ request;
  • Existing Boston University student educational records; and
  • Financial Aid application information is collected using the College Board College Scholarship Service Profile and FAFSA.

How is Collected Information Used?

Collected information is used only for the purpose of communicating with students and making admissions and financial aid decisions.

Who has Access to Collected Information?

  • Boston University faculty and staff;
  • Third-parties who provide services to Boston University or to students, pursuant to a contract with Boston University;
  • Federal, state and local government agencies, as required by applicable law;
  • Boston University reserves the right to share admissions decisions and the related students’ response with students’ secondary school college or guidance counselors.

How is Information Stored and Secured?

Boston University uses University-managed, secure information technology systems to store electronic personal information, including systems such as Microsoft’s Office 365 that permit creating shared spaces that are accessible by BU faculty and staff. BU employs appropriate administrative, technical and physical security measures to protect paper of other physical records that contain personal information, including locked offices, and file cabinets. BU uses encrypted SecureMail for Restricted Use information that is subject to the University’s Data Protection Standards.

How Long is Information Saved?

Boston University maintains records as specified in its Record Retention Policy and the accompanying Record Collect Table.

Other Rights

Under the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation, you may have the right to access personal data that we store and process about you, and to request correction of that information if it is inaccurate. If the GDPR applies, you may also have the right to request deletion of certain personal data; ask that we restrict our use of the data; or object to automated decision-making use of data. Access includes, where applicable, the ability to download your personal data in a commonly-used format.

Please note we may not be able to grant your request in all circumstances, including when it would adversely affect the rights and freedoms of others.

Concerns

If you have questions or concerns about the use of your personal data, please contact admissions@bu.edu or contact Undergraduate Admissions at 881 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215.

Updates to this Notice

The University may change this Privacy Notice. If the University makes any significant changes in the way it treats students’ personal information, the updated notice will be posted on the University’s website.