Privacy at the University

The University of Toronto is committed to the protection of privacy and protects your personal information in accordance with applicable privacy legislation, including the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA).

  • Your information is only shared within the University as necessary for official University tasks and needs.
  • The University notifies you of the purposes for which your personal information is to be used and consistently protects your information according to these notices.
  • The University has policies, practices, guidelines and standards in place to protect information about you.

Reporting Privacy Incidents

A privacy incident is a situation where personal information held by the University is accessed, used, or disclosed in a way that is non-compliant with FIPPA.

  • Sending personal information to the wrong person
  • Loss of unencrypted devices containing personal information
  • Accessing personal information beyond the scope of your University duties
  • Collecting from, or disclosing information to, a third party (including a family member) without permission of the individual

 

Personal information is defined in FIPPA as recorded information about an identifiable individual, such as:

  • Demographic information
  • Email address and home address
  • Medical, education, and/or employment history
  • Identifying numbers (e.g., SIN, student number)
  • Financial information
  • Completed assignments, examinations and grades
  • Comments and evaluations provided by an instructor
  • Personal opinions expressed by or about an individual

Personal information does not include information about an individual acting in their business or professional capacity such as their name, position, and routine work details and tasks at the University. (e.g. faculty or staff name, email and position are not personal information).

If you suspect your personal information is or has been improperly collected, used, or disclosed by the University, you may report the incident to:

  • The University area where the incident occurred; or
  • The Privacy Office at privacy@utoronto.ca

 

If you suspect that personal information has been improperly collected, used, or disclosed by the University, immediately report to and consult with:

 

 

University of Toronto Notice of Collection

The University of Toronto respects your privacy.

Personal information that you provide to the University is collected pursuant to section 2(14) of the University of Toronto Act, 1971.

It is collected for the purpose of administering admissions, registration, academic programs, university-related student activities, activities of student societies, safety, financial assistance and awards, graduation and university advancement, and reporting to government.

In addition, the Ministry of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security has asked that we notify you of the following: The University of Toronto is required to disclose personal information such as Ontario Education Numbers, student characteristics and educational outcomes to the Minister under s. 15 of the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. M.19, as amended. The Ministry collects this data for purposes such as planning, allocating and administering public funding to colleges, universities and other post-secondary educational and training institutions and to conduct research and analysis, including longitudinal studies, and statistical activities conducted by or on behalf of the Ministry for purposes that relate to post-secondary education and training. Further information on how the Minister uses this personal information is available on the Ministry’s website.

At all times it will be protected in accordance with the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. If you have questions, please contact the Privacy Office at privacy@utoronto.ca.

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