Columbia College Policies on the Collection of Personal Information

1. Columbia College complies with the Personal Information Protection Act of British Columbia

2. All information of a personal nature collected by the College on employees or students is treated as confidential
a) Personal information on students is collected by the College primarily for the purposes of establishing the identity of the student and allowing communication with the student. Some information, such as medical alerts, is collected in the interests of student safety.
b) Personal information on employees is collected to identify the employee and to verify credentials and academic qualifications of the employee. College employees are required to submit Authorization for Criminal Record Search forms every five years; communications with the Ministry of the Attorney General are maintained in personnel files and are treated as confidential.

3. Access to personal information is limited to: a) College personnel who require the information in performance of their job function; and b) employees of bodies such as the B.C. Ministry of Education who may require access to files as part of an inspection procedure. College employees fully understand the confidential nature of personal information.

4. Personal information will not be released by the College to any organization or individual without the permission* of the individual, unless the College is legally required to do so.

5. Computer systems at the College are designed to prevent unauthorized access. Columbia College will make every effort to keep collected information secure.

6. Columbia College makes every effort to ensure that information retained is accurate and current. The College asks students and employees to inform the College of any changes to personal information. The College recognizes that students and employees are fully entitled to know what personal information is being retained in their individual files.

7. Columbia College's Privacy Officer is Trevor Toone, the College Principal. All questions concerning Columbia College's policies on the protection of privacy, and the implementation of these policies, should be directed to the Privacy Officer: Phone: 604 - 683 - 8360 Email: ttoone@columbiacollege.bc.ca

(*Students over the age of 19 may sign a general waiver allowing the College to release information of an academic nature to their parents/guardian. In the absence of such a signed waiver academic information will not be released,)