Students and Applicants

We collect your contact information and programs of interest in order to provide you with information about Queen’s University of interest to you. 

Prospective students’ personal information may be collected at recruitment events, campus tours, open houses and through digital channels. 

For applicants, we collect information necessary for assessing your suitability to attend Queen’s University (e.g., grades, academic history), to register you in the event you accept an offer of admission, and to enable analysis of our processes for fairness and equity (e.g., demographic information). This information is collected as follows: 

• Undergraduate applications are normally received through the Ontario Universities’ Application Centre (OUAC) but may be submitted directly. 

• Applications for graduate studies are normally received through the School of Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs’ admissions application system. 

• Some professional programs have their own processes and application systems, such as Post-Graduate Medical Education and Law. 

In order that applicants can form expectations regarding the use and disclosure of their personal information, the following are some examples of the uses and disclosures of personal information which relate to the admissions function of the university: 

• Personal information collected in the application process may be shared with the Ontario Universities' Application Centre (OUAC) and/or with other universities and colleges across Canada in the event that any information provided to Queen's as part of the application process is determined by Queen's to be false, misleading, or otherwise deceptive, or written by a third party. 

• Applicant information may be shared with the relevant faculty(ies), school(s) or department(s) for the purpose of admission only.  

• Applicants may be contacted about admission opportunities other than those specifically identified by the applicant. 

• Applicants may be contacted to guide the improvement of the university's services and offerings. 

• The Ontario Universities' Application Centre (OUAC) and/or the university(ies) will use your gender and date of birth for identification and document matching, and for statistical purposes. This information does not form part of Queen's University’s admission decisions. 

Information collected from applicants will be transferred to a student record if the applicant is admitted to the university. 

In order that current students can form expectations regarding the use and disclosure of their personal information, the following are some examples of the uses and disclosures of personal information which relate to the execution of various functions of the university: 

• Registration records, educational history and supporting documents, including records of misconduct, may be used for the adjudication of admission, progression, and graduation with respect to various programs. Such information may be transmitted to other educational institutions and partners involved in the delivery of programs offered at, with, or through Queen’s, including, but not limited to, entities involved in the provision of joint degrees, programs, plans, practicums, exchanges, placements, co-op positions, and service-learning opportunities. 

• Personal information is used to create class lists, grade submission lists and other materials needed by employees of the university. While photographs of students are collected and intended primarily for inclusion on the university’s identification cards, they may be included in class lists and other documents. 

• Names of students and their contact information are collected by the university in order to operate both virtual and physical classroom environments. 

• By registering in courses, students acknowledge that their names may be divulged, both orally and in written form, to other members of the course during activities such as, but not limited to, taking attendance, assigning topics, organizing students for group work, assessing classroom participation, facilitating classroom discussion, working in online learning tools, and organizing tutorials. Students who are concerned about such disclosures should contact the course instructor to identify whether there are any possible alternatives to such disclosure. Units may use contact information for course and related purposes. 

• Personal information including accessibility and dietary requirements will be collected and used for providing residential accommodations. 

• Personal information, including name, birth date, address, email address, telephone number, student number, degree program, and academic plan, may be used by Student Wellness Services for the purpose of identifying and contacting students who access their services. 

• Personal information may be collected, used and disclosed in disciplinary or security procedures. Personal information—including name, birth date, address, email address, telephone number, student number, photos from the photo identification database, degree program, academic plan, and course schedule—may be used by Campus Security and Emergency Services to contact students involved in alleged breaches of the University's Code of Conduct, situations involving the health and safety of a student, or students, and in compassionate circumstances (e.g., the death of a family member, or a fellow student). 

• Situations involving behaviours that are concerning, disruptive or threatening and give rise to concerns about a risk of harm to a student(s), other people or property may be referred to a threat or risk assessment process to determine the appropriate course of action for the individuals involved and the university. For this purpose, personal information—including name, birth date, address, email address, telephone number, student number, degree program, academic plan, course schedule and information from multiple sources including faculty, staff, students, parents/caregivers, incident reports, security reports and online sites—may be collected, used and disclosed. Personal health information may be collected, used and disclosed as necessary for the purpose of eliminating or reducing a risk of harm to an individual or group. 

• Personal information—including name, birth date, address, email address, telephone number, student number, degree program, and academic plan—may be used by the Office of Advancement for the promotion of student and alumni relations programs (e.g., student/alumni mentoring, jobs mentoring), sending invitations to student send-offs, Alumni Weekend, as well as branch events, the mailing of the alumni magazine, and fundraising. If you have any questions or require additional information, please contact the Advancement Business Office at 613.533.6000, extension 75623. 

• Students may be contacted about other Queen's University courses and programs that may be of interest. 

• Personal information is used to create and maintain a public record of Queen’s University’s graduates. This public record includes name, date of convocation, degree awarded, the Faculty or School conferring the degree, and any award or honours conferred. This information is available to the public and will be published by Queen's University.  

Students become members of the Alma Mater Society (AMS) or the Society of Professional and Graduate Students (SGPS) when they pay student activity fees. Students may opt out of certain fees which denies them access to specific services/activities. The university may disclose students’ personal information to various student organizations, under an information-sharing agreement, in order to allow for their participation in elections and other operations. In particular, personal information—including name, student number, email address, degree program, and academic plan—is disclosed to and may be used by organizations such as the Alma Mater Society of Queen's University, the Arts and Science Undergraduate Society, the Engineering Society, the Commerce Society, and the Society of Graduate and Professional Students for purposes such as the following: identifying and contacting students to provide them with access to student society membership and information about affiliated or sponsored programs, services, and activities; for verification and validation of voters for society referenda and elections; for the administration of the non-academic discipline system; and for communicating with members about student society matters. 

Personal information of students may be provided by the university to the Health and Dental Plan carriers in accordance with the Memoranda of Agreement and Understanding between the carriers and the student societies, AMS and SGPS, and between the carrier and the Queen's University International Centre. AMS and SGPS administrators may also use birthdate, gender, and academic concentration data of dental and health plan participants. If you have any questions or require additional information, please contact the AMS Commissioner of Internal Affairs at 613.533.6000, extension 74815, or the SGPS Administrator. 

Statistics Canada is the national statistical agency. As such, Statistics Canada carries out hundreds of surveys each year on a wide range of matters, including education. 

It is essential to be able to follow students across time and institutions to understand, for example, the factors affecting enrollment demand at post-secondary institutions. The increased emphasis on accountability for public investment means that it is also important to understand 'outcomes'. In order to conduct such studies, Statistics Canada asks all colleges and universities to provide data on students and graduates. Institutions collect and provide to Statistics Canada student identification information (student's name, student ID number, Social Insurance Number), student contact information (address and telephone number), student demographic characteristics, enrollment information, previous education, and labour force activity. 

The Federal Statistics Act provides the legal authority for Statistics Canada to obtain access to personal information held by educational institutions. The information may be used only for statistical purposes, and the confidentiality provisions of the Statistics Act prevent the information from being released in any way that would identify a student. 

Students who do not wish to have their information used can ask Statistics Canada to remove their identifying information from the national database. On request by a student Statistics Canada will delete an individual's contact information (name, address, or other personal identifiers) from the Postsecondary Student Information System (PSIS) database. To make such a request, please contact: 

Queen’s University is required to disclose personal information such as Ontario Education Numbers, student characteristics and educational outcomes to the Minister of College and Universities under s. 15 of the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities Act, R.S.O. 1990, Chapter 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 of Colleges and Universities uses this personal information is available on the Ministry’s website: Ministry of Colleges and Universities | ontario.ca. 

Queen’s may disclose the contact information of graduating students to organizations providing convocation-related services such as photography and degree framing unless directed otherwise by a student.  

Personal information—including name and/or email address—may be provided to external third-party survey agencies for the purpose of conducting surveys related to Queen's experiences (admission process, facilities, etc.), with the goal of improving the services provided by the University. Examples of such research and analyses include the National Survey of Student Engagement, administered from Indiana University, USA, and the Public Economics Data Analysis Laboratory Project.  

Personal information about graduands is also shared with the Member of Parliament for Kingston and the Islands to mail letters of congratulation upon graduation.  

The Office of Advancement may share personal information with third-party service providers to assist with mass mailings in order to communicate effectively with university donors and alumni. This includes service providers who help assemble, package, and address printed material for mailing or mass email, and events management system providers to help execute and prepare for events hosted by the university. The Office of Advancement does not rent, trade, or sell mailing, email, or telephone contact lists. All third-parties are carefully vetted for privacy and security before entering a data-sharing agreement.