1. Introduction

The scope of this document is to outline the services that SMART EDUCATION PRO LIMITED (SEP in the following paragraphs) is providing to the applicants that decide to use the company services during their university application and enrolment process. This document will also define the specific terms used during the application and enrolment process, the responsibilities of SEP as well as the GDPR provisions.

2. Definition of terms

Applicant – any person who enters in contact with SEP, on any of the communication channels available, and express their interest in applying and enrolling to any of the partner universities.

International applicant – any applicant who needs a visa in order to study in the chosen country.

Home applicant – any applicant who holds the right to live, work and study in the chosen country.

Partner university – any university that SEP has a signed representative agreement.

Communication channels can be: company website, company Facebook/Instagram/Twitter page, company emails, company phone numbers including the office staff and field representatives.

Entry requirements are those specified by each partner university and SEP has no influence on any of them.

Admission tests are established by each partner university and SEP has no implication in the way they are organised and marked.

Passing grades are established by each partner university, some can use the fail and pass system and the other could use the grading system from 1 to 10 or 1 to 100.

Application form – the form that needed to be filled in by SEP in order to start the application process. Each partner university has its own application form with its own information requirements.

ID – the official identification document that proves the applicant’s citizenship.

Diploma/qualification/certificate – any official document that proves the applicant’s previous level of qualification.

Residency evidence/visa/student visa – any document that proves the right of the applicant to live, work and study in the country where they choose to study.

Resume – the applicant’s resume describing the last 3 years of working experience.

Personal statement - a written description of the applicant’s personal details, interests, achievements, hobbies.

Contact person – any person mentioned by the applicant as point of contact or references.

Conditional offer – the offer issued by any of the partner universities describing the conditions that the applicant needs to fulfil in order to be admitted at the respective university.

Unconditional offer – the final offer issued by the partner university offering the applicant their place to study also mentioning the details about the course, duration, tuition fee, mode of study and campus.

CAS Letter – represents the Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies for the international students who need to apply for a student visa.

Finance application – the forms that needed to be filled in for obtaining the finance in the countries where this is available.

3. SEP RESPONSIBILITIES

• To contact the applicant once they have expressed in the interest in the company’s services.
• To describe in the most accurate way the entry requirements for the chosen university.
• To gather all the necessary documentation for the application.
• To submit the application to the applicant’s chosen university.
• To ensure the applicant receives the conditional offer letter and support them in fulfilling the conditions.
• To schedule the applicant for the entry test where necessary.
• To communicate the applicant the test results. In case the applicant fails, and rescheduling the test is necessary, SEP will do this.
• To communicate the applicant when the unconditional offer is issued and obtain the signed acceptance form.
• To support the applicant in filling in the finance application.

SEP cannot be held responsible for any decision taken by the partner university and has no influence on the admission criteria established by them. Also, SEP has no decision power and influence in regard to the finance application process. SEP will assist the applicant in filling in the form and will present the list of required documents, while the approval decision lies entirely with the finance authority.

4. GDPR

SEP is registered with the Commissioner’s Office (ICO). The provision of this clause 4 is applicable to all agents and collaborators of SEP.

4.1 The Principles of Data Protection

SEP must comply with the following principles, which are legally enforceable:

• To handle personal and sensitive (about ethnic origin, political opinion, faith, disability, sexual preference, criminal convictions etc.) data fairly and lawfully.
• To be obtained and processed fairly and lawfully and shall not be processed unless certain conditions are met.
• To use personal and sensitive data for specified and lawful purposes and shall not be further processed in any manner incompatible with those purposes.
• To use the personal and sensitive data, which are reasonable, relevant and not Data Protection Act: V.2 (Reviewed on 14 July 2020. Next Review: July 2021) excessive to that particular purpose.
• Use personal and sensitive data accurately and where necessary, update it
• Keep and protect these personal and sensitive data with an appropriate degree of security.
• Store personal and sensitive data for longer than is necessary for that purpose.
• Any personal and sensitive data would not be transferred outside the UK, unless the recipient authorities ensure an adequate level of data protection.
• These personal and sensitive data will be released either with the person's consent, or for purpose of the national security.
• Adequate, relevant and not excessive ‐ Data collected must be enough to complete the required task and no more.
• Not kept longer than is necessary ‐ personal information should only be retained by the College for as long as is required to fulfil the purposes for which it was originally provided or required by law to be held. Beyond this point it should be securely destroyed.

4.2 Data Security

SEP and applicants are responsible for ensuring that:

• Any personal data, which they process, is kept securely in accordance with the this policy.
• Personal information is not disclosed accidentally or otherwise to any unauthorised third party.

SEP should note that unauthorised disclosure will usually be a disciplinary matter, and may be considered gross misconduct in some cases. Personal information should be kept in a locked filing cabinet, drawer, or safe. If it is computerised, it should be coded, encrypted or password protected both on a local hard drive and on a network drive that is regularly backed up. If a copy is kept on removable storage media, that media must itself be kept in a locked filing cabinet, drawer, or safe.