Date: 16.5.2022, updated 16.5.2024, updated 25.4.2025 due to a new survey tool 29.4 translated to English
- Responsible for Personal Information
Åbo Akademi
Domkyrkotorget 3
20500 ÅBO
Phone: 02 215 31
Business identity code: 0246312-1
- Contact person in questions of Personal Information
Coordinator Matias Erlund
Phone: 02 215 4116
Email: matias.erlund@abo.fi or studieklimat@abo.fi
- Data Protection Officer
Data Protection Function, Åbo Akademi University
Email: dataskydd@abo.fi, phone: +358 2 215 31 (switchboard)
Adress: Dataskydd vid Åbo Akademi, Domkyrkotorget 3, 20500 Åbo
- Name of the Register
Register for the Åbo Akademi University Student Survey for first year students, third year students and fifth year students.
- Purpose of the processing of personal data and legal basis for the processing
The Åbo Akademi Universitys Student Survey gives students the possibility to present their opinions of their studies and study environment. The questions are formatted as multiple choice questions and open answer questions. Suggestions for improvements and new solutions are also being asked for. It is voluntary to answer the questionnaire.
Åbo Akademi University has the goal of offering research-based education of high quality, which is offered by qualified and engaged teachers. We have a genuine interest to find out how students experience the university and their studies.
The answers we get in the survey helps us to analyze how the university works and developing of our educations. The data can also be used for research purposes. A further processing is made possible by GDPR article 5.1.b.
The legal basis for processing personal data is in the public’s interest (General Data Protection Regulation art. 6.1 e and Data Protection Act 1050/2018, 4 § 1 mom). Some of the voluntary questions in the survey refer to special categories of personal data, for example questions related to health (GDPR art. 9.1.) and are processed to carry through duties given to the university by law (Data Protection Act 1050/2018 6 § 2 mom.). The personal data and survey answers are used to developing and evaluating the universities education programs in accordance with the university’s tasks according to the Universities Act 558/2009, 2 § and 87 § and the Government Decree on University Degrees 794/2004, Section 28. Therefore, the special categories of personal data are processed on the basis of an important public interest (GDPR art. 9.2.g.).
- Processing of personal data in the Registry for the Åbo Akademi University Student Survey.
An invite to the survey is sent by email to the first, third and fifth year students. The email address, name and education program are retrieved from the Åbo Akademi University study register and are stored separately (not with the survey) until the collection of survey answers is done.
The data collection is done by the survey tool Webropol, which Åbo Akademi University has a contract with. The survey is protected with personal usernames and passwords, only persons who work with the survey has access to the answers
The survey is sent out via Webropol with personal reply links to the respondents. It allows us to follow up on who has answered and remind those who haven’t. It is not possible for the administrators to connect survey answers to email addresses. Administrators will send three (3) reminders to those who are yet to answer.
Inbjudningen till studieklimatundersökningen för tredje, femte och andra årets magisterstuderande skickas ut enligt de e-postlistor som har beställts fram ur studieregistret.
Invites to the Student Survey for the third, fifth and second year Master’s students are sent according to the email lists, which have been ordered from the study registry
The data will be downloaded per line from the survey tool Webropol and be stored on Åbo Akademi University’s server, where only authorized staff can access it. The data is protected by usernames and passwords.
The survey is voluntary. If you choose to answer the survey, it is possible to answer without filling in all the questions. The only obligatory questions are for background information
- Gender
- Year of Birth
- Mother tongue
- Faculty
- Education program
- Major
In the other questions the following themes include
- Your own situation during studies
- Experiences with study planning and advising
- Study skills and study ability
- Structure and contents of your studies
- Final thesis and the supervision of it
- Your own knowledge
- Your own future
The questions in the survey can partially be answered as multiple choice and partially with open answers. Some of the questions are in the special category of personal data (questions where students are asked to assess Unhealthy feeling of stress because of unfinished study work, Unhealthy feeling of stress because of unclear expectations, Undesired loneliness, Low-spiritedness (caused within the study environment at ÅAU), Low-spiritedness (caused outside the study environment at ÅAU)
Alla frågor i enkäten (utom de obligatoriska bakgrundsuppgifterna) är frivilliga att svara på.
All questions in the survey (except the obligatory background questions) är voluntary to answer.
- Legitimate disclosure of data and recipient categories
Data that contains personal data is processed only by the administrators of the Student Survey and is not regularly given out.
The data can be handed over for scientific research pseudonymised. Pseudonymised is defined as processing personal data in a way that personal information can’t be connected to a specific person. Even though the data has been pseudonymised it is still possible to distinguish an individual person from the masses and combine them with specific data (for example respondents from smaller education programs can be identified).
If the data is handed over for the purpose of scientific research, the amount of background information is reduced so individuals can’t be identified. Open question answers are inspected by staff who are responsible, before they are handed over. Open question answers that can include information of the respondent are not handed over.
Pseudonymised data is still personal information and Personal Data protection regulation is applied when handling the data
- Transfer of data outside the EU or EES
Will the data be transferred to third countries or international organizations outside the EU or EES?
☒ No
- Principles for the registry’s security
The Surveys data is stored only electronically and only on Åbo Akademi University’s server, which requires personal usernames with passwords. Only a few particularly appointed persons in charge of the survey can be given the rights to access the registry. The access rights are given by the section head of Education Service,
- Storing time and criteria of defining storing time
Personal information that is used to send invitations to the respondents is deleted when the data collection is done.
Åbo Akademi University stores the collected data from the survey for 10 years to create timelines and to enable enough respondents in rapports per education. The persons in charge at Education Service will delete the data after the time period has expired, when the work for new data collection has begun.
- Automated decision-making or profiling and the logic behind and the meaning of the processing
Registered information is used for automated decision-making, including profiling.
☒ No
- Rights of the registered user
The registered user has the right tp
- Access their information at Åbo Akademi University
- To get their personal information corrected
- To get their personal information deleted (“the right to be forgotten”)
- To limit the processing of their personal information in some situations
- Object against the processing of their personal information
Exceptions from the rights to access, corrections, limiting and objecting to the part of the data that is processed for statistical purposes, can be done in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1050/2018 31§
The processing does not include automated decision-making
The registered user can demand to exercise their rights through contacting the University at dataskydd@abo.fi or Åbo Akademi University, Domkyrkotorget 3, 20500 ÅBO
The official language of Åbo Akademi University prescribed by law is Swedish. In disputes the Swedish version of this document is the official one.
- Right to leave a complaint to a supervisory authority
The registered user has the right to leave a complaint to at a supervisory authority, especially in the member state where their residence or work place is at, if they consider that the processing of their personal information goes against the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679. The registered user has also the right to other administrative hearing procedures or other legal remedies.
Contact information:
Data Protection Ombudsman’s Office
Adress: Bangårdsvägen 9, 6th floor , 00520 Helsingfors
Postadress: PB 800, 00521 Helsingfors
Exchange: 029 56 66700
Fax: 029 56 66735
Email: tietosuoja@om.fi