Southampton UCU General Meeting – 19th October 2023

The following motion was overwhelmingly passed at the our General Meeting on 19 October 2023.

Motion: MyEngagement Concerns

This branch notes that:

  • The University DPIA review panel brought the need for a Data Protection Impact Assessment to the attention of the MyEngagement project team in December 2022.
  • No DPIA was received until mid-September 2023, after the go-live date had been announced.
  • An acceptable DPIA has yet to be submitted to the University DPIA review panel.
  • Failing to carry out a DPIA before go-live does not meet our legal obligations under Data Protection Act 2018 c.12 s.64(1), and is a violation of the University’s internal governance procedures.

This branch believes that:

  • The system as implemented presents a risk to staff and students from unintentional data breaches. Even if these are not reportable to the Information Commissioner’s Office, they are likely to result in student complaints.
  • Using the system imposes a significant additional workload on staff even in normal use, and staff may need to manually record attendance.
  • The management communication to staff has been inadequate, and insufficient and incorrect guidance has been provided regarding the practicalities of using MyEngagement.

This branch resolves to:

  • Instruct the SUCU Executive Committee to call on the University to pause the roll-out of MyEngagement until a full DPIA has been successfully completed and adequate instruction and guidance has been published in consultation with staff.
  • Advise members to seek reassurance via line management structures using a template that the branch will provide before using or continuing to use MyEngagement.

For:  87.5% (28)

Against:  0% (0)

Abstain: 12.5%  (4)

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