Privacy Policy
International Qualifications and Awards Ltd (“IQA”, “we”, “us”) is committed to protecting your privacy and handling personal information in a lawful, fair and transparent way.
Who we are
IQA is a UK-registered awarding organisation that designs, quality assures and awards qualifications delivered through approved centres and partners.
For the purposes of UK data protection law, IQA is the data controller for the personal information described in this statement.
Contact address
International Qualifications and Awards Ltd
60 Tottenham Court Road, Office 393,
Fitzrovia, London, W1T 2EW, United Kingdom
Email: info@iqawards.org.uk
Telephone: +44 7456 393710
Whose personal data do we process?
We process personal data relating to the following categories of people:
- Learners registered on IQA programmes and qualifications
- Staff at approved or prospective centres and partners
- Assessors, internal quality assurers and external verifiers
- Members of staff, consultants and contractors working with IQA
- Individuals who contact us with enquiries or subscribe to our updates
- Visitors who use our website and online portals
What personal data do we collect?
Centre representatives, assessors and staff
- Identity details such as name, job title and organisation
- Contact details such as email address, telephone number and postal address
- Professional history, qualifications and CVs used for approval and quality assurance
- Centre recognition, programme approval and monitoring documentation
- Communications with us, including emails, forms and meeting notes
- Portal login credentials and usage logs (for security and audit purposes)
Learners
- Identity details such as name, date of birth, learner ID and nationality
- Contact details (usually provided via your centre) such as email or telephone number
- Programme registration details, including qualification, level and centre
- Assessment and verification records, including grades, marks and feedback
- Certificates, transcripts and verification history
- Information relating to reasonable adjustments or special consideration where required
Website and portal users
- Information provided on web forms such as name, email, phone and enquiry details
- Newsletter subscriptions and communication preferences
- Technical data including IP address, browser type, device identifiers and time zone
- Usage information obtained through cookies and analytics tools
Special category data
We avoid collecting special category data (such as health information) unless it is strictly necessary—for example, where evidence is required to support reasonable adjustments or special consideration. Where this is required, we only collect the minimum information and apply additional safeguards and access controls.
How do we collect personal data?
We collect personal data in a number of ways, including:
- Information supplied directly by you by email, telephone, post or online forms
- Data provided by centres during approval, monitoring and learner registration
- Information submitted through our secure portals and online systems
- Publicly available sources such as professional registers and LinkedIn
- Automatic collection through cookies and similar technologies when you use our website
Why do we process personal data?
We process personal data for the following purposes:
- To recognise and support centres to deliver IQA qualifications
- To register learners, manage assessments and award qualifications
- To maintain the integrity and standards of our qualifications and services
- To respond to enquiries, complaints and appeals
- To comply with legal, regulatory and accreditation requirements
- To improve our programmes, resources and customer service
Our legal basis for processing
Under UK GDPR we rely on one or more of the following legal bases:
- Contract: where processing is necessary to deliver our services to centres and learners.
- Legal obligation: where we must process data to comply with law or regulatory requirements.
- Legitimate interests: where processing is necessary for our legitimate business interests and is balanced against your rights and freedoms.
- Consent: for certain optional activities such as specific marketing communications or non-essential cookies.
International transfers
As a global organisation, some data may be transferred outside the United Kingdom. Where this occurs we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as:
- Transfers to countries recognised as providing adequate protection; or
- Use of standard contractual clauses or equivalent mechanisms approved under UK law.
How long do we keep personal data?
We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes described in this statement and in line with our retention schedules. In particular:
- Learner achievement records are kept for an extended period so that we can verify awards.
- Centre approval and quality assurance records are kept for the duration of the relationship and for a reasonable period afterwards.
- General enquiries and marketing data are kept for as long as they remain relevant or until you ask us to delete them.
Your data protection rights
Under data protection law you may have the right to:
- Request access to the personal data we hold about you
- Ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information
- Request erasure of your data in certain circumstances
- Request restriction of processing in certain circumstances
- Object to processing where we rely on legitimate interests or for direct marketing
- Request transfer of your data to another organisation (data portability)
To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details above. We may need to verify your identity before we can respond.
You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if you are unhappy with how we handle your personal data. We would, however, appreciate the chance to address your concerns first.
Marketing
We may send information about IQA qualifications, services and events where you have requested it, where you represent an approved centre, or where you have given consent. You can opt out of marketing at any time by using the unsubscribe link in our emails or by contacting us directly.
Information security
We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against accidental loss, unauthorised access or misuse. These include secure hosting, encryption in transit, access controls, staff training and carefully selected third-party providers.
Changes to this statement
We may update this privacy statement from time to time to reflect changes in legislation, guidance or our business practices. Any updates will be published on this page with a new “last updated” date.