Privacy Policy

Campus-Wide Login (CWL) Privacy Policy

1. Privacy Statement

UBC is committed to protecting your privacy.

All personal information in the CWL Account is collected by UBC under the authority of Section 26(c) of the British Columbia Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c.165. Personal information will be used for the purposes described in the CWL Account Terms of Service and this Privacy Policy. Any questions about the collection of your personal information should be sent to UBC IT.

2. Personal Information we Collect

During the CWL Account sign-up process you will be asked for several pieces of information to initially confirm your identity with campus identity systems. This information is used to verify your identity only. From this information, CWL only stores a system key to later re-identify you as required.

CWL permanently stores the following account information on secure servers that are not accessible to the public:

  • CWL Display Name: this is used to identify you to UBC services that use the CWL. It will not be disclosed to third parties without your consent.
  • CWL Login Name: an alias used to identify you, which you can modify if desired.
  • Password: a password or passphrase chosen by you.
  • System keys: a key that uniquely identifies you in the identity system being referenced (e.g., the student number would be the system key for the Student Information System).

The CWL servers also store system logs that allow UBC IT to tune and protect the service, diagnose problems and to determine general usage patterns. UBC IT will not keep the information any longer than necessary to meet these objectives. These system logs contain the following information:

  • Identification of the system that requested authentication.
  • The account authentication was requested for.
  • The date/time stamp of the request.
  • Acceptance or failure of the request.

3. Creation, Use and Disclosure of CWL Login Name

Your CWL Login Name (sometimes called CWL Login ID or CWL Username) is an alias that is used to uniquely identify you in various software applications used by UBC. It is also used as the basis for your email address.

If you are a faculty or staff member, your CWL Login Names will be auto-created based on your name (based on the principle that employees' names are public information).

If you are a student or visitor, you are entitled to choose your own CWL Login Name and it does not have to be based on your personal name, as long as it meets the following requirements:

  • must be between 2 to 8 characters
  • allowed characters include letters (a-z) and numbers (0-9)
  • first two characters must be alpha characters
  • must not be offensive, abusive, or deceptive

Students and visitors are cautioned to choose their CWL Login Name wisely as it will be visible to and searchable by other users. The CWL Login Name will also be provided to UBC's service providers and other third parties for the purpose of assisting UBC to provide services to you. By using the CWL Account, you are consenting to the disclosure of your CWL Login Name as set out above and the storage of your CWL Login Name inside and outside Canada.

4. Use and Disclosure of Personal Information

Any personal information collected through the CWL Account may be accessed by UBC employees and service providers where necessary to operate and support the account or to comply with policy or legal requirements.

UBC does not permit any personal information collected through the Service to be accessed, used or shared by companies, institutions, organizations and individuals outside of UBC unless one of the following circumstances applies:

  • For legal reasons - UBC will share personal information if we have a good-faith belief that access, use, preservation or disclosure of the information is reasonably necessary to:
    • (a) comply with any applicable law, regulation, legal process or enforceable governmental request;
    • (b) detect, prevent, or otherwise address criminal activity, fraud, security or technical issues;
    • (c) protect against harm to the rights, property or safety of UBC and the users of the CWL Account.
  • For research and development - UBC may share aggregated, non-personally identifiable information publicly and with the academic community. For example, we may share information to show trends about the general use of the CWL Account.
  • Otherwise, only with your consent - Other than as set out above, UBC will share personal information only when UBC has your express consent to do so.

5. CWL Security Measures

UBC IT focuses on security so that the CWL service remains available to you and other visitors. The following measures are in place:

  • Your CWL Login Name and password are used to verify your identity and the associated privileges you have as a member of the UBC community. This verification takes place through a secure system managed by UBC IT.
  • Minimal information about you is passed to the systems that use the CWL authentication process. The information that is passed varies based on the system making the request is typically the CWL Login Name, Preferred First and Last Names, Email Address, and a unique ID number such as the Employee ID.
  • Your personal information is stored on secure servers that are not available to the public.
  • All functions of the CWL system that contain sensitive information are encrypted when transferred to your browser from the server through the secure socket layer transport protocol.

Although UBC IT makes every effort to maintain the security of the CWL and your personal information, UBC IT cannot guarantee against, and is not responsible for, unauthorized access or fraudulent use of the CWL Account or the information stored in that account.