Compliance changes to Apply 2016

Work has started on making some mandatory compliance changes for the 2016 cycle. These changes are only applicable to UCAS – advisers and third parties are not required to take any action. The changes are as follows:

• Consumer protection
  Guidance issued in March by the Competition and Markets Authority to UK universities and colleges on consumer protection law, and the impending Consumer Rights Act (due to come into effect in October 2015), have prompted us to review our systems and processes. We need to ensure not only that we comply with the relevant legislation, but also that our services and processes will assist universities and colleges to comply with their consumer protection obligations. Consumer protection reforms started last year with the change of the ‘cooling off’ period from seven to 14 days. For UCAS, this means we have increased the reply swap window from seven to 14 days.
  
  We have already made changes to our cancellation policy, to ensure applicants are able to cancel applications within 14 days and receive a full refund. This remains unchanged from previous years. We are now reviewing our applicant-facing documents and processes to ensure they are ‘consumer’ friendly, clear, and informative to applicants on what they can expect from the admissions process (e.g., they should receive pre-contractual information from universities and colleges before they accept any offers).
   
• Recommendations from the Information Commissioner’s Office
  Following discussions with the Information Commissioner's Office, we have agreed to make changes to the way we obtain consent from applicants about their marketing opportunities options, and will provide clearer information about how we use applicant data in our privacy policy.
  
  This will mean applicants have a greater choice in respect of the types of commercial mailings they choose to receive, and consent will be obtained specifically for:
  
  – study or careers opportunities and health information
  – student living and lifestyle information