Who we are
The Blended Learning Consortium (BLC) is operated by Heart of Worcestershire College (HOW College), whose registered address is Osprey House, Albert Street, Redditch, B97 4DE. HOW College is the data controller for personal data collected through this website.
For data protection enquiries, please contact us at our contact page or by post to the address above.
What data we collect and why
We collect personal data in two situations:
1. Accessing member resources
When you log in to the My Resources area or verify your identity to download files, we collect your college email address. We use this to:
- verify that your institution holds a current BLC membership;
- log download activity so we can monitor usage and report back to member institutions.
Download records (email address, resource name, and timestamp) are stored in a secure internal system accessible only to BLC staff. This data is retained for the duration of the current membership year and reviewed annually.
The legal basis for this processing is legitimate interests (UK GDPR Article 6(1)(f)) — specifically, verifying membership entitlement and maintaining accurate usage records for a subscription service.
2. General enquiries and newsletter sign-up
If you submit a contact form or sign up to our newsletter, we collect your name, email address, and organisation. This is used solely to respond to your enquiry or send BLC updates you have opted into. You can unsubscribe from the newsletter at any time using the link in any email we send.
The legal basis for enquiry responses is legitimate interests; for newsletter sign-up it is consent (UK GDPR Article 6(1)(a)).
Who we share data with
We do not sell or share your personal data with third parties for marketing purposes. Data may be shared in the following limited circumstances:
- Your institution — usage reports (summarised or individual download records) may be shared with the membership contact at your college as part of our standard membership reporting.
- Service providers — we use third-party tools (including Google Workspace) to store and process data on our behalf. These providers act as data processors and are contractually required to handle data securely and only as instructed.
- Legal obligations — we may disclose data if required to do so by law or a competent authority.
How long we keep your data
Login and download records are retained for the current academic membership year (1 August to 31 July) and reviewed at the end of each term. Contact enquiry data is retained for up to 2 years. Newsletter subscriber data is held until you unsubscribe.
Your rights
Under UK GDPR, you have the right to:
- access a copy of the personal data we hold about you;
- ask us to correct inaccurate data;
- ask us to delete your data, where we have no ongoing lawful reason to retain it;
- object to processing based on legitimate interests;
- lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk.
To exercise any of these rights, please get in touch.
Cookies and analytics
This website does not currently use tracking cookies or third-party analytics. If this changes, this notice will be updated.
Changes to this notice
We may update this notice from time to time. The date at the top of this page reflects when it was last revised. Continued use of the site after a change constitutes acceptance of the updated notice.