Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how the Office of Advancement, Makerere University (“we”, “us”, “our”) collects, uses, stores, and protects personal information when you visit our website, engage with our programmes, make a gift, submit a form, or use related services including the alumni portal.

We are committed to handling personal data responsibly, transparently, and in line with applicable law, including Uganda’s data protection framework.

Who we are

The Office of Advancement serves as Makerere University’s hub for alumni relations, philanthropy, partnerships, and institutional engagement. For privacy enquiries, contact us at advancement@mak.ac.ug or via our contact page.

Information we collect

Depending on how you interact with us, we may collect:

• Identity and contact details — such as name, email address, telephone number, postal address, and country of residence.
• Alumni and supporter information — graduation details, affiliation, giving history, event attendance, communication preferences, and voluntary profile information you provide through the alumni portal.
• Donation and partnership information — gift amounts, payment references where applicable, employer or foundation details, and correspondence relating to philanthropic or partnership enquiries.
• Form and enquiry data — information submitted through contact forms, nomination forms, partnership expressions of interest, newsletter sign-ups, and similar submissions.
• Technical data — IP address, browser type, device information, pages visited, and cookies (see below).

How we use your information

We use personal information to:

• respond to enquiries and provide requested services;
• administer donations, campaigns, events, and alumni programmes;
• send communications you have requested or that relate to your relationship with the University, where permitted;
• improve our website, content, and supporter experience;
• meet legal, regulatory, and institutional reporting obligations; and
• protect the security and integrity of our systems and users.

Legal basis for processing

We process personal data where one or more of the following applies: you have given consent; processing is necessary to perform a contract or take steps at your request; processing is necessary for our legitimate interests in advancing Makerere’s mission (balanced against your rights); or processing is required by law.

Sharing information

We do not sell personal information. We may share data with:

• authorised Makerere University offices and staff who need it for legitimate institutional purposes;
• service providers who support hosting, email delivery, payment processing, or analytics, under appropriate confidentiality and security arrangements;
• professional advisers where required; and
• regulators or authorities when required by law.

Where data is transferred outside Uganda, we take reasonable steps to ensure appropriate safeguards are in place.

Retention

We retain personal information only for as long as necessary for the purposes described in this policy, including legal, financial, and archival requirements relating to institutional records.

Security

We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against unauthorised access, loss, or misuse. No method of transmission over the internet is completely secure; we encourage you to use strong passwords and protect your account credentials.

Your rights

Subject to applicable law, you may have the right to request access to, correction of, or deletion of your personal information; to object to or restrict certain processing; and to withdraw consent where processing is consent-based. Alumni portal users can update many profile and privacy settings directly in the portal.

To exercise your rights, contact advancement@mak.ac.ug. We will respond within a reasonable period.

Cookies

Our website may use cookies and similar technologies to enable core functionality, remember preferences, and understand how visitors use the site. You can manage cookies through your browser settings. Essential cookies may still be required for the site to function properly.

Third-party links

Our website may link to external sites (for example social networks or partner organisations). We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those sites and encourage you to read their policies.

Children

Our public website is intended for a general audience. Where we process information relating to students, we do so in accordance with institutional policies and applicable safeguards.

Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The “last updated” date at the top of this page indicates when it was last revised. Material changes will be reflected on this website.