1. What is the Trusted contact scheme?
The Faculty of Engineering has rolled out a Trusted Contact scheme in 2020 to enable a department to collect the name of a students trusted contact (a relative or friend) via a Qualtrics survey at the start of the academic year. The Department (usually the Senior Tutor and Wellbeing Adviser) will contact the trusted contact in the event of lower level concerns for a students safety, health, or wellbeing.
2. When will the scheme be used?
Examples of such lower level concerns/situations include, but are not limited to:
- significant physical or mental illness
- concerns about behaviour that might mean a student is unwell
- where a student’s residential circumstances pose a significant threat to their safety or wellbeing
- where a student is reported or suspected of being missing, and the procedure for missing students has been exhausted
- where a student is not engaging with their department
3. Communicating the scheme in personal tutorials
Students will have already received an email with a link to the survey from the wellbeing adviser at the start of the academic year. However Personal Tutors can encourage students to complete the optional Qualtrics trusted contact form during personal tutorial sessions by sending a link to Qualtrics via email and communicating to students that the scheme is used as a preventive intervention.
The students can choose who they put down as a contact and it can be the same as the emergency contact details held at college or it can be a different contact.
The decision to contact a students trusted contact will be taken by the Senior Tutor, Wellbeing Adviser, and Faculty Senior Tutor. A record will be made of the contact. The data will be used only if we are unable to contact a student via their imperial email address in which case contact will be made to the students trusted contact by phone, email, or letter. Therefore, it is important that personal tutors please encourage students to check their inbox regularly and communicate if they are not able to attend tutorials or are experiencing academic or wellbeing issues so early support can be provided.
In the rare circumstance that there is concern of immediate danger the Faculty Senior Tutor Lorraine Craig will be notified by the Senior Tutor or Wellbeing Adviser and the Faculty Senior Tutor will make a decision whether or not to contact (either or both) of the students trusted contact and emergency contact details held at College.
Who will see the form?
Completed forms are in the first instance restricted to Wellbeing Adviser, UG Office Manager, Senior Tutor and Department Operations Manager. They will treat this information in the strictest confidence.
For more details about the scheme please contact:
- Departmental Wellbeing Adviser, Amy Picton
- Departmental UG Senior Tutors: Siti Ros Shamsuddin and Yongyun Hwang
- PG Senior Tutor: Joaquim Peiro
- PGR Senior Tutor: Francesco Montomoli
If students have any questions about how their personal information is used, or wish to exercise any of their rights under GDPR then please refer to Data Protection Officer, Robert Scott.