Statement on the use of cookies by Goldsmiths

Overview and giving your permission

When you visit the websites of Goldsmiths, University of London, using a web browser or similar tool, a small file (a "cookie") may be stored on your computer or other access device, which sends Goldsmiths information about your usage of its website. Goldsmiths may access and update this information during subsequent visits that you make to its websites. All of the cookies listed in this document are persistent cookies.

Cookies are set by Goldsmiths for a number of reasons including the measurement of the popularity of the content of our websites, setting and recording the preferences of visitors to our websites, and tracking the progress of visitors through online forms.

The recording of information upon the access devices of visitors to the Goldsmiths websites is performed with the assumption that visitors to our websites are in agreement with the storage of cookies on their access devices. However visitors are encouraged to check the settings of their web browsers to ensure that they are allowing or preventing the settings of cookies in accordance with their preferences before visiting the Goldsmiths websites. 

Please note that in certain circumstances visitors to the Goldsmiths websites may not experience the normal levels of service or functionality from the Goldsmiths websites if they choose to disable the setting of cookies on their access devices.

Cookies used by Goldsmiths

The cookies used by Goldsmiths webpages remain on users' websites for different durations. The pages use:

• session cookies, which are stored in the browser memory but only for as long as the user's visit to the website; and
• persistent cookies that are placed on the hard disk or equivalent storage mechanism of users' access devices.

Goldsmiths employs both first-party and third-party cookies to record information on the access devices of visitors to its websites.  First-party cookies are associated directly with the network domains of the Goldsmiths websites from which they are deployed. Third party cookies are associated with network domains that are directly related to those of Goldsmiths.

We use first-party cookies to store user preferences and to provide statistical analysis on an anonymous basis, while third-party services use cookies to store settings and provide additional functionality.

First-Party Cookies Employed on Goldsmiths Websites

The cookies listed in this section provide a comprehensive summary of the first-party cookies used on the Goldsmiths websites available to the public.

gold.ac.uk

Goldsmiths' main public website: Visitors to the network domain gold.ac.uk receive Google Analytics cookies as described below. These cookies are set from the gold.ac.uk domain.  In addition a “style” cookie is set from www.gold.ac.uk domain to assist with accessibility to the Goldsmiths website.

eprints.gold.ac.uk

Goldsmiths Research Online: a repository of research publications and other research outputs

learn.gold.ac.uk

The Goldsmiths Virtual Learning Environment

mahara.gold.ac.uk

A personal learning environment: Mahara is the online and social networking counterpart to the learn.gold Virtual Learning Environment.

intranet.gold.ac.uk

This server provides a collection of materials intended only for college staff and students, including IT training guides.

secure.gold.ac.uk

Provides encryption for sections of the Goldsmiths website.

secure2.gold.ac.uk

Externally and internally available web applications including Web Mail (Squirrel Mail).

webmail.gold.ac.uk

This web address redirects users to the secure2.gold.ac.uk domain as mentioned above, to provide users with access to webmail.  The “style” cookie is set from this domain.

survey.gold.ac.uk

This web address is a domain name redirection to an externally hosted service provided by Bristol Online Surveys.  The cookies below are understood to be set by the Bristol Online Survey’s web servers.

jobs.goldsmiths.ac.uk

Goldsmiths' staff recruitment website: This domain displays the web pages used to view the currently available job vacancies at Goldsmiths. The web pages are being served from the externally hosted www2.i-grasp.com web address.

Third-Party Cookies Employed on Goldsmiths Websites

Goldsmiths may use plug-ins or other functionally equivalent links to third-party websites that allow cookies to be set on the access devices of visitors by the external organisations associated with these services. Examples of the providers of these services include Twitter, Facebook (eg "Like" buttons), Flickr, YouTube and Vimeo. These cookies associated with third party websites may also provide Goldsmiths with anonymous data that can be analysed to find out how its information is shared outside its own website.

The setting of cookies by third-party web services employed by Goldsmiths on its corporate websites is subject to change and visitors to the Goldsmiths websites are encouraged to study the individual privacy policies of these organisations before visiting the Goldsmiths websites.