Privacy Policy

Our Privacy Policy

Our privacy policy tells you about the personal information we collect from you, how we use it, and what your rights are. If we make any major changes to this policy, we’ll add an alert on this website, and our social media channels, or contact you. If you are under the age of 13, you can take a look around our website, but you shouldn’t give us your personal information, as our services are for people aged 13 or over.

If you've got any questions about our privacy policy, or how we use personal information, email [mycas@emgs.com.my] or write to: MYCAS, Suite A-21-1 157, Hampshire Place, 1, Jalan Mayang Sari, Office, 50450 Kuala Lumpur, Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur.

Who we are

We are the MYCAS (Malaysia's Central Admission System). We are owned and operated by or on behalf of Education Malaysia Global Services (“EMGS”). Our registered office is on the Suite A-21-1 157, Hampshire Place, 1, Jalan Mayang Sari, Office, 50450 Kuala Lumpur, Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur.

Our website is [mycas.educationmalaysia.gov.my] - we manage international student applications to higher and further education in Malaysia. All personal information provided by you through this website is under the control of MYCAS, and we’re responsible for taking care of your personal information in line with the Personal Data Protection Act 2010. This policy may refer to either organization as ‘MYCAS, ‘our’, ‘us’, or ‘we’.

Terms used in this policy

When explaining how we use your personal information, we use quite a few terms to describe our services. We try to use language that is easy to understand and avoid legal terms. However, we’re required by law to include certain information in our privacy policy – here we explain what these terms mean:

Personal Data: Any data that relates directly to a living individual, e.g. name, IC or passport number, or combination of information that can lead to identification including data in formats such as test data, audio, CCTV, and still photographs.
Sensitive Personal Data: Personal data consisting of information regarding the physical or mental health or condition of a data subject, his political opinions, his religious beliefs, or other beliefs of a similar nature, the commission or alleged commission by him of any offense.
Your consent to use of your information including personal information: We will ask you to confirm your agreement (consent) by ticking a box in the Pay/Send section of your application. By ticking this box, we will consider that you accept the terms of the declaration set out below and the use of the MYCAS website and privacy policy; we cannot process your application unless you do so. We may use the details you provide in future to contact you in accordance with our privacy policy. You agree to disclose true and complete information during the account registration process, and to update your information if and when it changes.

SUMMARY OF HOW WE USE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

This summary gives you an overview of the main purpose for which we will use the information including personal information collected from you.

Purpose 1 – Managing your application to higher or further education, or attendance at a MYCAS event

If you apply through MYCAS, or register to attend a MYCAS event, you’re accepting our terms and conditions, and entering into a contract with us. We’ll collect the personal information necessary to satisfy the purpose of this contract, such as personal information to allow course providers to make informed decisions on whether to offer a place on a course. This also covers personal information collected from other sources, such as referees, or examination and awarding bodies.

Purpose 2 – Sharing personal information with statutory bodies with responsibilities for the higher education sector and enabling academic research into higher education

We share personal information with universities to help them meet or demonstrate they are meeting, government aims or policies such as ‘widening participation’ initiatives, which require them to address discrepancies in the take up of higher education opportunities between different social groups. We also share personal information to enable academic research. We also publish a wide range of reports about our higher education student admission service. We always try to share information in a way that does not identify individuals, such as by providing statistical information. Where personal information is provided in a way that allows individuals to be identified, it is done so under contractual terms, and not used to support decisions being made about individuals.

Purpose 3 – Sending information to unplaced applicants about available courses, display advertising, providing services to universities to help their admissions strategies, and producing commercial research

If you apply through MYCAS and do not get a place, we may send you course and opportunity information on behalf of providers, unless you opt out of receiving this. If you have subscribed to other forms of social media or chat e.g. Twitter or Snapchat, Google, etc., we may also use their remarketing features to support the promotion of our services that you have shown an interest in. You can stop receiving these adverts by following the advice in the ‘Direct marketing, accessing student products, and how to opt-out’ section of this privacy policy. We give analysis to providers, to help them understand and measure the success of their admissions procedures and improve them. We do not provide personal information that identifies individuals for this purpose. We also may provide statistical analysis to people or organizations undertaking research into the higher education sector.

Purpose 4 – Enhancing customer experience

We offer services that enhance customer experience, which people can opt in to. These include:

Receipt of information about education, careers, accommodation, and products and services that students might be interested in.
Sharing contact details with third parties that may be able to offer advice and support with the application.

We will obtain separate consent for these functions, in addition to the terms agreed to when applicants and others agree to the terms of service associated with the product.

Purpose 5- In accordance with any legal or statutory requirements imposed on us by government agencies or requests for information from the police, immigration, or other law enforcement bodies.

How we verify the information you provide

We may take any necessary steps to check with you and other parties, including universities, colleges, and examination and awarding bodies whether the information you have provided is accurate or complete. We have the right to cancel your application without refunding your application fee if we determine (having carried out any necessary checks), or have reasonable belief, that your application contains false information. If you have any reason to believe that the information we hold about you is not true, complete, or accurate you must tell us. If we need to verify your identity, we may use details in your application by making checks using any official, publicly available, or commercially available identity-checking services. If any adverse information is revealed about you, we will let you know so that you have an opportunity to respond.

Misuse of credit or debit card

If you pay your application fee using a credit or debit card that you do not have permission to use, we will cancel your application. We may also cancel your application if your payment is not honored, i.e., a bank or credit card provider refuses to pay us.

If We Need More Information About You

We, and the universities and colleges, may, at any time, ask you to provide more information about your application. For example, we may need to see proof of:

Your identity.
Your qualifications.
Your employment history.

If we do not receive that information after a reasonable period and by a set date, or if the information is not satisfactory, we can cancel your application without giving you your application fee back.

If we make a mistake

We try to process applications and decisions efficiently and accurately. However, we are not responsible for any mistakes or delays, or any loss or damage suffered by you as a result of any mistakes or delays, which are due to the acts or omissions of universities or colleges, or which are otherwise outside of our reasonable control.

What You Can Expect from the University or College When You Receive an Offer

When you receive an offer of a place from a university or college, they should also provide you with or make available to you relevant information about:

Course information and costs, such as tuition fees and any other relevant costs such as for field trips or specialist equipment required for the course.
Arrangements for making payments to the university or college.
Their complaints-handling process, including your right to cancel should you change your mind.

The university or college should also provide you with information about their terms, rules, and regulations relating to student conduct, which explain your rights and obligations to the university or college and, likewise, their obligations to you as a student at their institution.

You should read and understand this information before deciding on an offer. If you do not receive the required information, or you wish to make a complaint, or if you are not clear about anything relating to your offer and the information provided, you should contact the university or college directly to ask for further advice.

If the Course Cannot Be Offered

If you become a student, under your contract with the university or college, they must do all they can to provide the educational services. If the university or college is unable to provide these services for any reason, they should do all they can to keep the disruption to your education to a minimum, for example, by offering you a place on a suitable alternative course or aiding help you find a suitable alternative place elsewhere.

How We May Use Your Personal Information - When You Make an Application via MYCAS

When you agree to this declaration, by ticking a box to submit your application, you will be confirming that you understand and agree to how your personal information will be used, as explained in these terms and our privacy policy.

We limit access to the personal information contained within your application to educational establishments who participate in MYCAS Student Admission Service, certain organizations who have statutory or regulatory responsibilities and to trusted, non-commercial organizations to enable research about higher education.

When you apply, MYCAS may use your personal information for the following purposes:

Collecting and Using Your Personal Information

When you apply to higher education, we may collect the personal information below. If you register to apply, we collect your:

Username.
Chosen password.
Answers to security questions.
Your name and address and email address.
Date of birth.
Contact details.
Marital status.
Next of kin/family information.
Passport data.
Communication preferences.
Gender.
Nationality, and other immigration-related matters.

We will also ask for details of your education, qualifications, work experience, course choices, and student finance options. This may include details of a financial sponsor where there are minimum financial requirements or guarantees to be met as a condition of entry to the course or into Malaysia. When you pay the application fee, we’ll also collect your chosen payment details.

We will ask for your visa and passport details so the course providers you are applying to can check your identity and confirm you are eligible to study in Malaysia.

MYCAS is involved in undertaking research about the higher education sector – we will retain a copy of your application and use it, sometimes in combination with other information we hold, for producing statistical analysis and research in respect of MYCAS Student Admission Service. Any statistical analysis reports published will be anonymized so as not to allow any individual to be identified.

Sharing Your Personal Information

We share your personal information with organizations or individuals for the purposes listed below.

Supporting and Managing Your Application to Higher Education

We share the personal information in your application with the providers in the MYCAS Student Admission Service you’re applying to, so they can consider your application.

We share any results provided by the examination and awarding bodies at any point during the application cycle with the course providers you applied to. We may also liaise with them about your results.

We may correspond with your examination board or awarding organization about your results, and we may undertake surveys they may commission on their behalf.

We will, if appropriate, share information with relevant professional and regulatory bodies in connection with inquiries relating to your fitness to practice.

We will share personal information with the Malaysian Department for Immigration and other Malaysian government agencies or relevant third parties in connection with verification procedures for your entry into Malaysia for study purposes.

Providing and Enabling Analysis and Research about the Higher Education Sector

We will retain a copy of your application and use it, sometimes in combination with other information we hold, for the purpose of producing statistical analysis and research in respect of the student admission service managed by MYCAS. Any statistical analysis reports published will not allow any individual to be identified.

We may also share personal information with the government or other bodies with responsibilities for the higher education sector, or others which develop and monitor the effectiveness of government policies for higher education.

Sharing Personal Data Outside Malaysia

We may use technology suppliers that provide services located in countries outside Malaysia. Where we do so, we ensure any personal information is protected by the same standards that apply in Malaysia.

Direct Marketing, Accessing Student Products, and How to Opt Out

If you register to attend a MYCAS event or apply to higher education, we may send you further information considered 'direct marketing' under data protection law.

If you register to attend a MYCAS event or apply through MYCAS, we will send you further information about our services, including our newsletters and information relevant to your application. We may send you information about courses if you find yourself unplaced unless you opt-out in your application or subsequently. We may invite you to enter competitions or respond to surveys.

If you apply through any of our student admission service or attend a MYCAS event, you’ll be asked to opt in to receive information from selected third parties about education, careers, and/or sponsorship opportunities, as well as information about commercial products, and services relevant to students, such as discounts related to travel, banking, magazines, insurance, health, and fitness.

We will not share your personal information with third parties who send you direct marketing unless you provide specific consent for us to do so, separate from any consent about receiving information.

How to Opt Out of Receiving Further Information

You can opt out of receiving this information at any time, by clicking the ‘Unsubscribe’ or ‘Update preferences’ links in our communications.

Social Media and Cookies

How We Collect Your Personal Information

If we engage with each other through social media, we may collect information contained in your posts or blogs, comments, likes, voting, web chat, video uploads, or private messaging functions, from any of the social media links available to you on this website.

How We Share Your Personal Information

Any personal information you choose to share could be accessed publicly, if you share any content on this site, or on any of our social media sites (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram, Vine, LinkedIn, or Google+). This includes disclosing personal information if you engage with MYCAS social media, such as posting comments on our MYCAS Facebook page, voting for your favourite blogger, sending us a private message, uploading a video, or tweeting us.

We cannot be held responsible for any damaging actions or behaviour’s which may result, following your use of this, or any other related social media activity.

Social Media Acceptable Use

When you engage with MYCAS on social media, such as our Facebook page or Twitter feed, the comments you post are live as soon as you publish them. We do not check and approve them beforehand. We will remove inappropriate posts.

Cookies

We want to make sure we give you very clear information about the cookies we collect, how we use them, and how to disable them – read our cookies policy.

We use cookies to provide users with the functionality contained in our website and produce anonymous information to help analyze website traffic, usage, and behavior. This helps us improve the visitor experience on our website and ensure you receive relevant adverts when you use our website and others.

Passwords

To keep your application secure, we’ll provide you with a username and you’ll be asked to create a password. We also ask you to answer certain questions before we discuss your application with you. You can choose to nominate a representative to act on your behalf.

Do not give your Personal ID to anyone other than your nominated representative if you choose to. Your password or security answers must not be given to anyone, even your nominated representative.

Retention of Personal Information

We retain your personal information in accordance with the PDPA 2010, which obliges us to keep it only for as long as is necessary. If we do not have any requirement to retain personal information for business, regulatory, or legal reasons, we will delete it.

Withdrawing Consent

You can opt out of receiving further information and advice by clicking the ‘Unsubscribe’ or ‘Update preferences’ links in the communications you receive from us.

You can opt out of the direct contact service by changing your preferences through the email sent to you asking you if you want to opt in.