34 34 BACK TO THEMES U NITE STUDENTS | APPLICANT INDEX REPORT | 2023 Data sharing The vast majority (81%) of students who have declared their disability as part of the application process have been supported by their school to do so. There is no current expectation or formal process for schools and colleges to share information routinely about disability, health or wellbeing as part of the application process, though they can mention it in the reference section with the permission of the applicant. The findings of this survey open up a debate about whether schools and colleges should be able to share this information more systematically, subject to consent, either on an opt-in or opt-out basis. We asked applicants if they would give consent if their school or college wanted to share the following information with their university: • A disability you have, and reasonable adjustments you may require • Information about your mental health • Information about your status as a care experienced person • Safeguarding information that your school may hold about you Almost four in five (79%) would give consent for some of this data to be shared and, within this, over a third (37%) of all applicants would give consent for any of this information to be shared. There were few demographic differences among those who would consent to share at least some data, though applicants from ‘mixed’ and ‘other’ ethnic backgrounds were less sure. ■ Yes ■ No ■ I would give consent for my school/ college to share any of this information ■ I would give consent for my school/ college to share some of this information ■ I would not give consent for my school/ college to share any of this information ■ I’m not sure Figure 25 : Consent to share personal data with university Figure 24 : Has your school / college supported you with your decision to declare your disability? Base: Applicants with a disability or health condition that have disclosed it as part of the application process (354) Base: Those who have been in education over the last two years (1,943) 19% 81% 37% 42% 12% 9% THEMATIC ANALYSIS - INDEPENDENCE