Schools may need to permanently delete an Applicant Profile from OpenApply for several reasons, typically related to data management, privacy concerns, and compliance with regulations. Here are some common reasons:
1. Privacy and Data Protection Laws
Schools must comply with data protection regulations like GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) in Europe or FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) in the U.S. These laws require institutions to safeguard personal data and give applicants (or their guardians) the right to request the deletion of their personal information if it is no longer needed or if the applicant withdraws their application.
2. Withdrawal of Application
If an applicant decides to withdraw their application, they may request that their profile be deleted from the system. This ensures that no unnecessary data remains on file once the applicant is no longer in the process of being considered for admission.
3. Incomplete or Invalid Applications
Sometimes, applicants may submit incomplete or invalid profiles. You may delete these profiles to maintain an accurate and organized system, especially if the applicant is not eligible to proceed further in the application process.
4. Administrative Cleanup
To streamline the applicant pool, you may periodically review and delete outdated or duplicate profiles, or profiles that no longer match the criteria for admission. This can help reduce clutter in their systems and ensure that they are only keeping relevant profiles.
5. Request by the Applicant or Guardian
In some cases, parents or guardians may request that an applicant’s information be permanently deleted, especially if they no longer wish to continue the application process with your school.
6. Data Accuracy
Profiles that haven’t been updated in a long time or have incorrect data might need to be deleted to maintain the integrity and relevance of the applicant database.
In all of these cases, deleting an applicant profile ensures that your school is adhering to best practices regarding data management, ensuring security, and complying with legal standards for personal information.
Process of Deleting an Applicant Profile from OpenApply
1. Navigate to the applicant profile, and click the pencil icon in the top right to edit the applicant:
2. Click Delete at the bottom of the right panel:
After deleting the applicant, if you also wish to delete the associated parent, navigate to Families > Orphaned Parents, then select and delete the parent from the list. To read more about Orphaned Parents, please refer to our help guide here
Bulk Deleting applicants
For security reasons, school users are not able to bulk delete applicants directly within OpenApply.
If you wish to bulk delete applicants, please follow these steps:
Filter the relevant enquiries or applicants in your OpenApply system.
Export the data, making sure to include either the OpenApply ID or the Student ID. Both these fields can be found under Extra Fields)
Once you have the file prepared, please share the CSV file with the OpenApply Customer Support team. They will process the deletion request on your behalf.
For more information on exporting, please refer to our help guide: Exporting data