The university tells alumni that if they want to access the alumni site they need to provide their mobile number

It’s to protect their data by using multifactor authentication – log on and a once-only access code is sent to their phone.

The university says it wants to use mobile numbers for MFA and also “for the purposes set out” in the alumni and associated “data protection privacy collection statement.”

MU specifies a bunch of reasons why it might get in touch, including, “to inform you of opportunities to engage with and support the university.”

Monash is quite clear that people “can manage communication preferences” on the site but not opting-out may be very handy for those who want to know how to “support the university”, in their will, for example.