University of Oxford s4

UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD University Offices, Wellington Square, Oxford OX1 2JD

Ref. FOI/2017/June

03 July 2017 Reply to request for information under Freedom of Information of Act

Your Ref: Your email dated 07 June 2017

Address [email protected]

Request Please can you let me have the summary GCSE data and A level subjects and grades (and where appropriate pre U and IB scores), for all candidates taking up an undergraduate economics and management place (on course LN12). Please supply data for the latest two years for which you have figures (entry in September 2016 and 2015 presumably or failing that for 2015 and 2014). Please supply the results in excel.

I imagine the sheet will show (but of course not name) for all 80- 90 students, each on a separate row: gender (m/f), no of A* GCSEs, no of A grade GCSEs, no of other grade GCSEs, IB points, A level grade summary (for example A*, A*, A*, A), the subject summary (Maths, further maths, economics, english for example), followed by columns showing the subject, the grade, the subject, the grade, the subject, the grade, and so on, for each A level.

The format is based on a question response by Cambridge University found on www.whatdotheyknow.com about engineering undergraduates on 29 November 2015.

Dear Mr Briscoe,

Thank you for your request.

The information held by the University in relation to applicants who were accepted to study Economics and Management in 2015 and 2016 is provided in the attached spreadsheet (please refer to the ‘Guide’ tab for explanatory notes).

For each applicant, we are withholding the gender and the exact year of entry onto the course (the data for 2015/2016 has been aggregated) as we consider that this information might enable those with access to other relevant information or knowledge to identify the individuals concerned and to obtain new information about those individuals’ qualifications. UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD University Offices, Wellington Square, Oxford OX1 2JD

In withholding this information, we are applying the exemption in section 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Section 40(2) provides an exemption from disclosure for information that is the personal data of an individual other than the requester, where disclosure would breach any of the data protection principles in Schedule 1 of the Data Protection Act (DPA). We consider that disclosure of the full information requested would breach the first data protection principle, which requires that personal data is processed fairly and lawfully. Disclosure would be unfair to the individuals concerned, as it would be contrary to their reasonable and legitimate expectations. They would not reasonably expect that detailed information about their qualifications would be made public under the FOIA without their consent. (A disclosure of information under FOIA is presumed to be a disclosure to the world at large.) The first data protection principle also requires that any disclosure must satisfy one of the conditions set out in Schedule 2 to the DPA. There are six conditions altogether: we do not consider that any of them would be satisfied in respect of the disclosure.

The exemption in section 40(2) is an absolute exemption and is not subject to the public interest test provided for in section 2(2)(b) of the FOIA. To the extent that the public interest is relevant in this case, the University has taken it into account.

Additionally, whilst the University collects GCSE data and records the number of A* grades achieved at GCSE for each of its applicants, it doesn’t specifically compile the same information for A grades. Although the University does hold individual GCSE data for each of its applicants, to obtain the number of A grades for each individual would requiring manually reviewing each individual’s record. We are therefore unable to comply with this part of the request, as we estimate that the time required to locate, retrieve and extract it, would exceed the maximum amount of time a public authority is required to spend on a single request, namely, 18 hours.

For this reason, we are refusing this part of your request under section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act. Section 12 allows a public authority to refuse a request for information if the authority estimates that the cost of complying with it would exceed the ‘appropriate limit’ prescribed in the Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004 (the ‘Regulations’). The appropriate limit for universities is £450, which, because the Regulations fix staff costs at £25 an hour, corresponds to a time limit of 18 hours or just over two working days.

INTERNAL REVIEW If you are dissatisfied with this reply, you may ask the University to review it, by writing to the Registrar at the following address:

University Offices Wellington Square Oxford OX1 2JD

Alternatively, you may request a review by e-mailing [email protected]. UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD University Offices, Wellington Square, Oxford OX1 2JD UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD University Offices, Wellington Square, Oxford OX1 2JD

THE INFORMATION COMMISSIONER If, after the internal review, you remain dissatisfied, you have the right under FOIA to apply to the Information Commissioner for a decision as to whether your request has been dealt with in accordance with the FOIA.

Yours sincerely

FOI OXFORD