11 January 2023
By email:
[FYI request #21327 email]
Dear IH
I refer to your information request dated 3 December 2022 made under the Official Information Act
1982 (the Act). You have requested mark and grade distributions for all 200- and 300-level Genetics
papers in 2020 and 2022.
Subject to the following comments, please see attached the information you have requested. Please
note that there are two sheets in the attached document (one for each year).
• on occasions where fewer than five students have failed a paper (i.e. received a grade of Fail
D, Fail E, Failed Compulsory Assessment or Failed Terns), we have determined that it is
necessary to withhold the marks and specific grades for these students to protect their
privacy and wellbeing. We consider that withholding this information is necessary to protect
against the identity of these students being determined or inferred, and their personal
information (i.e. their marks) could be disclosed. We therefore withhold this information
pursuant to section 9(2)(a) of the Act.
• in the attached grade and mark distributions, we note that students who withdrew from the
papers are excluded from the data.
• please also note that all final grades for papers completed in Semester 1 2020 were
increased by 5 marks to account for disruptions created by COVID-19. In Semester 2 2020,
final grades of 47, 48 or 49 were bumped up to 50 (pass).
I trust that this information will be helpful.
In the above cases, we consider that good reasons exist for withholding information, and this is not
outweighed by other considerations which would make it desirable, in the public interest, to make
the information available. If you are not satisfied with our response to your information request,
section 28(3) of the Act provides you with the right to ask an Ombudsman to investigate and review
this response. However, we would welcome the opportunity to discuss any concerns with you first.
Yours sincerely
Kelsey Kennard
Official Information and Compliance Coordinator
Office of the Registrar