Dear M. Moran,

 

I refer to your request of 18 January 2023. As consultations necessary to
make a decision on your request are such that a response cannot reasonably
be given within the original time limit, the University has extended the
time limit for your request under section 15A(1)(b) of the OIA. The new
maximum time limit for the University’s response is 23 February 2023; we
will respond to your request as soon as reasonably practicable. You have
the right to make a complaint to an Ombudsman if you are dissatisfied with
this extension.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Landon Watt

Legal Advisor

Office of the Vice-Chancellor

University of Auckland

 

From: M. Moran <[1][FOI #21574 email]>
Sent: Wednesday, 18 January 2023 12:15 AM
To: legal <[2][University of Auckland request email]>
Subject: Official Information request - Grade distributions for Faculty of
Engineering courses and specialisations

 

Dear University of Auckland,

I am looking for grade distributions for Faculty of Engineering courses
and specialisations.

1. For each Faculty of Engineering course in 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022,
please could you provide the following course grades: minimum,
lower-quartile, median, upper-quartile, maximum, mean, and standard
deviation/variance.
2. For each Faculty of Engineering course in 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022,
please could you provide the number of students who received the following
course grades: A+, A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, CP, D+, D, D-, DNC, DNS,
W.
3. For each Faculty of Engineering specialisation in 2019, 2020, 2021, and
2022, for each year level (i.e. Part I, Part II, Part III, and Part IV
students), please provide the following student GPAs: minimum,
lower-quartile, median, upper-quartile, maximum, mean, and standard
deviation/variance.
4. For each Faculty of Engineering specialisation in 2019, 2020, 2021, and
2022, for each year level, please provide the number of students who had a
GPA in the following ranges: A+, A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D+, D, D-.

Any other machine-readable format (e.g. a CSV file) may be used instead of
the Excel spreadsheet. Please fulfil this request as much as possible, and
explain what data cannot be provided, if any.

Yours faithfully,

M. Moran

-------------------------------------------------------------------

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Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[3][FOI #21574 email]

Is [4][University of Auckland request email] the wrong address for Official Information
requests to University of Auckland? If so, please contact us using this
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[5]https://fyi.org.nz/change_request/new?bo...

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If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer, please
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References

Visible links
1. mailto:[FOI #21574 email]
2. mailto:[University of Auckland request email]
3. mailto:[FOI #21574 email]
4. mailto:[University of Auckland request email]
5. https://fyi.org.nz/change_request/new?bo...
6. https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers

Dear M. Moran,

 

I refer to your request of 18 January 2023. The University’s response
follows:

 

“I am looking for grade distributions for Faculty of Engineering courses
and specialisations.

1. For each Faculty of Engineering course in 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022,
please could you provide the following course grades: minimum,
lower-quartile, median, upper-quartile, maximum, mean, and standard
deviation/variance.
2. For each Faculty of Engineering course in 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022,
please could you provide the number of students who received the following
course grades: A+, A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, CP, D+, D, D-, DNC, DNS,
W.
3. For each Faculty of Engineering specialisation in 2019, 2020, 2021, and
2022, for each year level (i.e. Part I, Part II, Part III, and Part IV
students), please provide the following student GPAs: minimum,
lower-quartile, median, upper-quartile, maximum, mean, and standard
deviation/variance.
4. For each Faculty of Engineering specialisation in 2019, 2020, 2021, and
2022, for each year level, please provide the number of students who had a
GPA in the following ranges: A+, A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D+, D, D-.”

 

The University has decided to provide, for each Faculty of Engineering
course for 2019-2022 with seven or more enrolled students, the number of
students who received each grade (A+ to D-, DNC, DNS, W). This information
will be provided as soon as reasonably practicable. You can derive from
this information the course grade statistics requested in part 1 of your
request. For courses with fewer than seven students, the information
requested is withheld under section 9(2)(a) of the Privacy Act 2020 to
protect their privacy.

 

The statistics requested in parts 3 and 4 of your request are not held by
the University, and there is no requirement under the OIA to create them.
This constitutes a refusal of your request under section 18(g) of the OIA.
You have the right to make a complaint to an Ombudsman if you are
dissatisfied with this response.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Landon Watt

Legal Advisor

Office of the Vice-Chancellor

University of Auckland

 

From: Landon Watt
Sent: Thursday, 16 February 2023 5:06 pm
To: [FOI #21574 email]
Subject: RE: 2023-OIA-0009-Moran_2

 

Dear M. Moran,

 

I refer to your request of 18 January 2023. As consultations necessary to
make a decision on your request are such that a response cannot reasonably
be given within the original time limit, the University has extended the
time limit for your request under section 15A(1)(b) of the OIA. The new
maximum time limit for the University’s response is 23 February 2023; we
will respond to your request as soon as reasonably practicable. You have
the right to make a complaint to an Ombudsman if you are dissatisfied with
this extension.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Landon Watt

Legal Advisor

Office of the Vice-Chancellor

University of Auckland

 

From: M. Moran <[1][FOI #21574 email]>
Sent: Wednesday, 18 January 2023 12:15 AM
To: legal <[2][University of Auckland request email]>
Subject: Official Information request - Grade distributions for Faculty of
Engineering courses and specialisations

 

Dear University of Auckland,

I am looking for grade distributions for Faculty of Engineering courses
and specialisations.

1. For each Faculty of Engineering course in 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022,
please could you provide the following course grades: minimum,
lower-quartile, median, upper-quartile, maximum, mean, and standard
deviation/variance.
2. For each Faculty of Engineering course in 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022,
please could you provide the number of students who received the following
course grades: A+, A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, CP, D+, D, D-, DNC, DNS,
W.
3. For each Faculty of Engineering specialisation in 2019, 2020, 2021, and
2022, for each year level (i.e. Part I, Part II, Part III, and Part IV
students), please provide the following student GPAs: minimum,
lower-quartile, median, upper-quartile, maximum, mean, and standard
deviation/variance.
4. For each Faculty of Engineering specialisation in 2019, 2020, 2021, and
2022, for each year level, please provide the number of students who had a
GPA in the following ranges: A+, A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D+, D, D-.

Any other machine-readable format (e.g. a CSV file) may be used instead of
the Excel spreadsheet. Please fulfil this request as much as possible, and
explain what data cannot be provided, if any.

Yours faithfully,

M. Moran

-------------------------------------------------------------------

This is an Official Information request made via the FYI website.

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[3][FOI #21574 email]

Is [4][University of Auckland request email] the wrong address for Official Information
requests to University of Auckland? If so, please contact us using this
form:
[5]https://fyi.org.nz/change_request/new?bo...

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
[6]https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers

If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer, please
ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA or LGOIMA
page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[FOI #21574 email]
2. mailto:[University of Auckland request email]
3. mailto:[FOI #21574 email]
4. mailto:[University of Auckland request email]
5. https://fyi.org.nz/change_request/new?bo...
6. https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers

Dear M. Moran,

 

Further to my email of 23 February, the information the University decided
to provide to you in response to your OIA request is attached. Please note
that grades have not been provided where they are not available on the
relevant system.

 

In response to your email of 11 March 2023:

 

“I would like to refute your statement that I "can derive from this
information the course grade statistics requested in part 1 of [my]
request". For example, if a course had seven students that all received an
A+, then the mean course grade could be any number in the range 90% -
100%. Please provide the information requested if possible (for courses
with at least seven students).”

 

Your request was for the following:

 

“1. For each Faculty of Engineering course in 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022,
please could you provide the following course grades: minimum,
lower-quartile, median, upper-quartile, maximum, mean, and standard
deviation/variance.”

 

Grades can be allocated numbers as follows:

 

o 9 for A+
o 8 for A
o 7 for A-
o 6 for B+
o 5 for B
o 4 for B-
o 3 for C+
o 2 for C
o 1 for C-
o 0 for D+, D or D- or F

 

The University uses these internally in calculating GPAs – see
[1]https://uoa.custhelp.com/app/answers/det...
– and these could be used to calculate mean and quartile grades for the
course if you wished to do so. However, it appears from your email of 11
March 2023 that you intended to request statistics for marks, not grades.
Accordingly, we have provided mean, median, highest and lowest marks per
course where available in the attached – noting that these are not final
marks. The University does not award final marks for courses, as grades
are the University's final measure of academic assessment. Marks are used
for initial calculation of grades (see
[2]https://cdn.auckland.ac.nz/assets/auckla...)
but grades may be subsequently changed for various reasons, such as
aegrotat/compassionate consideration or academic misconduct. Grade changes
are not reflected in the mark information provided..

 

The University does not hold quartiles and standard deviations for
non-final course marks. If you wish to request these under the OIA, it is
likely that the University will refuse your request under section 18(g) of
the OIA, on the basis that the information requested is not held by the
University.

 

“3. In response to your statement that "the statistics requested in parts
3 and 4 of your request are not held by the University", could you please
confirm that this information is not held by the University, the Faculty
of Engineering, or any department or specialisation within the Faculty of
Engineering?”

 

Your request was for the following:

 

“3. For each Faculty of Engineering specialisation in 2019, 2020, 2021,
and 2022, for each year level (i.e. Part I, Part II, Part III, and Part IV
students), please provide the following student GPAs: minimum,
lower-quartile, median, upper-quartile, maximum, mean, and standard
deviation/variance.
4. For each Faculty of Engineering specialisation in 2019, 2020, 2021, and
2022, for each year level, please provide the number of students who had a
GPA in the following ranges: A+, A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D+, D, D-.”

 

To avoid doubt, the University does know the year level, specialisation,
and GPAs of Engineering students. The University records the academic
progress of all its students. I was advised, however, that the University
does not hold the specific custom statistics you requested. The OIA does
not require the University to create these statistics.

 

You have the right to make a complaint to an Ombudsman if you are
dissatisfied with any decisions made under this request.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Landon Watt
Legal Advisor
Office of the Vice-Chancellor

University of Auckland

 

From: M. Moran <[3][FOI #21574 email]>
Sent: Saturday, 11 March 2023 8:03 pm
To: Landon Watt <[4][email address]>
Subject: RE: 2023-OIA-0009-Moran_2

 

Dear Landon Watt,

Thank you for acknowledging the validity of my request. I have a few
follow-up questions.

1. Could you please clarify when the data will be made available? If a
fixed time frame is not possible, please make available a timeline of the
progress that has been made to date.

2. I would like to refute your statement that I "can derive from this
information the course grade statistics requested in part 1 of [my]
request". For example, if a course had seven students that all received an
A+, then the mean course grade could be any number in the range 90% -
100%. Please provide the information requested if possible (for courses
with at least seven students).

3. In response to your statement that "the statistics requested in parts 3
and 4 of your request are not held by the University", could you please
confirm that this information is not held by the University, the Faculty
of Engineering, or any department or specialisation within the Faculty of
Engineering?

Yours sincerely,
M. Moran

show quoted sections

Dear M. Moran,

 

Further to my email of 4 May 2023, we acknowledge the inconvenience our
delay in responding to you has caused, and we sincerely apologise for that
delay.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Landon Watt
Legal Advisor
Office of the Vice-Chancellor

University of Auckland

 

From: M. Moran <[FOI #21574 email]>
Sent: Tuesday, 9 May 2023 11:50 pm
To: Landon Watt <[email address]>
Subject: Re: 2023-OIA-0009-Moran_2

 

Dear Landon Watt,

Thank you for your helpful and detailed response. I have marked this OIA
request as fulfilled.

Yours sincerely,
M. Moran

show quoted sections