9 March 2023
By email:
[FYI request #21824 email]
Dear James
I refer to your information request dated 13 February 2023 made under the Official Information Act
1982 (the Act). You have requested:
“confirmed grades (the specific grade percentage, not merely the grade letter) for the
following 2023 summer school papers: POLS321, TOUR214, LAWS423, LAWS444, LAWS471
and LAWS474.”
Subject to the following comments, please see attached the information you have requested.
• on occasions where fewer than five students have failed a paper (i.e. received a grade of Fail
D, Fail E), 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 mark and grade distributions, we note that students who withdrew from the
papers are excluded from the data.
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
Jenny Shaw
Official Information and Compliance