10 October 2023
By email
: [FYI request #24123 email]
Tēnā koe SS
I refer to your information request dated 12 September 2023 made under the Official Information Act
1982 (the Act). You have requested:
“I would like to know what the minimum GPA for entrance into physiotherapy was for 2023,
both for undergraduate and postgraduate entrance.
Please also include the minimum predicted GPA for physiotherapy entrance for 2024, also for
undergraduate and postgraduate entrance. Also, what is the predicted GPA scale (i.e., what is
the predicted range of GPA, e.g., between 5 – 7.4)?”
Subject to the following general comments, please see below our response to your request.
• The University does not specifically have “undergraduate” or “postgraduate” admissions
categories for the Bachelor of Physiotherapy (BPhty) programme. Accordingly, we have
interpreted your request to be for the following categories of admission:
o Health Sciences First Year (HSFY) category: to be considered for admission to the
BPhty programme via the HSFY category, an applicant must be enrolled in HSFY at
Otago and have passed all the papers prescribed for the programme at first attempt,
with a minimum average of 65%. Selection for applicants who meet all criteria for this
category is based on average academic score.
o Two or More Years of University Study category: applicants who are not finalists and
have completed two or more years of full-time study at a university in New Zealand
can be considered for entry to the BPhty programme via the Two or More Years of
University Study category. Selection for applicants who meet all criteria for this
category is based on weighted GPA score.
o Graduate category: to be considered for admission to the BPhty programme via the
Graduate category, applicants must have completed, in the minimum academic time
and within three years of the date of application, the requirements of a first degree
awarded by a university in New Zealand. Selection for applicants who meet all criteria
for this category is based on weighted GPA score.
• The BPhty programme allows applicants to apply as Single Programme Preference applicants.
Single Programme Preference allows applicants to signal a strong commitment to a particular
programme. The Physiotherapy Admissions Committee will firstly select from applicants who
applied under Single Programme Preference. Thereafter, if places are still available, the
Admissions Committee will select from the group of applicants that have applied to multiple
Health Sciences Undergraduate Professional Programmes.
• Further information on the categories for admission to the BPhty programme, including how
academic scores are calculated for each category, are available on the University website at
the Physiotherapy: Guidelines for Admission.
• It is the University’s standard practice to not report on information where it relates to fewer
than five individuals and we consider that such disclosure could affect an individual’s privacy
and wellbeing. Where the numbers are very low, there is a risk that the identity of these
individuals could be determined or inferred, and that their personal information could be
revealed. Accordingly, where there were fewer than five applicants to receive offers to the
BPhty programme via a specific category, we have withheld the minimum average academic
scores or minimum weighted GPA scores for these groups – pursuant to section 9(2)(a) of the
Act.
1. The minimum academic scores to receive offers to the 2023 BPhty programme
The minimum average academic score to receive an offer to enter the 2023 BPhty programme via the
HSFY category for Single Programme Preference applicants was 65.29. As there were fewer than five
applicants to receive offers to the 2023 BPhty programme via the HSFY General category (non-Single
Programme Preference), we decline providing the minimum average academic score, pursuant to
section 9(2)(a) of the Act.
The minimum weighted GPA score to receive an offer to enter the 2023 BPhty programme via the Two
or More Years of University Study category for Single Programme Preference applicants was 4.14.
There is no minimum weighted GPA score to receive an offer to the 2023 BPhty programme via the
Two or More Years of University Study General category (non-Single Programme Preference), as no
applicants received offers via this category.
The minimum weighted GPA score to receive an offer to enter the 2023 BPhty programme via the
Graduate category for Single Programme Preference applicants was 4.13. There is no minimum
weighted GPA score to receive an offer to the 2023 BPhty programme via the Graduate General
category (non-Single Programme Preference), as no applicants received offers via this category.
2. Minimum predicted GPA for BPhty for 2024, including the predicted GPA scale
We decline this part of your request pursuant to section 18(g) of the Act, as the information requested
is not held by the University, and there are no reasonable grounds to believe it is held by another
agency subject to the Act. No predicted information is available apart from the entrance requirements
for the BPhty programme, which is available online at
the Physiotherapy: Guidelines for Admission or
the Regulations for the Degree of Bachelor of Physiotherapy (BPhty). We note that there is no
obligation on the University to create information in order to respond to a request.
Information relating to academic scores to receive offers to the 2024 BPhty programme will not be
known and therefore will not be unavailable until the end of March 2024 – as student offers are
released in December and continue throughout the first few weeks of teaching in Semester 1. We
would be happy to consider a new Official Information Act request from you at this time if you still
wish to receive the minimum academic scores to receive offers to the 2024 BPhty programme via the
HSFY, Two or More Years of University Study, or Graduate categories.
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
