27 February 2024
By email
: [FYI request #25285 email]
Tēnā koe B.L.
I refer to your information request dated 22 December 2023 made under the Official Information Act
1982 (the Act). You have requested information in relation to entry to the following programmes at
the University of Otago in 2024:
• Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MB ChB)
• Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS)
• Bachelor of Physiotherapy (BPhty)
• Bachelor of Pharmacy (BPharm)
• Bachelor of Medical Laboratory Science (BMLSc)
Subject to the following comments, please see below our response to your request.
• The data is correct as at 20 February 2024.
• We have interpreted your request to be for all pathways for admission to each programme via
the Health Sciences First Year (HSFY) category, i.e., all equity group, Single Programme
Preference (SPP), international, and general applicants.
• With regards to the information you have requested for the 2024 MB ChB and BDS
programmes, the University has not yet confirmed final numbers for either programme.
Therefore, information related to the total number of offers made and the minimum average
academic scores to receive offers to enter either programme is not known yet and will not be
finalised until early March 2024 – as student offers are still ongoing. On that basis, we decline
providing this information pursuant to section 18(g) of the Act, as the information requested is
not held by the University as at today’s date. We would be happy to consider a new request
from you at a later date if you still wish to receive this information.
• 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 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 are fewer than five individuals in a particular dataset, we have
withheld their minimum average academic scores or indicated using “<5” (“fewer than five”) –
pursuant to section 9(2)(a) of the Act, to protect the privacy of natural persons.
1. Minimum average academic score to receive an offer.
Subject to the following comment, please see the below table which shows the minimum average
academic scores to receive offers to the 2024 BPhty, BPharm and BMLSc programmes via the HSFY
category, broken down by equity group, SPP, international, and general applicants:
• The information provided below is based on all offers issued and includes offers that were
declined or offers that lapsed.
Minimum average academic score to receive an offer, HSFY category
BPhty
BPharm
BMLSc
General
60.14
57.71
67.86
SPP
61.29
59.00
62.57
Māori & Indigenous Pacific
W/H
W/H
W/H
Māori
61.00
57.43
71.29
Indigenous Pacific
60.29
60.29
60.29
Refugee
71.43
71.43
71.43
Rural
69.57
69.86
76.00
Socioeconomic Equity
67.29
67.29
W/H
International
65.43
65.43
65.43
2. Minimum average academic score to receive a waitlist offer.
Subject to the following comment, please see the below table which shows the minimum average
academic scores to receive waitlist offers for the 2024 MB ChB and BDS programmes via the HSFY
category:
• By “waitlist offer”, we are referring to applicants who received an offer to be on the waitlist
for entry to the MB ChB and BDS programmes in 2024. As noted above, we are unable to
provide you with the minimum average academic scores to receive offers from the waitlist to
enter the MB ChB and BDS programmes in 2024 as student offers are still ongoing.
• The BPhty, BPharm and BMLSc programmes did not operate waitlists for their 2024
programmes.
• The BDS programme did not have a waitlist for international students for their 2024
programme.
Minimum average academic score to
receive a waitlist offer, HSFY category
MB ChB
BDS
General
90.14
74.57
International
84.29
N/A
3. The number of offers per each of the categories.
Subject to the following comment, please see the below table which shows the number of applicants
to receive offers to the 2024 BPhty, BPharm and BMLSc programmes via the HSFY category, broken
down by equity group, SPP, international, and general applicants:
• The information provided below is based on all offers issued and includes offers that were
declined or offers that lapsed.
Number of applicants to receive an offer, HSFY category
BPhty
BPharm
BMLSc
General
85
149
101
SPP
81
38
12
Māori & Indigenous Pacific
<5
<5
<5
Māori
31
18
7
Indigenous Pacific
12
15
11
Refugee
8
8
9
Rural
16
20
13
Socioeconomic Equity
5
6
<5
International
34
46
32
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.
Ngā mihi
Kelsey Kennard
Official Information and Compliance Coordinator
Office of the Registrar
