13 February 2024
By email: [FYI request #25381 email]
Tēnā koe P
I refer to your information request dated 12 January 2024 made under the Official Information Act
1982 (the Act). You have requested mark and grade distributions for the 2022 and 2023 PHAL305
papers offered by the University of Otago.
Subject to the fol owing comments, please see attached the information you have requested.
The data is correct as at 8 February 2024.
We note that the grade and mark distribution for the 2023 PHAL305 paper has not been
finalised yet as the final grades for some students have not been confirmed. On that basis, 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 as at today’s date. We would be happy to consider a
new request from you at a later date if you stil wish to receive this information – we expect
that al student grades wil be confirmed by late February 2024.
On occasions where fewer than five students have failed a paper (i.e. received a grade of Fail
D or Fail E), we have determined that it is necessary to withhold the marks and specific grades
for these students to protect their privacy and wel being. 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.
I trust that this information wil 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
Joey Lin
Official Information and Compliance Coordinator
Office of the Registrar