18 March 2024
By email: [FYI request #25864 email]
Tēnā koe Mar
I refer to your information request dated 24 February 2024 made under the Official Information Act
1982 (the Act). You have requested mark and grade distributions for the 2019 to 2023 PHAL211,
PATH201 and ANAT242 papers offered by the University of Otago.
Subject to the fol owing comments, please see attached the information you have requested. Please
note there are three pages in the attached document (one for each year).
the data is correct as at 29 February 2024.
we note that the grade and mark distributions for the 2023 ANAT242 and PATH201 papers
have 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. We would be happy to consider a new
request from you at a later date if you stil wish to receive this information.
on occasions where fewer than five students have failed a paper (i.e. received a grade of Fail,
Fail D, Fail E or Failed Terms), 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.
please note that al final grades for papers completed in Semester 2 2020, final grades of 47,
48 or 49 were bumped up to 50 (pass) to account for disruptions created by COVID-19.
in the attached grade and mark distributions, we note that students who withdrew from the
papers or received an Aegrotat Pass (not a grade or mark) 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
