Dear Richard,

 

I refer to your request of 23 July 2025. As consultations necessary to
make a decision on your request are such that a response cannot reasonably
be given within the original time limit, the University has extended the
time limit for your request until 17 September 2025 under section
15A(1)(b) of the OIA. We will respond to your request as soon as
reasonably practicable.

 

You have the right to make a complaint to an Ombudsman if you are
dissatisfied with this extension.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Landon Watt

Legal Advisor

Office of the Vice-Chancellor

Waipapa Taumata Rau | University of Auckland  

show quoted sections

Dear Richard,

 

I refer to your request of 23 July 2025. I apologise for the delay in the
University’s response. The University’s response follows.

 

I am requesting the following information under the Official Information
Act regarding undergraduate medical education in the Human Anatomy Lab
(HAL), specifically for Year 2 and Year 3 MBChB students:

 

[1] The total number of individuals employed as teaching assistants
(including graduate teaching assistants, demonstrators, casual teaching
staff, and other relevant roles) for HAL sessions, for each year from 2019
to 2025.
[2] The total number of teaching assistant (TA) hours allocated to HAL
sessions involving Year 2 and Year 3 MBChB students, for each semester
from 2019 to 2025.

[3] The total number of students enrolled in Year 2 and Year 3 of the
MBChB programme (including both domestic and international students), for
each year from 2019 to 2025.

[4] The total number of cadavers allocated specifically for use by Year 2
and Year 3 MBChB students in HAL, for each year from 2019 to 2025.

[5] The total number of scheduled HAL hours per student per semester
involving cadaveric dissection or prosection, for Year 2 and Year 3 MBChB
students, from 2019 to 2025.
See attached.

 

[6] The total annual operational budget allocated to the Human Anatomy
Lab, for each year from 2019 to 2025.
[7] The estimated amount or proportion of that annual budget spent
specifically on undergraduate medical teaching (i.e. Year 2 and Year 3
MBChB).

The University does not hold the specific information requested. There is
no discrete budget figure for the Human Anatomy Lab, and so we cannot
either provide that figure or any breakdown of it.

 

[8] The total amount spent annually on:

 a. TA/demonstrator/casual teaching staff pay

The information requested is withheld under section 9(2)(a) of the OIA, to
protect the privacy of the teaching assistants. Providing the information
requested for 2019-2025 would allow a person to derive information about
pay-rates for these staff.

 b. Salaried teaching staff pay for HAL sessions involving Year 2 and 3
MBChB students

The University does not attribute a specific amount or proportion of a
permanent teaching staff member’s salary to this activity. The information
requested is not held by the University.

 

[9] Any documents (including memos, minutes, policy documents, or internal
communications) outlining major changes to the curriculum or scheduled
teaching hours related to HAL sessions for Year 2 and Year 3 MBChB
students, made between January 2023 and March 2025.
No major changes were made in the period specified. Your request is
refused under section 18(e) of the OIA.

 

[10] The maximum number of students that the Human Anatomy Lab can
accommodate at one time, based on internal policy or health and safety
regulations.

The maximum occupancy of the HAL facility is 200 persons.

 

Where we have advised that the information requested is not held by the
University, that part of your request is refused under section 18(g) of
the OIA. You have the right to make a complaint to an Ombudsman if you are
dissatisfied with the University’s response.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Landon Watt
Legal Advisor
Office of the Vice-Chancellor

Waipapa Taumata Rau | University of Auckland