I am out of the office until Tuesday 4 July 2017.

Your email has been forwarded to Melanie Johnson at
[email address] for action.

Dear Richard

Your request is very broad, and providing the information requested would require a large amount of staff time. Unless the request is narrowed substantially, the University is likely to refuse it under s 18(f) as requiring substantial collation and research.

I draw to your attention that the University's policies and the terms of reference for its committees are publicly available on our website.

Yours sincerely

Rebecca Ewert
General Counsel
The University of Auckland

-----Original Message-----
From: Richard S [mailto:[FOI #6093 email]]
Sent: Thursday, 29 June 2017 8:44 p.m.
To: legal <[email address]>
Subject: Official Information request - Amendments to existing programmes and qualifications

Dear University of Auckland,

Under the Official Information Act 1982, I am requesting all documents that the University of Auckland ("University") holds that discuss:

(1) the University's policies, obligations, responsibilities, and / or measures that the University undertakes, to ensure that changes to existing programmes and qualifications will not negatively impact existing students currently enrolled in those programmes and qualifications; and

(2) the University's policies, obligations, responsibilities, and / or measures that the University undertakes, to ensure that the requirements and assessment of any programme or qualifications are clearly communicated to both current and future students.

In addition, I request any minutes, formal decisions, resolutions, committee terms of reference and / or charters, University policy, and externally published guidance (both historical and current) pertaining to this subject matter, for the current bodies:

(1) Board of Graduate Studies;
(2) Academic Programmes Committee; and
(3) The Senate,

during the period of 30 June 2013 until 29 June 2017.

If my request is too broad, please do not hesitate to contact via email me to discuss refinement.

Yours faithfully,
Richard S

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This is an Official Information request made via the FYI website.

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #6093 email]

Is [University of Auckland request email] the wrong address for Official Information requests to University of Auckland? If so, please contact us using this form:
https://fyi.org.nz/change_request/new?bo...

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers

If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer, please ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA or LGOIMA page.

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Dear Richard

We have made inquiries with several senior staff members in the Board of Graduate Studies, the Department of Records, Enrolment & Fees, and the Examinations Office, but have been unable to find a decision in the past four years to standardise methodology for honours calculation across postgraduate programmes. Technically this constitutes a refusal of your request as the documents and information requested do not exist or cannot be found. I note however that in the course of our inquiries we identified a 2006 decision to adopt a consistent standard across the University for the award of honours in postgraduate Bachelors Honours and Masters degrees.

You have the right make a complaint to the Ombudsman to seek an investigation and review of this response.

Yours sincerely

Rebecca Ewert
General Counsel
The University of Auckland

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Richard S [mailto:[FOI #6093 email]]
> Sent: Thursday, 13 July 2017 1:17 p.m.
> To: Rebecca Ewert <[email address]>
> Subject: RE: Official Information request - Amendments to existing programmes and qualifications
>
> Dear Rebecca,
>
> Thank you for the opportunity to refine my request.
>
> I have substantially narrowed the scope of my request below. You will see that the information I am requesting now only relates to one specific change that the University made in recent years.
>
> Request for information - Change in Methodology I understand that sometime in the past four years, the University made a decision to standardise the methodology used to calculate classes of honours across all of its postgraduate programmes ("Change in Methodology").
>
> Prior to this, a student's eligibility for honours was calculated in accordance with the relevant School / Department's specific methodology (where that School / Department had elected to publish its own methodology). Please let me know if this understanding is incorrect.
>
> Under the Official Information Act 1982, I am requesting all documents that the University holds that discuss the Change in Methodology, and in particular any information that the University holds that discuss the application of:
>
> (1) the University's policies, obligations (legislative or otherwise), responsibilities, and measures that the University undertook, to ensure that the Change in Methodology would not negatively impact existing students currently enrolled in affected programmes and qualifications; and
>
> (2) the University's policies, obligations (legislative or otherwise), responsibilities, and that the University undertook to ensure that the new standardised methodology was clearly communicated to both current and future students.
>
> Specifically, I request any minutes, decisions, resolutions, University policy, or externally published guidance (both historical and current) relating to this Change in Methodology, for the current bodies:
>
> (1) Board of Graduate Studies;
> (2) Academic Programmes Committee; and
> (3) The Senate.
>
> Thank you for drawing my attention to the relevant Terms of Reference for these bodies online. Could you please confirm that these Terms of Reference were current as at the date these bodies considered the Change in Methodology (where these bodies considered the change)?
>
> Please feel free to get in contact again if you require further refinement.
>
> Yours sincerely,
> Richard S
>
> -----Original Message-----
>
> Dear Richard
>
> Your request is very broad, and providing the information requested would require a large amount of staff time. Unless the request is narrowed substantially, the University is likely to refuse it under s 18(f) as requiring substantial collation and research.
>
> I draw to your attention that the University's policies and the terms of reference for its committees are publicly available on our website.
>
> Yours sincerely
>
> Rebecca Ewert
> General Counsel
> The University of Auckland
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------
> Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
> [FOI #6093 email]
>
> Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
> https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers
>
> If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer, please ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA or LGOIMA page.
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------
>

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