12 January 2023
By email:
[FYI request #21276 email]
Dear LD
I refer to your information request dated 28 November 2022 made under the Official Information
Act 1982 (the Act). You have requested mark and grade distributions for all 100-, 200-, 300- and 400-
level Geology and Geography papers at the University of Otago from 2017 – 2022.
Subject to the following comments, please see attached the information you have requested. Please
note that there are two separate documents (one for each subject), and within each document there
are six sheets (one for each year).
• 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 wellbeing. 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.
• on occasions where there are fewer than 10 enrolments in a paper, we have also
determined that it is necessary to withhold the mark and grade distributions for these
papers to protect the privacy and wellbeing of students enrolled. Where class sizes are
small, 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) being disclosed. We therefore withholding the following mark and grade
distributions pursuant to section 9(2)(a) of the Act:
o
Geography
▪ 2017: GEOG457, GEOG460, GEOG470, GEOG490, GEOG491, GEOG496
▪ 2018: GEOG454, GEOG457, GEOG459, GEOG460, GEOG463, GEOG464,
GEOG470, GEOG473, GEOG474, GEOG475, GEOG490, GEOG491, GEOG496
▪ 2019: GEOG387, GEOG454, GEOG459, GEOG460, GEOG461, GEOG464,
GEOG470, GEOG473, GEOG474, GEOG490, GEOG495
▪ 2020: GEOG454, GEOG459, GEOG460, GEOG461, GEOG463, GEOG464,
GEOG465, GEOG474, GEOG490
▪ 2021: GEOG454, GEOG459, GEOG460, GEOG461, GEOG463, GEOG465,
GEOG470, GEOG474, GEOG490, GEOG495
▪ 2022: GEOG402, GEOG454, GEOG460, GEOG461, GEOG463, GEOG464,
GEOG474, GEOG490.
o
Geology
▪ 2017: GEOL375, GEOL422, GEOL430, GEOL431, GEOL450, GEOL451,
GEOL480, GEOL481, GEOL490, GEOL495, GEOL496
▪ 2018: GEOL302, GEOL421, GEOL422, GEOL427, GEOL431, GEOL450,
GEOL451, GEOL480, GEOL495, GEOL496
▪ 2019: GEOL275, GEOL302, GEOL321, GEOL372, GEOL401, GEOL402,
GEOL461, GEOL462, GEOL463, GEOL464, GEOL465, GEOL471, GEOL472,
GEOL473, GEOL474, GEOL475, GEOL480, GEOL490, GEOL495
▪ 2020: GEOL263, GEOL321, GEOL362, GEOL363, GEOL401, GEOL402,
GEOL403, GEOL461, GEOL462, GEOL463, GEOL464, GEOL465, GEOL471,
GEOL472, GEOL474, GEOL475, GEOL480, GEOL490, GEOL495
▪ 2021: GEOL275, GEOL304, GEOL372, GEOL376, GEOL402, GEOL403,
GEOL461, GEOL462, GEOL464, GEOL465, GEOL471, GEOL472, GEOL473,
GEOL474, GEOL475, GEOL480, GEOL490, GEOL495
▪ 2022: GEOL263, GEOL264, GEOL304, GEOL362, GEOL363, GEOL364,
GEOL402, GEOL403, GEOL461, GEOL462, GEOL464, GEOL465, GEOL471,
GEOL472, GEOL473, GEOL474, GEOL475, GEOL490, GEOL495.
• please note that not all papers were offered each year, therefore we have only provided
mark and grade breakdowns for the years that the papers were offered and where there
were 10 or more enrolments.
• please also note that all final grades for papers completed in Semester 1 2020 were
increased by 5 marks to account for disruptions created by COVID-19. In Semester 2 2020,
final grades of 47, 48 or 49 were bumped up to 50 (pass).
• in the attached grade and mark distributions, we note that students who withdrew from the
papers or received an Aegrotat Pass (not a mark) are excluded from the data.
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.
Yours sincerely
Kelsey Kennard
Official Information and Compliance Coordinator
Office of the Registrar
