Jenny OIA Response 26 June 2023.pdf

26 June 2023

By email: [FYI request #22940 email]

Tēnā koe Jenny

I refer to your information request dated 28 May 2023 made under the Official Information Act 1982
(the Act). You have requested information in relation to entry to the Bachelor of Medicine and
Bachelor of Surgery (MB ChB) and Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) programmes from 2019 – 2023
via the Graduate category for International Students.

Please see below our response to your request.

1. The number of applicants for MB ChB and BDS

Please see the below table which shows the number of International Student applicants to the 2019
– 2023 MB ChB and BDS programmes via the Graduate category:

Number of International Student applicants via the Graduate category
Year
MB ChB
BDS
2019
8
4
2020
9
5
2021
11
7
2022
9
2
2023
12
2

2. The number of applicants who attended the interview for BDS

Please see the below table which shows the number of International Students who attended an
interview for entry to the 2019 – 2023 BDS programmes via the Graduate category:

Number of International Student applicants to attend an interview
Year
to the BDS programme via the Graduate category
2019
1
2020
0
2021
1
2022
1
2023
2

3.  The number of applicants who got first round acceptance for MB ChB and BDS

Subject to the below comments, please see the below table which shows the number of
International Student applicants to receive offers to enter the 2019 – 2023 MB ChB and BDS
programmes via the Graduate category:

•  it is the University’s standard practice to not report on data that relates to fewer than five
students where we consider that such disclosure could affect an individual’s privacy and
wellbeing. Where the numbers are low, there is a risk that the identity of these students
could be determined/inferred, and that their personal information could be revealed.
Accordingly, we have grouped the number of International Students to receive offers to the
2019 – 2023 MB ChB and BDS programmes via the Graduate category together across all
years – pursuant to section 9(2)(a) of the Act.

Number of International Student applicants to
receive offers via the Graduate category
Year
MB ChB
BDS
2019
2020
2021
3
0
2022
2023

4.  The average GPA of first round acceptance receivers for MB ChB and BDS

As noted above, the University’s standard practice is to not report on data that relates to fewer than
five individuals where we consider that such disclosure could affect an individual’s privacy and
wellbeing. Where the numbers are very low, there is a risk that the identity of these students could
be determined/inferred, and that their personal information (i.e., their GPA scores) could be
revealed. Accordingly, we decline providing the average GPA to receive offers to enter the 2019 –
2023 MB ChB programmes via the Graduate category for International Students – pursuant to
section 9(2)(a) of the Act.

As no International Student applicants received offers to enter the 2019 – 2023 BDS programmes via
the Graduate category, we decline providing the average GPA to receive an offer, pursuant to
section 18(g) of the Act on the basis that the information requested is not held by the University.

5.  The average UCAT score of first round acceptance receivers for MB ChB and BDS

As a general comment, we note that individual UCAT scores are not part of the selection process for
entry to the MB ChB or BDS programmes for all applicants (domestic or international). Instead, the
minimum UCAT requirement to progress to the interview stage for the BDS programme, or receive
an offer to enter the MB ChB programme, is by meeting the thresholds set by the respective
Admissions Committees for each programme. Anyone who has received an offer to enter the MB
ChB programme has met the UCAT thresholds, and anyone who has received an offer to enter the
BDS programme has met the UCAT and interview thresholds.

The UCAT was not used by the University as an admissions test in 2019. The University used the
Undergraduate Medicine and Health Science Admission Test (UMAT) during this period. The

University started using UCAT in 2020, therefore UCAT thresholds were not set in 2019. The UCAT
thresholds for the MB ChB and BDS programmes from 2020 – 2023 are as follows:

MB ChB:

The MB ChB UCAT criteria are set annually by the University’s Medical Admissions Committee.
Where UCAT was used as a threshold for admission, the thresholds for entry to the 2020 – 2023 MB
ChB programmes were as follows:

•  2020:
o  Verbal Reasoning: threshold set at the bottom 20th percentile.
o  Situational Judgement: threshold set at the bottom 10th percentile.
o  Scores for Decision Making, Quantitative Reasoning and Abstract Reasoning were not
considered.
•  2021:
o  Verbal Reasoning: threshold set at the bottom 20th percentile.
o  Situational Judgment: threshold set at the bottom 10th percentile.
o  Scores for Decision Making, Quantitative Reasoning and Abstract Reasoning were not
considered.
•  2022:
o  Verbal Reasoning: threshold set at the bottom 20th percentile.
o  Situational Judgement: threshold set at the bottom 10th percentile.
o  Scores for Decision Making, Quantitative Reasoning and Abstract Reasoning were not
considered.

•  2023:
o  Verbal Reasoning: threshold set at or above the 20th percentile.
o  Situational Judgement: threshold set above the lowest 10th percentile.
o  Scores for Decision Making, Quantitative Reasoning and Abstract Reasoning were not
considered.

BDS:

The BDS UCAT criteria are set annually by the University’s Dental Admissions Committee. Where
UCAT is used as a threshold for admission, the thresholds for entry to the 2020 – 2023 BDS
programmes were as follows:

•  2020:
o  Verbal Reasoning: threshold set at the bottom 20th percentile.
o  Situational Judgement: threshold set at the bottom 10th percentile.
o  Decision Making: threshold set at the 57th percentile.
o  Scores for Quantitative Reasoning and Abstract Reasoning were not considered.
•  2021:
o  Verbal Reasoning: threshold set at the bottom 25th percentile.
o  Situational Judgment: threshold set at the bottom 10th percentile.
o  Decision Making: score of 640 or above met the threshold.
o  Scores for Quantitative Reasoning and Abstract Reasoning were not considered.

•  2022:
o  Verbal Reasoning: threshold set at the bottom 22nd percentile.
o  Decision Making: score of 630 or above met the threshold.
o  Scores for Situational Judgement, Quantitative Reasoning and Abstract Reasoning
were not considered.
•  2023:
o  Verbal Reasoning: threshold set at the bottom 22nd percentile.
o  Decision Making: score of 630 or above met the threshold.
o  Scores for Situational Judgement, Quantitative Reasoning and Abstract Reasoning
were not considered.

With regards to International Students, we note that the Medical Admissions Committee decided
that for entry to the 2021, 2022 and 2023 MB ChB programmes, International Students would not be
required to sit the UCAT. For entry to the 2020 MB ChB programme, International Students were
required to sit the UCAT. The Dental Admissions Committee decided that for entry to the 2022 and
2023 BDS programmes, International Students would not be required to sit the UCAT. For entry to
the BDS programme, all International Students are interviewed.

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.

Ngā mihi

Kelsey Kennard
Official Information and Compliance Coordinator
Office of the Registrar