29 November 2023
By email:
[FYI request #24769 email]
Kia ora James
I refer to your information request dated 16 November 2023 made under the Official Information
Act 1982 (the Act). You have requested:
“I am making an OIA request for a spreadsheet or document containing confirmed grades (the
specific grade percentage, not merely the grade letter) for all 2023 300-level ECON and POLS
papers.”
Subject to the following comments, please see attached the information you have requested:
•
This data is correct as at 27 November 2023.
•
Please note there are five pages of data in the attached spreadsheet.
•
We note that the grade and mark distribution for the 2023 ECON302 paper has 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 as at today’s date. We would be happy to consider a
new request from you at a later date if you still wish to receive this information – we expect
that all student grades will be confirmed by late February 2024.
•
On occasions where fewer than ten students have been enrolled in a paper, we have
determined that it is necessary to withhold the entire mark and grade distribution for these
papers. As there were fewer than ten enrolments in the ECON376, ECON371 and POLS390
papers in 2023, we have withheld the mark and grade distributions for these papers to protect
students’ 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 and grades) potentially being disclosed. We therefore
withhold this information pursuant to section 9(2)(a) of the Act.
•
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) potentially being disclosed. We
therefore withhold this information pursuant to section 9(2)(a) of the Act.
•
In the attached mark and grade distributions, we note that students who received an aegrotat
pass (where no mark or grade was awarded) or withdrew from a paper 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.
Ngā mihi
Jenny Shaw
Official Information and Compliance Coordinator
Office of the Registrar
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