Dear Indigo,

 

I refer to your request of 19 April 2024. I sincerely apologise for the
delay in responding to you. The University’s response follows.

 

“I refer to the Student Staff Consultative Meeting meeting that occurred
with the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences on the 17th of April 2024
from 4 pm to 5 pm.

Please supply the following information under the Official Information
Act.

[1] Any minutes taken by any employee of the faculty in this particular
meeting, in line with OIA section 2(4).”

 

The minutes for this meeting did not exist on the date of your request,
but final minutes have since been approved – see attached “SSC Minutes -17
April 2024 – Final”

“[2] Any notes taken by any employees of the faculty in this particular
meeting, including any handwritten or typed notes, in line with OIA
section 2(4).”

 

Notes taken at the meeting – for the purpose of drafting the minutes – are
attached (“SSC Minutes -17 April 2024 - meeting notes”)

“[3] I note that the faculty mentioned that the likelihood of a fee
increase is high. Please provide any documents or internal emails by the
faculty or its employees which relate to the possibility of a fee increase
or any planned fee increases. I am only interested in documents or
internal emails in the time period of 1 January 2023 to today (19 April
2024).”

“[4] The faculty mentioned that PGY 1 job concerns were raised right from
the beginning when offers were given out. Please produce any documents or
internal emails from the faculty that confirm this, I am only interested
in documents or internal emails that were created/sent on or after 1
January 2023.”
“[5] The faculty mentioned that they have advocated for international
medical students in the past regarding PGY1 jobs and TI stipends. Is there
any information or document held by the faculty that shows this? I am only
interested in documents that were produced on or after 1 January 2023.”

 

As the University failed to respond to your request with the time limit
prescribed by the OIA, we are deemed to have refused your request. If this
response were sent within the time limit, we would have advised you that
parts 3-5 of your request were overly broad and could not be provided
without substantial collation or research, and asked for you to consider
narrowing your request. I note that, if you are a University student
seeking to engage with the University about issues connected to your
studies, direct engagement with the Faculty may be a better initial
approach than seeking documents under the OIA. I have provided some
comments below that may address your purpose for seeking the documents
requested in parts 3-5 of your request.

 

“[3] I note that the faculty mentioned that the likelihood of a fee
increase is high. Please provide any documents or internal emails by the
faculty or its employees which relate to the possibility of a fee increase
or any planned fee increases. I am only interested in documents or
internal emails in the time period of 1 January 2023 to today (19 April
2024).”

 

The minutes for the Student Staff Consultative Meeting record Susan Naing,
International Representative for the Auckland University Medical Students
Association, stating the following at item 1.6:

 

“2. Uncertain fees – students don’t know how much the cost will increase
each year. International students would like some assurance that fees will
not increase too much. A lot of students are experiencing financial
difficulties and wondering if there is any support”

 

Dr Briar Peat, Deputy Head of the Medical Programme, responded to Ms
Naing’s concern about fee increases with the following statement, which is
the subject of part 3 of your request (see the attached minutes for the
full response):

 

“The MPD has no control over fees. The [medical] programme is long, and
the likelihood of fee increases over the length of study is quite high.”

 

The MBChB is a six-year programme including Year One (Part I) of the
Bachelor of Health Sciences or the Bachelor of Science in Biomedical
Science (105 points). The tuition fees for an international student for
the University’s MBChB programme (for Year 2 onwards), are provided below
for 2021-2025, by year:

 

o 2025 - NZ$86,561
o 2024 - NZ$83,232
o 2023 - NZ$82,833.60
o 2022 - NZ$79,647.60
o 2021 - NZ$77,328

 

The basis for Dr Peat’s statement that about the likelihood of
international student tuition fees increasing over a six year period being
“quite high” is clear from the figures provided above – international
tuition fees for the MBChB programme have increased each year from
2025-2021. As Dr Peat stated, the Medical Programme Directorate has no
control over tuition fees. Tuition fees are determined by the University’s
Council annually. International student fees for 2025 were determined by
the University’s Council in Part A of its meeting of 16 October 2023 at
item 6.3.2 – these minutes, and all other Part A council minutes dating
back to 2019, are publicly available on the University’s website at
[1]https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/about-us/a....
I have provided an excerpt from this item about international fees below:

 

“With regard to international tuition fees for 2025 it was recommended
that the tuition fee be increased by 4% as the markets for international
students were still quite variable.“

 

“[4] The faculty mentioned that PGY 1 job concerns were raised right from
the beginning when offers were given out. Please produce any documents or
internal emails from the faculty that confirm this, I am only interested
in documents or internal emails that were created/sent on or after 1
January 2023.”

 

Dr Peat is recorded in the minutes for the 17 April 2024 SSC meeting as
making the following statement: “The PGYI issue is advised on admission
and the letter of offer outlines that a job offer is not guaranteed.”

 

The University’s website at [2]Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of
Surgery - The University of Auckland states the following:

 

“Where could this programme take you?

Those who complete the Medical Programme are eligible to apply for
provisional registration with the Medical Council of New Zealand. You
might choose primary health care and work in general practice, or choose
from a range of other specialist disciplines. Students interested in
research may defer clinical MBChB studies after Part III and take a year
pursuing a supervised research project of their choice to qualify for a
BMedSc(Hons) degree before returning to complete their clinical training
and graduating with both qualifications. We advise that the University of
Auckland is not involved in the employment of graduates and can make no
guarantee of post-qualification registration or employment in New Zealand
or any other country.” [emphasis added]

 

I have attached an example letter of offer from December 2022 to an
international student (with student personal information redacted) which
includes the following sentence:

 

“In making this offer, we advise you that the University of Auckland is
not involved in the employment of completing medical students and can make
no guarantee of post-qualification registration or employment in New
Zealand or any other country.”

 

This sentence was not present in the offer letters for international
students in the most recent admissions cycle, but students are directed to
the webpage cited above through a follow-up letter and the University’s
website. The sentence will be restored to the text of international offer
letters for the next admissions cycle.

 

“[5] The faculty mentioned that they have advocated for international
medical students in the past regarding PGY1 jobs and TI stipends. Is there
any information or document held by the faculty that shows this? I am only
interested in documents that were produced on or after 1 January 2023.”

 

The minutes for the 17 April 2024 SSC meeting have the following
statements about this topic:

 

From Dr Peat: “MPD does recognise that there is a benefit to NZ trained
Drs [remaining] in NZ and have advocated in the past.”

From Associate Professor Andrew MacCormick: “MPD does and has advocated
for international students to [be] employed under the same conditions as
local students but (like the stipend) it is out of the MPD’s control.”

 

I have been advised that the MPD has not engaged in formal advocacy on
this issue in the past two years.

 

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  

 

 

From: Indigo Woods <[3][FOI #26482 email]>
Sent: Friday, April 19, 2024 2:16 PM
To: legal <[4][University of Auckland request email]>
Subject: Official Information request - Student Staff Consultative Meeting
regarding International Medical Students

 

Dear University of Auckland.

I refer to the Student Staff Consultative Meeting meeting that occurred
with the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences on the 17th of April 2024
from 4 pm to 5 pm.


Please supply the following information under the Official Information
Act.


[1] Any minutes taken by any employee of the faculty in this particular
meeting, in line with OIA section 2(4).



[2] Any notes taken by any employees of the faculty in this particular
meeting, including any handwritten or typed notes, in line with OIA
section 2(4).

[3] I note that the faculty mentioned that the likelihood of a fee
increase is high. Please provide any documents or internal emails by the
faculty or its employees which relate to the possibility of a fee increase
or any planned fee increases. I am only interested in documents or
internal emails in the time period of 1 January 2023 to today (19 April
2024).

[4] The faculty mentioned that PGY 1 job concerns were raised right from
the beginning when offers were given out. Please produce any documents or
internal emails from the faculty that confirm this, I am only interested
in documents or internal emails that were created/sent on or after 1
January 2023.

[5] The faculty mentioned that they have advocated for international
medical students in the past regarding PGY1 jobs and TI stipends. Is there
any information or document held by the faculty that shows this? I am only
interested in documents that were produced on or after 1 January 2023.



If a rejection under OIA 18(e) is being considered, please consult me
prior, in line with OIA section 18B.

I understand that a decision on a request for information under the OIA
should be made within 20 working days of receiving that request. If there
are any fees associated with processing this request, please inform me in
advance.

Thank you,

Indigo Woods

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