21 August 2023
By email: [FYI request #23578 email]
Tēnā koe E,
I refer to your information request dated 24 July 2023 made under the Official Information Act 1982
(the Act). You have requested mark and grade distributions for the 2023 Semester 1 GEOG379,
GEOG388 and GEOG394 papers offered by the University of Otago.
Subject to the following comments, please see attached the information you have requested.
• we note that the grade and mark distributions for the Semester 1 2023 GEOG388 and
GEOG394 papers have not been finalised yet as there may be special examinations
outstanding and the grades for some students have not been finalised. We are not
comfortable releasing the data before all grades have been confirmed – as this may affect
students’ wellbeing and disrupt students’ performance in special examinations. We are happy
to grant your request but will release the grade and mark distributions for these papers once
all student results have been confirmed – we anticipate that these will be finalised in the
coming weeks.
• on occasions where fewer than five students have failed a paper (i.e. received a grade of Fail
D, Fail E, Failed Compulsory Assessment or Failed Terms), 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.
• in the attached grade and mark distributions, we note that students who withdrew from the
papers or received an Aegrotat Pass (not a grade or mark) are excluded from the data.
I trust that this information will be helpful. We will be back in touch once the mark and grade
distributions for the Semester 1 2023 GEOG388 and GEOG394 papers have been confirmed and are
available.
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
Jo Pearson
Official Information Act Administrator
Office of the Registrar
