23 February 2024
By email: [FYI request #25529 email]
Tēnā koe VJ
I refer to your information request dated 25 January 2024 made under the Official Information Act
1982 (the Act). You have requested mark and grade distributions for the 2021, 2022 and 2023
GENE221, GENE222, PHSL231, PHSL232, PHSL233, and BIOC221 papers offered by the University of
Otago.
Subject to the fol owing comments, please see attached the information you have requested. Please
note there are three pages in the attached document (one for each year).
the data is correct as at 21 February 2024
we note that the grade and mark distributions for the Semester 2 2023 PHSL233 paper have
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 stil wish to receive this information –
we expect that al student grades wil be confirmed soon.
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 wel being. 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 wil 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
Joey Lin
Official Information and Compliance Coordinator
Office of the Registrar