23 August 2019
RECORDS MANAGEMENT SECTION
The University of Edinburgh
File ref: T3/39/13
Old College
South Bridge
Edinburgh EH8 9YL
Ms Kennedy
Direct Dial 0131 651 4099
Sent by email: request-595191-
Switchboard 0131 650 1000
xxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
Email xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xx.xx.xx
Dear Ms Kennedy
Freedom of information request
Thank you for your email of 6 August 2019 requesting the average marks of specified
history courses.
The University of Edinburgh is a global university, rooted in Scotland. We are globally
recognised for our research, development and innovation and we have provided world-
class teaching to our students for more than 425 years. We are the largest university in
Scotland and in 2017/18 our annual revenue was £984 million, of which over £279 million
was research income. We have over 41,000 students and more than 15,000 staff. We
are a founding member of the UK’s Russell Group of leading research universities and a
member of the League of European Research Universities.
The School of History, Classics & Archaeology is one of the great world centres for the
study of the human past. The School’s community comprises over 100 academic staff, c.
70 honorary professors and fellows, c. 400 graduate students and an undergraduate
population of c. 1,350, of whom around a quarter are international students. More
information is on t
he School of History, Classics & Archaeology website.
The University’
s Degree Regulations and Programmes of Study (DRPS), published on
the University website, lists all of the programmes and courses the University offers. It
provides Degree Programme Tables (DPTs) for each programme, which list the
compulsory and optional courses for each year of the programme. The DPTs provide
links to a description of each course, including how the course is assessed. Information
about courses taken in previous years is also available on DRPS.
History module marks
You asked for the average marks achieved by students in seven history courses. I have
provided most of this information for the last three academic years in table 1 below.
UNIVERSITY SECRETARY Ms Sarah Smith
The University of Edinburgh is a charitable body, registered in Scotland, with registration number SC005336
Table 1: Average marks for history courses, 2016/17 – 2018/19
Course name
2016/17
2017/18
2018/19
The United States in Vietnam: History and
64.46
64.94 Withheld
Consequences
The Origins of the First World War, 1871-1917
Not held
Not held
63
The Holocaust
Not held
64.3
58.42
The United States in the 1960s
60
61.71
61.47
War and Memory in the Twentieth Century
Not held
63.47 Not held
From New Jerusalem to New Labour: The
66
63.36 Not held
Labour Party in Contemporary Britain
India 1700-1947: Raj, Rebellion and Ryot
Not held
65.35
56.12
Table notes
The University’
s Common Marking Scheme for undergraduate assessment explains what
these marks mean.
‘Not held’ means the course in question either did not run or was not picked as an option
by any students.
The number of students taking
The United States in Vietnam: History and Consequences in 2018/19 was small. Providing an average mark for small numbers of students could
enable the marks of individuals to be identified. This would breach the data protection
principles set out in data protection legislation. The Freedom of Information (Scotland)
Act 2002 does not require us to provide this sort of information as it is exempt under
section 38(1)(b).
Right to review
If you are dissatisfied with this response, you may ask the University to conduct a review
of this decision by contacting the University's Records Management Section in writing
(e.g. by letter or email) or in some other recorded form (e.g. audio or video tape). You
should describe the original request, explain your grounds for dissatisfaction, and include
an address for correspondence. You have 40 working days from receipt of this letter to
submit a review request. If you have submitted a valid request, when the review process
has been completed, if you are still dissatisfied, you may use t
he Scottish Information
Commissioner’s guidance on making an appeal to make an appeal to the Commissioner.
If you do not have access to the Internet, please let me know and I will provide a copy of
the relevant web pages.
Privacy notice for information request applicants
The University of Edinburgh's request privacy notice, which describes how we use the
information you have supplied about yourself and your request, is published on the
University website.
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Yours sincerely
Rob Don
Information Compliance Officer
If you require this letter in an alternative format, such as large print or
a coloured background, please contact the Records Management
Section on 0131 651 4099 or email xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xx.xx.xx
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