Miss Zoe Allwood
FOI Manager
Sheila Darlington
By email
Reference: FOI-2021-95
17 February 2021
Dear Ms Darlington,
Your request was received on 29 January 2021 and I am dealing with it under the terms of the
Freedom of Information Act 2000 (‘the Act’).
You asked:
Could you kindly provide the exam/class-test papers over the past 5 years for the modules
offered by Judge Business School as part of the Mphil in Finance (i.e., Asset Pricing I,
Econometrics I, Corporate Finance I, Asset Pricing II, Econometrics II, Corporate Finance II)
This information is withheld under section 43(1) of the Act as it constitutes a trade secret (within the
meaning of this term in the Act). Some of the questions from these exam papers and class tests are re-
used from year-to-year for quality assurance purposes and their disclosure to a member of the public
would be likely to prejudice their ability to be used successfully in this way. As this is a qualified
exemption, the University has considered whether, in all the circumstances of the case, the public
interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information. The
University is aware of the general arguments concerning transparency in its examination arrangements.
However the need to maintain quality assurance in certain examinations through the re-use of
questions is considered to be a decisive factor in favour of the maintenance of the exemption in this
case.
If you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation to your request and wish to make a
complaint or request an internal review of this decision, you should contact us quoting the reference
number above. The University would normally expect to receive your request for an internal review
within 40 working days of the date of this letter and reserves the right not to review a decision where
there has been undue delay in raising a complaint. If you are not content with the outcome of your
review, you may apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. Generally, the
Information Commissioner cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the complaints
The Old Schools
Trinity Lane
Cambridge, CB2 1TN
Tel: +44 (0) 1223 764142
Fax: +44 (0) 1223 332332
Email: xxx@xxxxx.xxx.xx.xx
www.cam.ac.uk
procedure provided by the University. The Information Commissioner may be contacted at: The
Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF
(https://ico.org.uk/).
Yours sincerely,
Zoe Allwood