Degree outcomes of overseas students

The request was partially successful.

Dear University of Reading,

I am interested in any relationship between language proficiency scores and final degree classification for overseas undergraduates who may or may not have taken a pre-sessional programme. I would like to analyse this at student level so please anonymise each individual’s data but do not provide aggregates (e.g. if there are 5 management students who entered with IELTS 7.0 and got a 2.1 degree, I want this listed with a line for each).
For each student enrolled in the 2012/3 year I would like to know:

Nationality
Gender
Programme title (JACS code)
Language requirement IELTS band for the programme
IELTS band (or TOEFL/PTE score if applicable) attained on entry
Whether the student enrolled on a pre-sessional programme or entered their undergraduate programme directly.
Pre-sessional grade (if applicable).
Final degree classification (or, if available, average percentage from modules in each year of study) or alternative outcome, e.g. withdrawn from studies, transferred university, etc.

Thank you for your help.

Yours faithfully,

Mark Carver

IMPS, University of Reading

Dear Mr Carver

This is to acknowledge receipt of your request for information below and to let you know it is being processed.

We'll get back to you as soon as we can, but in any case within 20 working days from 13/02/2018.

In the meantime, if you wish to add any further details or check on progress, please reply to this message, without altering the 'Subject:' line (IMPS#02105), so that we can track your input and respond promptly.

Yours sincerely,

Sinead Latham

Information Management & Policy Services (IMPS), University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading, RG6 6AH
t: +44 (0)118 378 8981 www.reading.ac.uk/foia

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IMPS, University of Reading

Dear Mr Carver

We would like to request some clarification regarding your above referenced FOI request, please.

Please could you provide clarification to the points listed below:

• Would you like the details of students classed as having an overseas fee status as it is in the subject line of the email but not the body of the request (only say 'for each student' in the request itself).
• Details for undergraduate students only (as the request asks for degree outcomes only)?
• Request programme title and then puts the JACS code in brackets: do you want to know both the programme title and the JACS code or one or the other?
• ' Language requirement IELTS band for the programme IELTS band (or TOEFL/PTE score if applicable) attained on entry' is not clear. Do you want to know the IELTS English language requirement for each programme and the IELTS scores students achieved or just one or the other?
• In regards to pre-sessional programmes do you want to know about students who have been on the ISLI-style programmes or do you also want to include the subject specific Graduate Management and English Language pre-sessional course?
• It should be noted that students on these pre-sessional programmes do not achieve a grade as such, rather they simply progress onto their intended programme once they have completed all the components required of the pre-sessional.

Please be aware that if compliance with your request would be estimated to exceed the appropriate costs limit established by section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, we may not be able to determine whether we hold the requested information.

Your request is on hold pending receipt of this clarification.

Yours sincerely,

Sinead Latham

Information Compliance Officer
Information Management & Policy Services (IMPS), University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading, RG6 6AH
t: +44 (0)118 378 8981 www.reading.ac.uk/internal/imps

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Dear IMPS,

Thank you - clarifications below.

• Would you like the details of students classed as having an overseas fee status as it is in the subject line of the email but not the body of the request (only say 'for each student' in the request itself).
I’m interested in non-native English speakers, so anyone who was required to demonstrate their English proficiency for entry

• Details for undergraduate students only (as the request asks for degree outcomes only)?
Yes, just undergraduates please

• Request programme title and then puts the JACS code in brackets: do you want to know both the programme title and the JACS code or one or the other?
Just JACS plase

• ' Language requirement IELTS band for the programme IELTS band (or TOEFL/PTE score if applicable) attained on entry' is not clear. Do you want to know the IELTS English language requirement for each programme and the IELTS scores students achieved or just one or the other?

Two separate responses please – the requirement for their programme, and what they achieved. For example, students might require 6.5 but score 7.0, or indeed score 6.0 but be admitted onto a pre-sessional.

• In regards to pre-sessional programmes do you want to know about students who have been on the ISLI-style programmes or do you also want to include the subject specific Graduate Management and English Language pre-sessional course?
Include the subject-specific pre-sessionals please, essentially I’m wanting to know if they did something other than direct entry

• It should be noted that students on these pre-sessional programmes do not achieve a grade as such, rather they simply progress onto their intended programme once they have completed all the components required of the pre-sessional.
I thought that ISLI used the TEEP test, but if this is no longer the case then simply pass/fail will be sufficient

Yours sincerely,

Mark Carver

IMPS, University of Reading

Dear Mr Carver

Thank you for the clarification you have provided below. Your request is now off hold and we will get back to you as soon as we can but in any case within 20 working days.

Kind regards,

Sinead Latham

Information Compliance Officer
Information Management & Policy Services (IMPS), University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading, RG6 6AH
t: +44 (0)118 378 8981 www.reading.ac.uk/internal/imps

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IMPS, University of Reading

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Carver,
 
We are writing to advise you that it has been necessary to refuse this
request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
 
We estimate that compliance with your request would exceed the appropriate
costs limit established by section 12 of the Freedom of information Act
2000; this is currently set at £450 (or 18 hours work) by virtue of the
Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees)
Regulations 2004. Our estimate has considered the time it would take to
determine whether we hold the information and then to locate, retrieve and
extract it.
 
We estimate that to determine whether we hold the ‘pre-sessional grade,
then to locate, retrieve, and extract that information would take longer
than 18 hours to complete. The primary reason for this is that
historically the pre-sessional grade of students who completed their
pre-sessional course at the University was not routinely recorded in an
easily searchable, aggregated format as it is a non-credit bearing course
students who passed the course would be eligible to enrol on their chosen
programme. To exhaustively search all possible locations for students’
pre-sessional grade for the academic year requested would require a search
at School and across Department level for their individual records, then
to reconcile possible duplicate records.
 
However, under S.16 (duty to provide help and assistance), we have
provided you with data held in our Student Information System for a sample
of students. Some information contained within the attached document has
been withheld under section 40(2) of FOIA. This applies to numbers that
are small enough to potentially identify individuals, though to assist you
as much as possible, where this applies, this has been indicated using
<=4.
 
Section 40(2) of the FOIA allows a public authority to withhold
information under the FOIA when the information requested is personal data
relating to someone other than the requestor, and its disclosure would
breach any of the Data Protection principles. In this case we believe that
the disclosure of information in respect of potentially identifiable
individuals would not be within their reasonable expectations and as such
would be unfair and in breach of the first data protection principle which
requires personal data to be processed fairly and lawfully.
 
 
 
 
 
 
We are required to include details of our complaints procedures, including
your rights to apply to the Information Commissioner.  The procedure is
detailed in our Freedom of Information and Environmental Information
Regulations policy on the web at
[1]www.reading.ac.uk/freedom-of-information-policy
 
If we are unable to resolve any complaint, you can complain to the
Information Commissioner, the independent body who oversees the access to
information regimes:
 
Information Commissioner
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
 
Email: [2][email address]
 
Yours sincerely
 
 
Rebecca Daniells
IMPS Officer
 
Information Management & Policy Services (IMPS), University of Reading,
Whiteknights, Reading, RG6 6AH
[3][University of Reading request email]    t: +44 (0)118 378 8981   
[4]www.reading.ac.uk/foia
 
 
 

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