INFORMATION COMPLIANCE TEAM
University Offices, Wellington Square, Oxford OX1 2JD
Ref. FOI/20210311/7
08 April 2021
Reply to request for information under the Freedom of Information Act
Your ref
Your email of 11th March
_
I would like to make a Freedom of Information request for Undergraduate Applications &
Offers by UCAS Apply Centre for the past 5 admission cycles, starting from 2017 entry to
2021 entry inclusive.
Please provide:
Request
UCAS application centre number
School name
Postcode where applicable
Country
number of applications
number of offers
Dear Mr Cui,
I write in reply to your email of 11th March requesting the above information.
The data you have requested up to and including that for the 2019 UCAS cycle is available here:
https://public.tableau.com/views/UniversityofOxford-
UCASApplyCentreApplications2019/UCASApplyCentre?%3Aembed=y&%3Adisplay_count=yes&%3AshowTab
s=y&%3AshowVizHome=no
Data for the 2020 cycle will be added by June 2021, and data for the 2021 cycle at about the same time in
2022. We are therefore withholding the information for 2020 and 2021 under section 22 of the FOIA. Section
22 provides that information is exempt from disclosure where there is an intention on the part of the public
authority or another body to publish it at a future date, and where it is reasonable in all the circumstances to
maintain the publication schedule.
The exemption in section 22 is a qualified exemption that requires the University to weigh the public interest
in disclosing the information requested, which is presumed from FOIA, against the public interest in
maintaining the exemption.
We recognise that there is a public interest in the disclosure of information relating to undergraduate
admissions. Immediate disclosure of the information would contribute to that interest. However, the question
to be decided is whether the public interest will be better served by disclosing the information now, or later, in
accordance with the publication schedule. Our view is that the public interest would be better served by
adhering to the publication schedule.
2
Disclosing the information prematurely, and in isolation from other information relating to the 2020 and 2021
cycles that would be published at the same time, would undermine the purpose of the University’s publication
scheme. This scheme provides for the publication of a wide range of information relating to each admissions
cycle, which presents a more complete and accurate picture than the piecemeal disclosure of separate items
of admissions data.
INTERNAL REVIEW
You may request an internal review of this response by e-mailin
g xxx@xxxxx.xx.xx.xx. A request for internal
review should be submitted no later than 40 working days from the date of this letter.
THE INFORMATION COMMISSIONER
If, after the internal review, you are still dissatisfied, you have the right under FOIA to apply to the
Information Commissioner for a decision as to whether your request has been dealt with in accordance with
the FOIA. You can do this online using the
Information Commissioner’s complaints portal.
Yours sincerely
Information Compliance Team