Dear Mr Cherian

 

Thank you for your email requesting data relating to the admissions policy
for undergraduate Dentistry at The University of Manchester.

 

I will today forward details of your request to the relevant department
within the University and will contact you again once I have received a
response.

 

With best regards

Lisa Crawley

 

Dr Lisa Crawley l  Records Officer  l Room 1.028, John Owens Building 
l Compliance & Risk Management Office l  The University of Manchester  l 
Oxford Road  l  Manchester  l  M13 9PL  l  Tel +44 (0)161 275 8400  

 

Dear Mr Cherian

 

Thank you for your email requesting data relating to admissions to
Dentistry. Please see the response below to questions 1-6. Question 7 is
being refused as the University believes that this data is exempt under
section 43 of the Act – the exemption which relates to commercial
interests. Please see the formal refusal notice below:

 

The answers to most of your questions can be found on our application
process website:
[1]https://www.bmh.manchester.ac.uk/dentist...

 

The following will add more context:

 

1) The admission policy including the scoring and ranking procedure to
shortlist International (non-EU) applicants for interviews.

 

Please see the link provided. We consider applications holistically. 

 

2) How is the UKCAT score used to rank applicants?

 

We expect applicants to be in bands 1 or 2 on the SJT. The overall score
is considered holistically with the rest of the application. 

 

3) What is the weighting used for UKCAT score and predicted A-level grades
in the ranking?

 

There is no weighting. 

 

4) Is there a cut-off score for UKCAT? If so, what is the range of the
cut-off score?

 

We do not apply a formal threshold but we do expect applicants to be in
bands 1 or 2 in the SJT. 

 

5) Are International (non-EU) applicants ranked against other
International applicants, or are they ranked against all applicants both
Home/EU and International?

 

International applicants are subject to their own HEFCE cap. They undergo
the same screening process but are treated differently only in terms of
the number of offers we can make.

 

6) How is the personal statement use in the selection process? Is there a
score for personal statement?

 

We ask applicants to complete a non-academic information from which we
consider holistically and later discuss at interview.

 

Refusal Notice

 

This Refusal Notice has been issued under Section 17 of the Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA) in respect of your request for information under
Section 1 (1) of the FOIA.  The University of Manchester confirms that the
information requested is held but we are refusing to provide it in
response to your request for the reasons set out below. 

 

Details of your request:

 

7) Please provide a spreadsheet of all applicants, Home/EU and
International (non-EU), who were offered a place, including UKCAT score,
and interview scores (if applicable).

 

Reasons for our Refusal:

 

Section 43 (2) of the FOIA – Commercial Interests

 

Information is exempt information if its disclosure under this Act would,
or would be likely to prejudice the commercial interests of any person
(including the public authority holding it).

 

We are applying Section 43 (2) as a prejudice-based exemption.  We may
rely on this exemption if the disclosure would prejudice someone’s
commercial interest (including the University’s own).  Commercial interest
may be prejudiced where a disclosure would be likely to:  

 

·         Damage its business reputation or the confidence that customers,
suppliers or investors may have in it

·         Have a detrimental impact on its commercial revenue or threaten
its ability to obtain supplies or secure finance

·         Weaken its position in a competitive environment by revealing
market sensitive information or information of potential usefulness to its
competitors

 

The University believes that UKCAT scores are commercially sensitive and
that the release of granular UKCAT information potentially gives other
schools a competitive advantage.

Dentistry Schools are increasingly in competition with each other in the
selection of candidates, if the level of data requested were to be
publicly available we would be placed at a significant commercial
disadvantage as our competitor institutions would be able to analyse our
candidate selection and offer making behaviour in granular detail allowing
those schools to position themselves to undercut us and target our
applicant demographics.

Therefore the University believes the requested information is exempt
under Section 43.

 

Public Interest Test

 

As Section 43(2) is a qualified exemption we are required to carry out a
public interest test to determine if the commercial interest is overridden
by the public interest from a release of the information concerned.

The University of Manchester has carefully considered the balance of
public interest in this instance and has concluded that the balance lies
in withholding the information.

 

The University of Manchester Freedom of Information Act appeals procedure 

 

If you feel that The University of Manchester has refused access to
information to which you are entitled, or has not dealt with your request
appropriately under the FOIA, you have a right of appeal. 

An appeal in the first instance should be directed to the Information
Governance Office, contact details below. You should include: 

 

·         details of your initial request

·         any other relevant information

 

The University will deal with your appeal within a reasonable time, and
will inform you of the projected time scale on receipt of your complaint.
 

 

You are also welcome to contact the Information Governance Office with
informal questions about the handling of your request. 

 

After The University’s internal appeals procedure has been exhausted, you
have a further right of appeal to the Information Commissioner’s Office. 

 

Details of this procedure can be found at:

 

[2]www.ico.org.uk

 

I trust this concludes your request.

 

With best regards

 

Lisa Crawley

 

 

Dr Lisa Crawley l  Records Officer  l Information Governance Office
l Directorate of Compliance and Risk l  Professional Support Services |
Room G6 Christie Building  l Compliance & Risk Management Office l  The
University of Manchester  l  Oxford Road  l  Manchester  l  M13 9PL  l 
Tel +44 (0)161 275 8400  

 

 

References

Visible links
1. https://www.bmh.manchester.ac.uk/dentist...
2. http://www.ico.org.uk/