Dear Akhat,

I am writing to acknowledge your request in two parts, below and attached, under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 received by The University of Manchester yesterday, our reference as per the subject line.

The University will respond to your request within 20 working days.

Kind regards,

Polly

My usual working days are Wednesday morning, Thursday and Friday.  I job-share with Paula Egerton who usually works Monday, Tuesday and Thursday morning. 

Polly Smith | Information Officer | Information Governance Office | Directorate of Compliance and Risk | Professional Services | G.004 | Christie Building | The University of Manchester | Oxford Road | Manchester | M13 9PL | 0161 275 7789 | www.manchester.ac.uk. Please contact me on Teams or email as I may not be working in the office to take your call.

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Dear Akhat,

 

Thank you for your request for information received by The University of
Manchester on 25 January 2023 which was as follows (numbered for ease):

 

MPhys Physics with Theoretical Physics

BSc Physics

 

1.       For the 2021/22, 2020/21 and 2019/20 admission cycles, whether
they were courses available for application on UCAS Extra. And if so, how
many places were available

 

2.       In addition, can you outline the university's policies on late
applications and their priority relative to UCAS extra applicants.

 

3.       And also if possible, the number of offers given to late
applicants including the total number of late applications received for
the same academic cycles and courses outlined in my initial post

 

The University has now considered your request and our response can be
found below.

 

 1. Both courses were available in UCAS Extra in all three cycles. However
we do not have a record of the number of places still available at
that point in each cycle.
 2. The University considers LATE and EXTRA applications equally where the
course is still open after the Equal Consideration Deadline.
 3. We believe this information is exempt from disclosure by virtue of the
listed exemption at Section 43 (2) of the Freedom of Information Act
2000 – Commercial Interests. Further details follow in the refusal
notice below.

 

Refusal Notice 

This Refusal Notice has been issued under Section 17 (1) of the Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA). 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.  

 

Section 43 (2) – 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
interests (including the University’s own). Commercial interests 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. 

 

It is the latter of these three points that The University of Manchester
feels is relevant to this request. To determine where the public interest
lies with regard to this exemption, we have previously liaised extensively
with relevant staff in the University regarding requests of this nature,
including the Director of Student Recruitment & International Development,
the Heads of Teaching, Learning and the Student Experience in Faculties as
well as the University’s Head of Student Data, Analysis and Records. 

 

All felt that releasing information of the type requested at course level
would impact on the University’s competitive advantage and would therefore
prejudice our commercial interests. Providing information on the level of
applications and offers at course level would give a new or existing
competitor key information about our programmes. This could enable them to
either start a new course themselves (by identifying a perceived gap in
the market which could then impact on our numbers of applications, offers
and/or acceptances) or to more aggressively compete with us/poach from us
(as they identify they could be able to gain a bigger share of the market
which could then impact on our numbers of applications, offers and/or
acceptances). Any disclosure under the FOIA is considered as a disclosure
to the world, so whereas it may not be your intention to use the
information in this way, it must be an important factor in our
considerations.  

 

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. 

 

Factors in Favour of Disclosure 

There is public interest in disclosing applications and offer data. To do
so would ensure that members of the public can be satisfied that the
University of Manchester is open and transparent. It may also assist
public debate with regard to the issue of student recruitment and offer
making. 

 

Factors Against Disclosure 

Universities operate in an ever and increasingly competitive environment
and as such, the University would not wish to disclose information that
would be likely to prejudice our commercial interests and our position
within this environment. 

 

Therefore, we believe that for the reasons outlined above, the balance
lies in maintaining the exemption at this time. 

 

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 at [1][email address]. You should include:  

·         details of your initial request  

·         any other relevant information  

 

You must make this appeal within 40 working days from receipt of your
response. We will not accept appeals received after this date, as per the
Freedom of Information Code of Practice, Section 5.3. 

 

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. 

 

Kind regards

Sharon

 

Sharon Glen | Information Officer | Information Governance Office |
Directorate of Compliance and Risk |Professional Services | G7 Christie
Building | The University of Manchester | Oxford Road | Manchester | M13
9PL | [3]www.manchester.ac.uk

 

Please contact me via Teams or email as I may not be in the office to take
your call.

 

Have you refreshed your Data Protection & Cyber Security training? Details
of how staff can access the new course, are on the following IGO StaffNet
page: [4]https://www.staffnet.manchester.ac.uk/ig...

 

References

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1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://www.ico.org.uk/
3. http://www.manchester.ac.uk/
4. https://www.staffnet.manchester.ac.uk/ig...