Data for Application and Offers for Natural Science Course
Dear University of Durham,
I am making an FOI request to find out about the Natural Sciences course. I am particularly interested in the modules of Computer Science, Mathematics, and Economics. Please add the students' A-level grades and the subjects in which they take them, and whether or not they were given an offer. Please also give a number for those applying to CS and Ma, and the number of offers given.
Also, will the alternative personal statement be available for use in this?
Yours faithfully,
A. Bulloso
Thank you for your email.
If you have submitted a Freedom of Information Request or Subject Access
Request, please accept this as acknowledgement of your request.
All other enquiries will be responded to in due course.
Yours sincerely
Information Governance Unit
University Secretary’s Office
The Palatine Centre
Stockton Road
Durham
DH1 3LE
w: [1]https://www.dur.ac.uk/university.secreta...
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Good afternoon
Colleagues have asked me to contact you to request clarification in
relation to your request below. Could you kindly confirm as follows:
Which academic year does this request refer to?
Your request will be placed on hold until we receive the requested
clarification from you. If however we do not receive clarification within
30 days of this email we will consider the request closed.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely
Information Governance Unit
Durham University
Information Governance Unit, University Secretary’s Office
e: [1][Durham University request email]
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE:
This message is intended solely for the addressee(s) in the first instance
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recipient, please notify the sender, delete the message from your system
immediately and do not disclose the contents to any other party..
Dear INFO-ACCESS,
Please send the data for the previous 5 years of applications.
Yours sincerely,
A. Bulloso
Dear INFO-ACCESS,
I would like to request the data for the previous 5 years of applications. I have already sent this email.
Yours sincerely,
A. Bulloso
Good Morning,
With regards to the below request, our business owners have asked for clarification of the following points in order to that we can be sure what information you are requesting:
Question: I am making an FOI request to find out about the Natural Sciences course . I am particularly interested in the modules of Computer Science, Mathematics, and Economics
Please could you clarify if you are interested in applications to /offers made for the BSc Natural Sciences course overall (CFGO) or in specific subject choices (Comp Science, Mathematics, Economics) within this degree? Applicants to Natural Sciences are asked to select their provisional subject choices at application stage (up to 4). Are you interested where at least one of the 3 specified subjects appears in the applicants subject choice on their application form, or where all 3 subjects specified appear together in their subject choices?
Question: Please add the students' A-level grades and the subjects in which they take them, and whether or not they were given an offer –
Due to GDPR regulations we cannot provide individual level information, we can only provide a summary of this information - e.g. number of applicants/offer holders with particular A level grade profiles (A*A*A* , A*A* A etc) and summary of number of applicants/offer holders per A level subject –Would you like us to attempt to retrieve this data?
Question: Please also give a number for those applying to CS and Ma, and the number of offers given (For the past 5 years). –
Do you mean applying to courses within the Computer Science department and courses in the Mathematics Department ?
Question: Also, will the alternative personal statement be available for use in this?
We cannot provide individual alternative personal statements as these are personal information, Can you confirm you are interested in whether / how these are used?
Yours sincerely
Information Governance Unit
Durham University
Information Governance Unit, University Secretary’s Office
e: [Durham University request email]
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE:
This message is intended solely for the addressee(s) in the first instance and may contain confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient, please notify the sender, delete the message from your system immediately and do not disclose the contents to any other party.
Dear INFO-ACCESS,
Q: Please could you clarify if you are interested in applications to /offers made for the BSc Natural Sciences course overall (CFGO) or in specific subject choices (Comp Science, Mathematics, Economics) within this degree? Applicants to Natural Sciences are asked to select their provisional subject choices at application stage (up to 4). Are you interested where at least one of the 3 specified subjects appears in the applicants subject choice on their application form, or where all 3 subjects specified appear together in their subject choices?
I am enquiring for those who are in the Natural Sciences degree who have taken both Comp Sci and Maths. I am also enquiring separately for those who have progressed and taken all of Comp Sci, Maths, and Economics in the course as the website states that it is possible to commit to three subjects part-way through the course.
Q: Due to GDPR regulations we cannot provide individual level information, we can only provide a summary of this information - e.g. number of applicants/offer holders with particular A level grade profiles (A*A*A* , A*A* A etc) and summary of number of applicants/offer holders per A level subject –Would you like us to attempt to retrieve this data?
Yes, this would be ideal (if possible, for the course combinations above).
Q: We cannot provide individual alternative personal statements as these are personal information, Can you confirm you are interested in whether / how these are used?
Yes, I would like to know if the reviewer discriminates and is aware of the fact that the candidate has used an alternative personal statement as opposed to the UCAS personal statement. Moreover, where can I find out more information about this?
Yours sincerely,
A. Bulloso
Good Afternoon,
Thankyou for that clarification, it was passed onto our data suppliers who are still not certain as to the information you are seeking, they have asked that you pick the relevant option below of data we may be able to provide:
Options below of what we can provide:
1. We could provide admissions data for students applying to Natural Sciences who have selected the options of Comp & Maths, and the options Comp, Maths & Economics at application stage - we can provide number of applicants, number of offer holders and predicted A level grades they apply with (summarised) for applicants and/or offer holders. We only hold this data for admissions cycles 2018-19 onwards (year of entry 2019)
Or
2. Data on BSc Natural Science students currently at the University who have taken the options Comp Sci & Maths or Comp Sci, Maths & Economics and the A level grades they achieved- this would be something that Student Registry may be able to provide if it is available, I have copied them in so they can advise if they can provide this information if required.
Yours sincerely
Information Governance Unit
Durham University
Information Governance Unit, University Secretary's Office
e: [Durham University request email]
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE:
This message is intended solely for the addressee(s) in the first instance and may contain confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient, please notify the sender, delete the message from your system immediately and do not disclose the contents to any other party.
Dear INFO-ACCESS,
Thank you for responding. Would it be possible for both pieces of data to be given? However, if this is not possible, I would like to kindly request the data from the first option.
Yours sincerely,
A. Bulloso
Dear Requester
Thank you for your request for information from Durham University.
Colleagues have provided the information below/attached in response to
your questions. Can I apologise for the delay in replying to you
Request:
I am making an FOI request to find out about the Natural Sciences course.
I am particularly interested in the modules of Computer Science,
Mathematics, and Economics. Please add the students' A-level grades and
the subjects in which they take them, and whether or not they were given
an offer. Please also give a number for those applying to CS and Ma, and
the number of offers given.
Also, will the alternative personal statement be available for use in
this? I would like to know if the reviewer discriminates and is aware of
the fact that the candidate has used an alternative personal statement as
opposed to the UCAS personal statement. Moreover, where can I find out
more information about this?
Response:
Please see worksheets:
Q1a: Applications & Offers
Q1b: Predicted A level profile
Q1c: Predicted A level subjects
Please note the following about the data supplied for these questions:
• Data is for applicants/offer holders who applied for course CFG0 (BSc
Natural Sciences) and who selected the options of Computer Science and
Mathematics only and those who selected the options of Economics,
Computer Science and Mathematics only at application stage. Please
note that applicants can change their chosen subjects up to enrolment.
• Data for admissions cycles 2018-19, 2019-20, 2020-21, 2021-22 have
been provided. We do not hold data regarding subject choice at
application stage for course CFG0 prior to 2018-19 and admissions
cycle 2022-23 is currently in progress, therefore we are unable to
provide the data for this cycle at this time.
• A Level profile data is based on applicants who were predicted to take
at least 3 A levels, and for those who were predicted to take more
than 3 A levels, the top 3 predicted grades were used.
• A level subject data this is based on number of applicants taking at
least 1 A level for which a predicted grade was available, applicants
may take other qualifications in addition to A Levels
and
Q1d. Data on BSc Natural Science students currently at the University who
have taken the options Comp Sci & Maths or Comp Sci, Maths & Economics and
the A level grades they achieved-
Due to the low numbers it is possible that individuals could be identified
this question is being refused by virtue of S.40 (2) of the Freedom of
Information Act (Personal Information).
The numbers of students who study a Computer Science and Mathematics Route
within the BSc Natural Sciences degree are small (generally around 5
leavers in each year between 2017-18 and 2021-22 have studied this route).
Q2: Please also give a number for those applying to CS and Ma, and the
number of offers given (For the past 5 years).
See worksheet: Q2: Comp Sci and Maths
CS and Ma has been interpreted as Department of Computer Science and
Department of Maths
Q3: Also, will the alternative personal statement be available for use in
this? I would like to know if the reviewer discriminates and is aware of
the fact that the candidate has used an alternative personal statement as
opposed to the UCAS personal statement. Moreover, where can I find out
more information about this?
The alternative personal statement is available to our Admissions Team as
part of a candidate’s application, who will use this in tandem with the
application. For more information see section ‘Substitute Personal
Statements’ on
[1]https://www.dur.ac.uk/study/undergraduat...
If you are dissatisfied with the University’s response to your freedom of
information request, you can ask us to internally review our handling of
your request, including the application of any exemptions applied. This
must be within 40 working days from the date of our response to you.
To do this, please email [2][Durham University request email].
Please state the grounds on which you wish the decision to be reviewed and
enclose any other information that may be useful in considering the matter
further. We aim to inform you of our decision within 20 working days from
the date your request for internal review is received.
If you are not satisfied with the results of the internal review you may
apply to the Information Commissioner's Office for an independent review.
Information Commissioner's Office
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Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
[3]www.ico.org.uk
Yours sincerely
Information Governance Unit
Durham University
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Information Governance Unit, University Secretary’s Office
e: [4][Durham University request email]
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CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE:
This message is intended solely for the addressee(s) in the first instance
and may contain confidential information. If you are not the intended
recipient, please notify the sender, delete the message from your system
immediately and do not disclose the contents to any other party.
References
Visible links
1. https://www.dur.ac.uk/study/undergraduat...
2. mailto:[Durham University request email]
3. http://www.ico.org.uk/
4. mailto:[Durham University request email]
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