Dear Tom Smith,

Freedom of Information request reference K/20/482

Thank you for your Freedom of Information (FOI) request dated 20 November 2020. Your request has been allocated the reference number K/20/482. Please include this number in all further correspondence related to your enquiry.

The University of Leeds aims to respond to all FOI requests within 20-working days of receipt. Should this timeframe change, we will write to provide you with an update as soon as possible.

If you have any questions about your request, please contact us at [University of Leeds request email]

Yours sincerely

Chloe Wilkins
Freedom of Information Officer

Secretariat
University of Leeds

show quoted sections

Dear Tom Smith, 

Freedom of Information Response (Our Ref: K/20/482)

Thank you for your Freedom of Information (FOI) request dated 20 November
2020, reference K/20/482.

Your request read:

“I have a request regarding information on the universities dentistry
school. All questions are for last years UCAS cycle.

1) How many of the students admitted were studying A Levels?

2) How many of the students admitted were international?

3) How many graduate students applied for the 5 year course?

4) How many graduate students applied for the graduate course?

5) How many of each category of students that I have mentioned above were:

i) Rejected pre interview

ii) Rejected post interview

iii) Given an offer

By each category, I am referring to the categories 'A Level students',
'international students', 'graduates applying to the 5 year course' and
'graduates applying for the graduate 4 year course'.

6) For each applicant, can I get their UKCAT score, their GCSE results,
degree result or prediction, A Level results or prediction, pre interview
score and interview score? If it is not possible to give all the data
within the time limit of 18 hours or £450, I would ask the university give
me a sample of randomised data such that the time and cost constraints are
met.

7) I would also request for a copy of the interview form that the
university uses to assess a candidate during the interview for the
Dentistry course. This request is applicable for this years entry cycle
and I would like the forms for interview for both the undergraduate and
post graduate interviews.

8)I would also like to know what the selection process is when determining
a candidates suitability for both the four year course and the five year
course. If any form is used to assess this, I would also like a copy of
this.”

The University of Leeds may hold some information relevant to your
request. However, we are unable to proceed with your request without
further clarification.

Section 1(3) of the FOI Act states that where a public authority
reasonably requires further information in order to identify and locate
the information requested, and has informed the applicant of that
requirement, the authority is not obliged to comply with subsection (1)
unless it is supplied with that further information.

We are not clear whether your reference to “admitted” students relates to
those who applied and offered a place on the course, or students who
completed registration (i.e. actually commenced study).

We also hope that the following information regarding the remaining
aspects of your request are helpful.

o We do not hold a record of which programmes of study students have
studied. Furthermore, some students may study A-Levels, but apply
based on an alternative qualification, for instance in the case of
international students. As such, we cannot provide an answer to
question one of your request.
o We do not record information which demonstrates whether an applicant
has previously graduated from another programme.

o Please note that our graduate course is only open to current
third year University of Leeds Dental Hygiene and Dental Therapy
(DHDT) students.

o We do not specifically categorise applicants in the groups you have
set out.

o As outlined above we do not record whether an applicant has
graduated from another programme, and only current third year
DHDT students can apply for the graduate programme, and as such
these categories cannot be applied in this way.
o We categorise students based on fee status (i.e. home or
international), and not qualifications, and as such it is very
possible that one student could span multiple categories, so
there are no means by which we could present this information.

o The University of Leeds does not request or accept UKCAT results.
o We do not typically request or record GCSE results, and note that many
students (particularly those educated outside of England and Wales) do
not take GSCE qualifications.
o We consider that part six of your request asks, in essence, for an
educational profile of each student relevant to your request. To
release this information (where it is held) would contravene the data
protection rights of the individual students and would therefore be
exempt under section 40(2).

o It would not be possible for us to provide randomised sample of
the data and we note that there is no provision or obligation for
this under the FOI Act.
o FOI requests cannot be defined by the cost limit (i.e. requests
which seek ‘as much information as possible within the time
limit’ are not valid).

o We consider that to provide the information you have requested at
questions six and seven would seriously undermine the admissions
process by providing you or anyone else in receipt of the information
an advantage over students who submitted their applications without
the benefit of this information. It is therefore very unlikely that we
would be able to provide information in respect of these parts of your
request.

Please send your clarified request to [1][University of Leeds request email]. Please note that
as per the Information Commissioner’s Office guidance, the 20-working day
timeframe will commence the next working day following receipt of the
clarified request.

We hope this information is helpful. If you have any questions about this
email, however, please do not hesitate to contact us on [2][University of Leeds request email]

If you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation to your
request and wish to make a complaint or request a review of our decision,
you can request an Internal Review. Requests for Internal Review should be
made in writing using the following contact information:

Post:               Mr D Wardle

Deputy Secretary

The University of Leeds

Leeds

LS2 9JT

Email:             [3][University of Leeds request email]

Requests for Internal Review should be submitted within 40 working days of
receiving the University’s response to your request. Further information
about how the University manages Freedom of Information requests and about
our complaints procedure is also available on our website
(www.leeds.ac.uk).

If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have
the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a
decision.  Generally, the ICO cannot make a decision unless you have
exhausted the review/complaints procedure provided by the University.  The
Information Commissioner can be contacted at:  Information Commissioner’s
Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.

Kind regards

Chloe Wilkins

Freedom of Information Officer

Secretariat

University of Leeds

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[University of Leeds request email]
2. mailto:[University of Leeds request email]
3. mailto:[University of Leeds request email]