Dear Michael Stafford

I acknowledge receipt of your email/letter received by this office on 10 September 2021.

Your request will now be dealt with under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and has been allocated reference FOI21-365 which should be quoted in all correspondence. We will respond to your request within 20 working days starting the next working day after receipt, therefore you can expect to receive a response no later than 8 October 2021.

In some circumstances a fee may be payable and, if that is the case, we will let you know. A fees notice will be issued to you, and you will be required to pay before we will proceed to deal with your request.
Yours sincerely

Swyddfa Ysgrifenydd y Brifysgol
Prifysgol Caerdydd
Ebost : [email address]

Mae'r Brifysgol yn croesawu gohebiaeth yn Gymraeg neu'n Saesneg. Ni fydd gohebu yn Gymraeg yn creu unrhwy oedi.

University Secretary’s Office
Cardiff University
Email: [email address]

The University welcomes correspondence in Welsh or English. Corresponding in Welsh will not lead to any delay.

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Dear Michael Stafford

I am writing in response to your Freedom of Information request dated 10
September 2021.

For ease of reference, I have reproduced your question(s) below and set
out our corresponding response(s).

I am writing to kindly request the following information regarding
admissions to Undergraduate Dentistry (A200) in the following years; 2018,
2019 and 2020 and 2021 (if available).

For each of the years can you clarify the number of applicants, number of
applicants called for interview, the number of offers made

  Number of  Number of  Number of 

applications  interviews  offers 
2021 See below See below See below
2020  770  245 158 
2019  784  243  157 
2018 626 240 161

The admissions cycle for 2021 entry is still in progress. The University
is unable to release information on the current cycle of applications in
light of Section 43 of the Freedom of Information Act. The University
operates in a competitive environment for students and feels that
releasing such information at this stage may impact on its ability to
attract students. The University holds this information however we
consider this information exempt from disclosure under S43(2) of the
Freedom of Information Act entitled “Commercial Interests”. In
particular, section 43(2) states that information is exempt 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). 

The release of information on applications and offers for the current
admissions period into the public domain would be highly likely to
prejudice the University’s commercial interests. We consider that
releasing this information would be likely to influence admissions
practices of individual applicants, and this would be likely to impact on
recruitment offers and outcomes and potentially disrupt the admissions
processes across the sector and undermine the principles of competition
law. 

Any loss of market share and reduction in enrolled student numbers would
have a significant impact on the University’s student fee
income and would further impact the University’s long term financial
sustainability. As public funding sources for higher education have
declined, student fee income has become an increasingly important source
of income and is a key factor in ensuring the University’s long term
financial sustainability. The ability for the universities in general, and
Cardiff University in particular as a major research intensive university
in Wales, to compete effectively in a global market is an important
strategic objective as set out by the Welsh Government in 'For Our Future:
the higher education strategy plan for Wales' and in the Welsh Government
Policy Statement on Higher Education which is available
at: [1]http://wales.gov.uk/docs/dcells/publicat...
is also important that Cardiff University is able to continue competing on
an equal footing with similar large, research intensive institutions in
the UK and overseas.  

Based on the above it is considered that the commercial interest of the
University would be likely to be prejudiced by release and as such the
Section 43(2) exemption is engaged.  

In applying the Section 43 exemption the University has taken account of
the public interest as required by the Act. The University has reviewed
the arguments in favour of disclosing the information (openness and
transparency in public life) and found them to be outweighed by the
greater general public interest in protection of the University's
competitive edge and market positioning. 

The University must consider the public interest test when applying this
exemption and this is considered below. 

Public Interest Test 

Factors in Favour of Disclosure 

It is in the public interest to release information that provides a
greater public understanding of the way the University operates and its
provisions for future delivery of its services. 

Factors in Favour of Non-disclosure 

It is not in the public interest to release information that would be
likely to damage the commercial interests of the University by undermining
its ability to compete in the marketplace.  

It is not in the public interest to release information that would disrupt
the admissions processes across the sector and undermine the principles of
competition law. 

On balance it is considered that it would not be in the public interest to
release this information and therefore the information will not be
released at this time. 

Can you clarify how each of the elements of the selection process are
weighted to arrive at an offer of an interview GCSE results Predicted
grades UCAT score personal statement

Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, the University is required to
provide information held in response to a request, however we are not
obliged to create new information in response to the request or to express
opinions on matters not already recorded. Further guidance on what is
covered by a request under the FOI Act can be found on the ICO webpages
[2]https://ico.org.uk/for- organisations/guide-to-freedom-of-
information/what-is-the-foi-act/.  “The Act covers any recorded
information that is held by a public authority…Recorded information
includes printed documents, computer files, letters, emails, photographs,
and sound or video recordings”.

It is our view that this question cannot be answered by information held
in a recorded form, as it is seeking an opinion rather than recorded data.
However we can advise that the UCAT overall score, SJT Banding of the
UCAT, GCSEs and predicted/achieved A level grades receive scores.  All
scores are calculated for each applicant.  The top 240 highest ranked
applicants are then invited to receive an MMI. The heaviest weighted areas
are the academic qualifications with the GCSEs receiving the most points,
followed by the Predicted/Achieved A levels, UCAT overall score and then
the SJT band receiving the lowest scoring.

The highest, lowest or threshold UCAT score for undergraduate applicants
to Dentistry A200 at Cardiff University , who were subsequently invited to
interview for each of the requested years.

Cardiff University does not hold the information.

Did you consider situational judgement score?

Details of entry requirements and the interview/selection process can be
found on our website: [3]Dental Surgery (BDS) - Study - Cardiff
University. Accordingly, this information is reasonably accessible to you
by other means and is exempt from disclosure under section 21 of the
Freedom of Information Act 2000.  

I trust this information satisfies your enquiry. Should you feel
dissatisfied with this response or the way in which your request was
handled you can request an Internal Review. This should be made in writing
within 40 working days of the date of this email. Please provide your
unique reference number of your request, information on why you are
dissatisfied and any detail you would like us to consider as part of the
Internal Review process. Email your request to
[4][email address] where it will be forwarded to the Head of
Compliance and Risk who will be responsible for overseeing the review.

If you remain dissatisfied following the outcome of your complaint, you
have the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for
consideration. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at the
following address: Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House,
Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your interest in
Cardiff University. If you require further assistance please feel free to
contact me.

Kind regards

References

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2. https://ico.org.uk/for-
3. https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/study/undergra...
4. mailto:[email address]