FOI Request F275.23 24.pdf

Our ref.: F275.23-24

To whom it may concern

8 April 2024

To whom it may concern,

Your request to access information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000

Thank you for your request for access to information held by the University of Warwick.

We have considered your request under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act
2000.

Your request

You have requested access to the following information:

Treat this as a Freedom of Information Request under FOIA 2000.

All the questions below relate to the course Economics, Politics and International Studies
which is an undergraduate course on offer at the University under the UCAS code LLD2.

1. Please disclose the date/timing of when offers were given out for this course for
the UCAS cycles 2021-2022 and 2022-2023. The spreadsheet should have 2 columns
- 'Date' and 'Number of offers given out'.

Please find the requested information in the attached spreadsheet titled ‘FOI Request –
F275.23-24 – Attachment’ – tab 1.

2. How many offers and rejections has the University given out, as of when this
request is being processed, or 27 March 2024 (or both if both are plausible), for the
UCAS cycle 2023-2024?

Please note that the University declines to provide the requested information in relation to
the current cycle data i.e., 2023/24 (Autumn 2024 entry), since it considers that the

Legal and Compliance Services
University House
Kirby Corner Road
University of Warwick
Coventry CV4 8UW UK
xxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxx.xx.xx
warwick.ac.uk

exemption under section 43(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 applies. Section
43(2) states that “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)”.  The University considers that the release of the requested
information would be likely to prejudice the commercial interests of the University. 

It is important that the admissions process is fair, transparent, and consistent for all
applicants in each admissions cycle. The University is still considering applications for 2024
entry and may still receive new applications until the end of July 2024.  We would therefore
not provide any information relating to application data (or other related information)
during the admissions cycle, that was not available to all applicants at the start of the
admissions cycle. Giving mid-cycle data would enable the recipient to analyse and interpret
the University’s student recruitment and admissions strategy and operations. This could
enable a competitor to better understand the University’s operating model, prejudicing the
University’s financial success and profitability in the future.

The exemption at section 43(2) is a qualified exemption which means that the University
must consider whether the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the
public interest in disclosure. The University considers there is no overriding public interest in
the circumstances that would warrant prejudicing the University’s commercial interests.

Disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act is effectively disclosure to the general
public at large, not solely the person who has made the request. The University is of the
opinion that the public interest lies in favour of withholding the requested information.

3.  If the outcome count is below 20, why has the admissions selector not processed
any applications between 31 January 2024 and now?

As per the response for Q2 above.

4.  How many applications has the University received for this course for the UCAS
cycles 2021-2022, 2022-2023 and 2023-2024? Of these applicants, break them
down into fee status of overseas/home.

The University declines to provide the requested information as this information is exempt
under section 21(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 which states that “information
which is reasonably accessible to the applicant otherwise than under section 1 is exempt
information”.

This information can be found on the Warwick website at Admissions Statistics Course Level
(warwick.ac.uk)

Legal and Compliance Services
University House
Kirby Corner Road
University of Warwick
Coventry CV4 8UW UK
xxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxx.xx.xx
warwick.ac.uk

link to page 4

5.  How many offers has the University given out - broken down by fee status - for
2021-2022, and 2022-2023?

As per the response for Q4 above – This information can be found on the Warwick website
at Admissions Statistics Course Level (warwick.ac.uk)

6.  For home applicants for the cycles of 2021-2022 and 2022-2023, what was the
aggregate outcome by the overall predicted/achieved grade profile? Please include
this data for al  the grade profiles between A*A*A*A* and UUUU. The spreadsheet
should look like this: e.g. predicted/achieved A*A*A*A* - X offers, Y rejections.
Please find the requested information in the attached spreadsheet titled ‘FOI Request –
F275.23-24 – Attachment’ – tab 2.

Data notes:

  Many factors influence the numbers involved and this should not be used to
determine the likelihood of achieving a place on a course in a current or future cycle.
  Data provided is for applications received from applicants intending to join Warwick
in Autumn 2022 and Autumn 2023 on the Economics, Politics, and International
Studies course (UCAS code LLD2, internal code U-L1MD) and may include data from
applicants who deferred/applied in a previous cycle.
  Tab 1- Date of Offer issued data is based on the date a conditional or unconditional
offer code was recorded in the system which should be the date the decision is
transmitted to UCAS.
  Tab 2- Data is based on applicants categorised as “Home” in the database.
Achieved/predicted A-level data is based on the Modern Contextualised Data Service
file provided by UCAS that contains applicant grade profile information.
  Where data is missing from the MCDS file this is not provided.
  Some applicants may have withdrawn their application prior to a decision being
made.
  Where applicants meet certain contextual criteria, the University can make reduced
offers as per the Contextual Data Policy.

Next steps

For further information on how to interpret our response, including important information
on how we present statistics, please see our methodology available on our websitei.

We are not able to warrant that any information provided is correct. Any information
provided may be subject to intel ectual property rights.

Legal and Compliance Services
University House
Kirby Corner Road
University of Warwick
Coventry CV4 8UW UK
xxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxx.xx.xx
warwick.ac.uk

link to page 3

If you are dissatisfied with the University’s response to your request, you may request an
internal review of the response within 40 working days by contacting us using the contact
details in the footer of this letter.
If you remain dissatisfied with the University’s response to your request, you have the right
to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (the ICO). The ICO’s contact details
are as follows –

Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Phone: 0303 123 1113
Fax: 01625 524510

www.ico.gov.uk

We hope that this information is helpful, and please do not hesitate to contact us if we can
be of further assistance.

Yours faithfully,

Legal and Compliance Services

i h ttps://warwick.ac.uk/services/legalandcomplianceservices/freedomofinformation/methodology/

Legal and Compliance Services
University House
Kirby Corner Road
University of Warwick
Coventry CV4 8UW UK
xxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxx.xx.xx
warwick.ac.uk