Graduate Entry Medicine A101

The request was refused by University of Nottingham.

Dear University of Nottingham,

I am requesting information for the following cycles for the 4 year Graduate Entry Medicine Programme.

A) 2021/2022 cycle for Sep 2022 entry
B) 2020/2021 cycle for Sep 2021 entry
C) 2019/2020 cycle for Sep 2020 entry

The information I would like is:

1) The lowest GAMSAT score invited to interview.
2) The lowest degree classification invited to interview.
3) A list of the degree classifications/degree subject/BMAT scores/A level grades for each candidate that was given an offer. If the 2022 cycle data is not yet available, then please give the data of students that were invited to interview. Can this please be listed in such a way that the data is grouped to each candidate.
4) How many offers were given for each cycle. How many interview invites were given for each cycle.

Yours faithfully,

Eilidh Garrett

Nottingham University, University of Nottingham

 
 
 
Information request
Our reference: 1134247

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Dear Ms Garrett
 
Freedom of Information Act 2000
 
I am writing to ask you to clarify your request. This is because we are
unable to provide the majority of the information you have asked for, for
the following reasons:
 
1. We consider the information you have asked for in relation to the 2022
entry year is exempt under Section 43 of the FOIA 2000, Commercial
Interests, as we believe that disclosure would harm the commercial
interests of the University of Nottingham as the process is still ongoing.
The University of Nottingham is operating in a highly competitive
environment and in very challenging times. Regulatory changes in recent
years, such as the lifting of the cap on university places in England,
have increased competition between institutions. Universities all seek to
recruit the best students from a limited pool of prospective UK and
international applicants. The University must be able to participate
freely and competitively in all its commercial activities and must protect
its business activities. As student recruitment is the core of our
Business, this can be considered under both:

• Section 43(1) provides an exemption under FOIA for information which
is a trade secret.
• Section 43(2) exempts information whose disclosure would, or would be
likely to, prejudice the commercial interests of any person (an
individual, a company, the public authority itself or any other legal
entity).

Responses to Freedom of Information requests are in the public domain and
the disclosure of the requested information would be strategically useful
to our competitors in the higher education sector in understanding the
University's processes, and your request needs to be considered in the
context of disclosure under competition legislation as well as under the
Freedom of Information Act. 

Releasing information for the current on-going application process will
have a serious detrimental effect on University operations, giving both
applicants and our competitors an unfair advantage of the application and
interview processes and will potentially jeopardise future applications. 

In all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining
the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the
information. 

2. We are unable to provide information in relation to the lowest GAMSAT
score invited to interview, the lowest degree classification invited to
interview or a list of degree classifications/degree subject/BMAT scores/A
level grades for each candidate that was given an offer as as this data
relates to individuals (even if anonymised). We believe it is exempt under
section 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act (FoIA). The information is
personal data as defined by the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) and
disclosure would breach data protection regulations because these
individuals have a reasonable expectation that their personal information
will not be disclosed.

The only information we would be able to provide for your request is the
number of offers and interview invites given for the 2020 and 2021 intake
years. However, we do consider that much of this information is already in
the public domain via our disclosure log. To access this, go to this link
on our website:
[1]https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/governance/...
Click on 'Disclosure Log' (bottom right) and type in 'A101' under
'Keyword'. This will show the responses which are published for this
course.
 
If you would like us to provide information which is not published please
confirm this.
 
I will not be able to take this matter further without this extra
information from you. Please let me know by 4 May 2022.
 
If I do not hear from you within the timeframe provided, I shall take it
that you do not wish to pursue this request and will consider the request
closed. 
 
Yours sincerely
 
 
Karen Page
Information Compliance Officer
Information Compliance and Security
 
Web: [2]www.nottingham.ac.uk/data-protection
 
Email: [3][email address]
 
NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email.
 
Nottingham University
This email contains proprietary confidential information some or all of
which may be legally privileged and/or subject to the provisions of
privacy legislation. It is intended solely for the addressee.
If you are not the intended recipient, an addressing or transmission error
has misdirected this e-mail; you must not use, disclose, copy, print or
disseminate the information contained within this e-mail. Please notify
the author immediately by replying to this email.
Any views expressed in this email are those of the individual sender,
except where the sender specifically states these to be the views of
Nottingham University. 
This email has been scanned for all viruses and all reasonable precautions
have been taken to ensure that no viruses are present. Nottingham
University cannot accept responsibility for any loss or damage arising
from the use of this email or attachments.

This message and any attachment are intended solely for the addressee
and may contain confidential information. If you have received this
message in error, please contact the sender and delete the email and
attachment.

Any views or opinions expressed by the author of this email do not
necessarily reflect the views of the University of Nottingham. Email
communications with the University of Nottingham may be monitored
where permitted by law.

References

Visible links
1. https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/governance/...
2. http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/data-protect...
3. mailto:[email address]

Dear Nottingham University,

I would like to clarify specifically the reason to not give the lowest GAMSAT scores. I do not believe that these scores would identify anyone. Many many candidates would score the same score as one another, identifying the lowest score invited would identify no one singular person. It does not relate to trade secrets or any of the such.

It is publicly determinable from seeing candidates that are rejected with a certain score, and which candidates are accepted with a certain score through online forums. For example, candidates with a score of 58 may be rejected, whilst those with a score of 59 is invited to interview.

Your own website used to publish this data. From what I can tell online the cut off for this September entry would be 61, for the previous year 59, and for the previous year 58. Can you please clarify this?

The university clarifying this information would only serve to encourage applicants to apply, whereas not publishing this discourages students for fear of it being a more 'risky' option. Other GAMSAT universities publish this information.

Yours sincerely,

Eilidh Garrett

Nottingham University, University of Nottingham

 
 
 
Information request
Our reference: 1134247

══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

Dear Ms Garrett
 
Freedom of Information Act 2000
 
Thank you for your further response regarding your request. I will check
with the Medical School what information we can release.
 
We are dealing with your request under the Freedom of Information Act
2000 and we aim to send a response by 19 May 2022.
 
In some case, a fee may be payable. If we decide a fee is payable, we will
send you a fee notice and we will require you to pay the fee before
proceeding with your request.
 
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 may restrict the release of some or
all of the information you have requested. We will carry out an assessment
and if any exemptions apply to some or all of the information then we
might not provide that information to you. We will inform you if this is
the case and advise you of your rights to request an internal review and
to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office.
 
We will also advise you if we cannot provide you with the information
requested for any other reason together with the reason(s) why and details
of how you may appeal (if appropriate).
 
Yours sincerely
 
 
Karen Page
Information Compliance Officer
Information Compliance and Security
 
Web: [1]www.nottingham.ac.uk/data-protection
 
Email: [2][email address]
 
NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email.
 
Nottingham University
This email contains proprietary confidential information some or all of
which may be legally privileged and/or subject to the provisions of
privacy legislation. It is intended solely for the addressee.
If you are not the intended recipient, an addressing or transmission error
has misdirected this e-mail; you must not use, disclose, copy, print or
disseminate the information contained within this e-mail. Please notify
the author immediately by replying to this email.
Any views expressed in this email are those of the individual sender,
except where the sender specifically states these to be the views of
Nottingham University. 
This email has been scanned for all viruses and all reasonable precautions
have been taken to ensure that no viruses are present. Nottingham
University cannot accept responsibility for any loss or damage arising
from the use of this email or attachments.

This message and any attachment are intended solely for the addressee
and may contain confidential information. If you have received this
message in error, please contact the sender and delete the email and
attachment.

Any views or opinions expressed by the author of this email do not
necessarily reflect the views of the University of Nottingham. Email
communications with the University of Nottingham may be monitored
where permitted by law.

References

Visible links
1. http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/data-protect...
2. mailto:[email address]

Nottingham University, University of Nottingham

1 Attachment

 
 
 
Information request
Our reference: 1134247

══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

Dear Ms Garrett
 
Thank you for your request for information received on 20 April 2022.
 
Please find attached our response to your request.
 
Yours sincerely
 
 
Catherine Allin
Information Compliance and Quality Officer
Information Compliance and Security
 
Web: [1]www.nottingham.ac.uk/data-protection
 
Email: [2][email address]
 
NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email.
 
Nottingham University
This email contains proprietary confidential information some or all of
which may be legally privileged and/or subject to the provisions of
privacy legislation. It is intended solely for the addressee.
If you are not the intended recipient, an addressing or transmission error
has misdirected this e-mail; you must not use, disclose, copy, print or
disseminate the information contained within this e-mail. Please notify
the author immediately by replying to this email.
Any views expressed in this email are those of the individual sender,
except where the sender specifically states these to be the views of
Nottingham University. 
This email has been scanned for all viruses and all reasonable precautions
have been taken to ensure that no viruses are present. Nottingham
University cannot accept responsibility for any loss or damage arising
from the use of this email or attachments.

This message and any attachment are intended solely for the addressee
and may contain confidential information. If you have received this
message in error, please contact the sender and delete the email and
attachment.

Any views or opinions expressed by the author of this email do not
necessarily reflect the views of the University of Nottingham. Email
communications with the University of Nottingham may be monitored
where permitted by law.

References

Visible links
1. http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/data-protect...
2. mailto:[email address]