Dear Zoe

I acknowledge receipt of your email below dated 17 October 2022. This has been allocated reference FOI22-374 which should be quoted in all correspondence.

In order for us to deal with your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 I should be grateful if you could please provide your full name in accordance with section 8(1) of the Act.

Information regarding the legal requirements for making a valid request under the Act is available on the Information Commissioner's website at: https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public/offici...

Yours sincerely

show quoted sections

Dear Zoe Langley

I acknowledge receipt of your email received by this office on 17 October 2022

Your request will now be dealt with under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and has been allocated reference FOI22-374 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 14 November 2022

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.

show quoted sections

Dear Zoe,

I am writing in response to your Freedom of Information request dated
17^th October 2022.

For ease of reference, I have reproduced your questions below and set out
our corresponding responses.

May I please request the following information from the past three
admissions cycles (2021/22, 2020/21, 2019/20):

 1. The number of applications made by UK students, EU students, and
international students, separately:

Numbers less than 5 are represented as <5. Providing this information at
an exact level would substantially increase the risk of persons being
identified. The information is exempt by virtue of Section 40(2) of the
Freedom of Information Act entitled Personal Information.  As this
information would constitute the individual's personal data as defined
under Article 4 of the UK GDPR, to release the information would breach
the data protection principle concerning fairness.

2. The number of offers given to UK students, EU students, and
international students, separately

Whilst 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 offers into the public domain would be
highly likely to prejudice the University’s commercial interests, by
allowing competitor institutions to undermine the University’s recruitment
activity by responding with different approaches to offer making. We
further 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.

Disclosure of this information would reveal details of the outcome of the
University’s recruitment activities and strategy and to release this
information into the public domain would enable our competitors to benefit
by adapting their offer making strategies and altering their behaviour in
the run up and during confirmation and clearing; as well as benefitting by
copying our strategy or programmes. In so doing this will affect the
University’s ability to distinguish itself from its competitors in a
highly competitive market.

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 Post-Compulsory Education and Training
(PCET) Principles for Change which is available at 
[1]principles-for-change-post-compulsory-education-and-training.pdf
(gov.wales). It 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 reduce
the efficiency and effectiveness of the University by having the effect of
damaging the ability of the University to pursue its recruitment
strategies on an equal footing to other public and privately funded
education institutions.

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.

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
[2][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, 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.

Yours sincerely

Swyddfa Ysgrifenydd y Brifysgol University Secretary’s Office

Prifysgol Caerdydd Cardiff University

Ebost : [3][email address] Email: [4][email address] 
 
 
 
The University welcomes
Mae'r Brifysgol yn croesawu correspondence in Welsh or English. 
gohebiaeth yn Gymraeg neu'n Saesneg.  Corresponding in Welsh will not lead
Ni fydd gohebu yn Gymraeg yn creu to any delay.
unrhwy oedi.

References

Visible links
1. https://gov.wales/sites/default/files/pu...
2. mailto:[email address]
3. mailto:[email address]
4. mailto:[email address]

Dear Zoe Langley

I acknowledge receipt of your request for an internal review received by this office on 10 November 2022.

Your request has been referred to the Head of Compliance and Risk, who will aim to respond within 20 working days starting the day after receipt. Therefore you can expect to receive a response no later than
8 December 2022.

In some circumstances we may not be able to meet this deadline and if this is likely to be the case we will contact you as soon as possible and give you a revised date for response.

Yours sincerely

show quoted sections

Dear Zoe,

Please find attached a response to your request for an internal review.

Yours sincerely

Gwasanaeth Cais am Wybodaeth 
Cydymffurfiaeth a Risg 
Swyddfa Ysgrifennydd y Brifysgol 
 
Information Request Service, Compliance & Risk, 
University Secretary's Office 
Prifysgol Caerdydd 
 
Cardiff University 
 
 
 
Ebost: [email address] 
 
Rydym yn croesawu gohebiaeth trwy'r Gymraeg neu'r Saesneg 
 
Email: [email address] 
 
We welcome correspondence in Welsh or English 

show quoted sections