Mathematics Past Papers, with or without solutions (2012-2017)

The request was refused by University College London.

Dear University College London,

Can you release all of the past exam papers taken by mathematics undergraduates for the years 2010-2017, with or without solutions, for the following year 1 and year 2 modules.

Year 1:
-Analysis 1 & 2
-Algebra 1 & 2

Year 2
-Analysis 3: Complex Analysis
-Algebra 3: Further Linear Algebra
-Analysis 4: Real Analysis
-Geometry and Groups
-Algebra 4: Groups and Rings

Yours faithfully,
Kacper Mytnik

Finance.FOI Requests, University College London

Thank you for your message.
If you have submitted a Freedom of Information request please accept this
email as acknowledgement that your request has been received. You should
expect a response from us within 20 working days.

For details on how we use your personal information, please see UCL's
general privacy
notice: [1]www.ucl.ac.uk/legal-services/privacy/general-privacy-notice
Data Protection & FOI
Legal Services
UCL

References

Visible links
1. https://www.ucl.ac.uk/legal-services/pri...

Finance.FOI Requests, University College London

Dear Kacper Mytnik,

Thank you for your below enquiry which we are currently handling under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

I write to advise that UCL are required to conduct a public interest test with regard to your request. This is on account of a qualified exemption being engaged for information you have requested.

The exemption under consideration is Section 36(2)(c) which states:

“Information to which this section applies is exempt information if, in the reasonable opinion of a qualified person, disclosure of the information under this Act—
(c) would otherwise prejudice, or would be likely otherwise to prejudice, the effective conduct of public affairs.”

Public authorities are entitled an additional 20 working days to consider the application of the exemption and we will disclose our full response to you as soon as we are able.

Please let me know if you have any questions with regard to this process in the meantime.

Kind regards,

Mehwish Sultan
Data Protection and Freedom of Information Adviser
University College London
Legal Services
E: [email address] Data Protection: [email address] FOI: [UCL request email].
Telephone: +44 (0)203 108 7862 (internal 57862)

show quoted sections

Finance.FOI Requests, University College London

Dear Kacper Mytnik,

I write to advise that UCL are required to conduct a public interest test with regard to your request.

This is on account of a second qualified exemption being engaged for the information you have requested.

The exemption under consideration is Section 43(2), which is set out below for reference:

43 Commercial interests.

(1) Information is exempt information if it constitutes a trade secret.
(2) 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).
(3) The duty to confirm or deny does not arise if, or to the extent that, compliance with section 1(1)(a) would, or would be likely to, prejudice the interests mentioned in subsection (2).

Public authorities are entitled an additional 20 working days to consider the application of the exemption and we will disclose our full response to you as soon as we are able.

Please let me know if you have any questions with regard to this process in the meantime.

Kind regards,

Mehwish Sultan
Data Protection and Freedom of Information Adviser
University College London
Legal Services
E: [email address] Data Protection: [email address] FOI: [UCL request email].
Telephone: +44 (0)203 108 7862 (internal 57862)

show quoted sections

Sultan, Mehwish, University College London

Dear Mr Mytnik,

Apologies for the delay in responding to your request.

We are currently awaiting the opinion of the Provost (as UCL's qualified person).

I will be in touch with an update on Friday 23rd August.

Kind regards,

Mehwish Sultan
Data Protection and Freedom of Information Adviser
University College London
Legal Services
E: [email address] Data Protection: [email address] FOI: [UCL request email].
Telephone: +44 (0)203 108 7862 (internal 57862)

show quoted sections

Finance.FOI Requests, University College London

Dear Mr Mytnik,

Apologies for the continued delay.

I should be in a positon to respond to your request by Tuesday 3rd September.

Kind regards,

Mehwish Sultan
Data Protection and Freedom of Information Adviser
University College London
Legal Services
E: [email address] Data Protection: [email address] FOI: [UCL request email].
Telephone: +44 (0)203 108 7862 (internal 57862)

show quoted sections

Finance.FOI Requests, University College London

Dear Mr Mytnik,

 

Apologies for the delay in providing a response to your request for
information.

 

We have now completed the compilation of information in response to your
request.

 

We can confirm that we do hold information of the description specified in
your request set out below:

 

“Can you release all of the past exam papers taken by mathematics
undergraduates for the years 2010-2017, with or without solutions, for the
following year 1 and year 2 modules.

 

Year 1:

-Analysis 1 & 2

-Algebra 1 & 2

 

Year 2

-Analysis 3: Complex Analysis

-Algebra 3: Further Linear Algebra

-Analysis 4: Real Analysis

-Geometry and Groups

-Algebra 4: Groups and Rings”

 

The requested information is exempt from disclosure. The exemption that
was considered is Section 36(2)(c) which, states that:

 

“Information to which this section applies is exempt information if, in
the reasonable opinion of a qualified person, disclosure of the
information under this Act—

(c) would otherwise prejudice, or would be likely otherwise to prejudice,
the effective conduct of public affairs.”

 

This exemption applies to all exam papers based on multiple choice
questions from 2009 onwards.

 

For this exemption to be engaged, public authorities are required to seek
the ‘reasonable opinion’ of the organisations qualified person; in UCL’s
instance, this person is the Provost. I can confirm that the Provost has
provided the view that disclosure of the information would prejudice the
effective conduct of UCL’s affairs.

 

UCL are also required to conduct a public interest test with regard to the
application of this exemption. Please see below for this test in full:

 

Factors in favour of disclosure:

 

- There is a general public interest in transparency. The public have a
right to know how public authorities are carrying out their core
functions, including those of student assessment.

 

- Disclosure of this information would contribute to a more open and
knowledgeable debate concerning the quality of assessment within the
department, which may inform prospective students.

 

Factors against disclosure:

 

- It would be considered as being disruptive as disclosure would
necessitate the preparation of entirely new papers. Examiners usually
build a bank of multiple choice questions and build examination papers
using different combinations of these questions. If these questions were
published, this would significantly impair examiners’ ability to use
multiple choice questions as a method of assessment. This would increase
the burden on staff within the Department and on the external examiners
(who would need to review and approve the new papers).

 

Outcome of the public interest test:

 

-Disclosure of the requested information for all exam papers based on
multiple choice questions from 2009 onwards would prejudice the effective
conduct of public affairs by negatively impacting upon UCL’s ability to
educate students in the knowledge and skills necessary for their
post-study careers in a chosen subject area.

 

- Disclosing the past exam papers used over the time period requested may
also be seen as being disruptive to the examination process by giving
undue prominence to the use of past papers in exam preparation. The
prejudice here may be considered to be the negative effect on preparing
students for exams in the best manner possible.

 

We believe the above arguments outweigh the public interest arguments for
disclosure. For the reasons given, we are unable to disclose this
information to you.

 

If you are unhappy with our response to your request and wish to make a
complaint or request a review of our decision, please email
[1][email address]. Emails should include the words ‘Internal
Review’ in the subject and be marked For the Attention of the Chief
Operating Officer, alternatively you should write to:

 

Chief Operating Officer

University College London

Gower Street

London

WC1E 6BT

 

Please note, complaints and requests for internal review received more
than two months after the initial decision will not be handled.

 

If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you may
apply directly to the Information Commissioner at the address given below.
You should do this within two months of our final decision.

 

If you have any queries or concerns, please contact me using the details
provided in this letter and including the request reference number.

 

Further information on the Freedom of Information Act is available from
the Information Commissioner’s Office:

 

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

SK9 5AF

 

01625 545700

[2]www.ico.org.uk

[3][email address]

 

Kind regards,

 

Mehwish Sultan

Data Protection and Freedom of Information Adviser

University College London

Legal Services

E: [4][email address] Data Protection: [5][email address]
FOI: [6][UCL request email].

Telephone: +44 (0)203 108 7862 (internal 57862)

 

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://www.ico.org.uk/
3. mailto:[email address]
4. mailto:[email address]
5. mailto:[email address]
6. mailto:[UCL request email]