MBChB policies
Dear University of Aberdeen,
Under the Freedom of Information Act, I would like to request the following information:
1) The year of the course (e.g. year 4 / year 5) and usual month that the medical students on your MBChB course sit the UK Medical Licensing Assessment (UKMLA) / finals.
2) The year of the course (e.g. year 4 / year 5) that the medical students on your MBChB course sit the Prescribing Safety Assessment (PSA).
3) The year of the course (e.g. year 4 / year 5) and usual month that the medical students on your MBChB course first begin to sit summative OSCE exams.
4) Your policy regarding graduation and the Prescribing Safety Assessment (PSA). For example, can medical students graduate having failed the PSA? I know at some institutions they can.
5) The accommodation options for medical students who are assigned to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness / when visiting remote clinics and rural GP practices. For example, are students entitled to hospital accommodation, or are they required to independently source accommodation? If private accomodation is required, is there financial support available?
6) Policy regarding reimbursement for travel / accommodation costs when attending clinical placements.
Please kindly also provide a copy of the following documents:
1) The current course handbook for years 1-5 of your MBChB medical degree.
2) Reading lists for years 1-5 of your MBChB medical degree.
Yours faithfully,
James Smith
Dear James
I refer to your email of 20 June 2024 and, on behalf of the University, I acknowledge receipt and confirm that your request is being dealt with in terms of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.
In terms of the Act, a reply will be sent to you within 20 working days.
Kind Regards
Claire
Claire Barranger-Clark
Information Governance Officer
University of Aberdeen
http://www.abdn.ac.uk/
4th in the UK for Overall Student Satisfaction (NSS 2022)
13th in the UK (The Guardian University Guide 2023)
World Top 160 (Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2022)
Queen's Anniversary Prize for Further and Higher Education winner 2017 and 2021
Dear James Smith,
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST FOI 2024-208
I refer to your email of 21 June 2024 requesting information relating to MBChB policies.
Your request has now been considered under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, 'the Act'.
1) The year of the course (e.g. year 4 / year 5) and usual month that the medical students on your MBChB course sit the UK Medical Licensing Assessment (UKMLA) / finals.
-Written final exam is held in June of Year 4.
-Clinical finals assessment is held in May of Year 5
2) The year of the course (e.g. year 4 / year 5) that the medical students on your MBChB course sit the Prescribing Safety Assessment (PSA).
-Year 5
3) The year of the course (e.g. year 4 / year 5) and usual month that the medical students on your MBChB course first begin to sit summative OSCE exams.
-Year 1
4) Your policy regarding graduation and the Prescribing Safety Assessment (PSA). For example, can medical students graduate having failed the PSA? I know at some institutions they can.
-Yes, passing the PSA it is not a condition of graduation at present.
5) The accommodation options for medical students who are assigned to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness / when visiting remote clinics and rural GP practices. For example, are students entitled to hospital accommodation, or are they required to independently source accommodation? If private accommodation is required, is there financial support available?
-Students are provided with accommodation if they are placed more than 20 miles from Aberdeen for clinical placements. This may be in hospital accommodation or in private rented accommodation for example when on GP placements.
6) Policy regarding reimbursement for travel / accommodation costs when attending clinical placements.
Please see attached.
Please kindly also provide a copy of the following documents:
1) The current course handbook for years 1-5 of your MBChB medical degree.
2) Reading lists for years 1-5 of your MBChB medical degree.
We will not be providing any course handbooks or reading lists. This information represents the University's intellectual property, and these documents contain details of the Medical School's unique methods and approach for teaching the MBChB programme. To release this information into the public domain would significantly harm the University's ability to maintain its unique approach for the teaching of medicine, as the information could be used by others to utilise the University's approaches, teaching methods, and intellectual property to their own commercial advantage.
Please accept this message as notice under section 16 of the Act that the information you have requested is held by the University but is exempt from disclosure under section 33(1)(b) - Commercial Interests.
I do not consider that there is a public interest in providing such information, which could unfairly affect the University. The public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the interest in disclosing the information.
Should you be dissatisfied with this response, you have the right to request a review. A request for review must be made within 40 working days of the receipt of this reply. It must include your name and address for correspondence and specify the request for information and the grounds for dissatisfaction with the decision. Please send your request for review to [University of Aberdeen request email].
If you are unhappy with the outcome of the University's internal review, you have the right to appeal to the Scottish Information Commissioner within six months of the receipt of the University's review response. Details on how to make an appeal to the Commissioner are available at http://www.itspublicknowledge.info/Appeal. Should you be dissatisfied with the Commissioner's decision, you have a right of appeal to the Court of Session on a point of law.
Yours sincerely,
Mary Sabiston
Information Compliance Officer
University of Aberdeen
Dear University of Aberdeen,
I am writing to request an internal review of University of Aberdeen's handling of my FOI request 'MBChB policies', specifically relating to my request for the course handbooks and reading lists of the Medical School's MBChB programme.
I respectfully disagree with the assertion that the disclosure of these documents warrants an exemption based on commercial interests. While I understand the University's concern for protecting its intellectual property, I believe that the release of the handbooks and reading lists would not significantly harm the University's commercial interests.
Firstly, it is imperative to recognize that the public cannot be aware of, understand, or benefit from the University's unique educational methods and approaches if such materials remain undisclosed. Without access to these documents, prospective students, academic peers, and the public at large are unable to fully appreciate or evaluate the distinctive qualities and high standards of the University's MBChB programme. Transparency in educational content is not merely beneficial but essential for fostering an informed public discourse and ensuring that the University's educational practices are recognized and respected. This understanding does not inherently lead to the replication or misuse of intellectual property but rather enhances the institution's reputation for providing a thorough and robust education.
The argument that releasing this information would significantly harm the University's ability to maintain its unique approach is flawed. The uniqueness and quality of the University's teaching methods are not solely contained within the reading lists and handbooks but are also deeply embedded in the faculty's expertise, the pedagogical environment, and the overall institutional culture. These are elements that cannot be easily replicated simply by accessing course materials.
Furthermore, the suggestion that other institutions could use this information to their own commercial advantage underestimates the complexities involved in implementing such methodologies. The educational strategies and intellectual property of the University are far more nuanced and multifaceted than can be conveyed through reading lists and handbooks alone. Competitors would not gain the same level of insight or effectiveness without the underlying institutional knowledge and context.
Additionally, several academic institutions routinely make available online their course handbooks and reading lists without suffering commercial detriment. Instead, I believe they are more likely to find that this transparency fosters greater trust and engagement with the general public, prospective students and the academic community. The public interest in knowing the material used in the University's MBChB programme outweighs the very unlikely and bery speculative risk of commercial harm. Prospective students, educational researchers, and the public at large benefit from access to such information, as it aids in making informed decisions and contributes to the advancement of educational standards.
The exemption under section 33(1)(b) of the Act should be balanced against the public interest in disclosure. In this case, maintaining the exemption does not outweigh the benefits of transparency and public knowledge. Disclosing the requested information would demonstrate the University's commitment to openness and its confidence in the distinctiveness and quality of its educational offerings.
I kindly request an interal review of the decision, taking into account the arguments presented above. Please confirm receipt of this request and provide an estimated timeframe for the review process.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/m.... I can be contacted as before, by email.
Yours faithfully,
James Smith
Dear University of Aberdeen Foi,
In addition to my request for an internal review, please can you kindly clarify one point from your response?
Where you have written:
- Students are provided with accommodation if they are placed more than 20 miles from Aberdeen for clinical placements. This may be in hospital accommodation or in private rented accommodation for example when on GP placements.
Can you please confirm that the accomodation provided to students in this way is free, and that the students do not pay anything towards it? Thank you.
Yours sincerely,
James Smith
Dear James Smith,
I refer to your email of 18 July and, on behalf of the University, I acknowledge receipt and confirm that your request for a review of our response is being dealt with in terms of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002. In terms of the Act, a reply will be sent to you as soon as possible and within the statutory timescales.
Yours sincerely,
Mary Sabiston
Information Compliance Officer
University of Aberdeen
Hi James,
I will contact the department and get a clarification of this point for you as soon as possible.
Kind regards,
Mary
Dear James
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST FOI 2024 - 208
I refer to your email of 18 July 2024 requesting an internal review of our
original response to your request relating to the release of Medicine
Course Handbooks and Reading Lists. We withheld this information on the
basis that releasing this would prejudice our commercial interests -
Section 33(1)(b) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act
Your review has now been considered under the Freedom of Information
(Scotland) Act 2002, ‘the Act’.
Please find our partially overturned response below.
Reading lists
The reading lists are being made available.
Medicine Course Handbooks
Your request to access these documents was reviewed and the decision taken
that not all the content of the handbooks is commercially sensitive. We
have provided extracts of each handbook attached.
We have removed the names and contact detials of both University and NHS
staff. We are advising that this information is exempt from release under
Section 38 (1) (b) – Personal Information of the Freedom of Information
(Scotland) Act. The staff have no expectation that such information would
be released to the public without a specific, necessary and identified
reason and as such I do not consider that it is fair to do so. As you may
be aware, the UK General Data Protection Regulation requires that all use
of personal data is fair and lawful and in this case I do not believe it
to be fair to disclose this information.
We uphold our decision that some of the information within the handbooks
is exempt under Section 33 (1)(b) Commercial Interests – of the Freedom of
Information (Scotland) Act. This information represents the University’s
intellectual property, and these documents contain details of the Medical
School’s unique methods and approach for teaching the MBChB programme.
The University of Aberdeen operates in a highly competitive market, and
this includes the recruitment of students to Medicine degrees. To release
this information into the public domain would give insight into how and
what the University chooses to teach medical students and revealing this
level of detail may be useful to other Universities who are our
competitors. Our performance is measured in international and national
rankings, which includes our teaching methods and are used by students to
decide which courses will provide them with high quality education. This
would damage the ability of the University to operate in a fair market, as
competitors would be able to replicate the University’s unique teaching
approach. It is in the interests of the University to attract high
performing students to it’s Medical courses.
It is acknowledged that there would be a public interest in the content of
Medical degree materials, however the University has assessed that it is
in the public interest not to release this information, to allow the
University to compete in a fair and open market, and continue to provide
education to medical students. There should also be faith in the process
of medical students becoming doctors, in that the GMC and others ensure
that those becoming doctors have received the requisite training and are
fit to practice, therefore the requested information does not need to be
placed into the public domain to allow for such a judgement to be made. In
addition, from 2025 all students graduating from a UK Medical School with
a medical degree will have successfully completed the new UK Medical
Licensing Assessment.
Please accept this message as notice under section 16 of the Act that the
information you have requested is held by the University but is exempt
from disclosure under section 33(1)(b) – Commercial Interests.
Additional information requested:
You requested confirmation that where a student is placed in a placement
outwith Aberdeen which would require accommodation, whether the
accommodation was free of charge or whether the student was expected to
meet the cost.
We can confirm that accommodation is free of charge.
If you are unhappy with the outcome of the University’s internal review,
you have the right to appeal to the Scottish Information Commissioner
within six months of the date of receipt of the University’s review
notice. Details on how to make an appeal to the Commissioner are available
at [1]www.itspublicknowledge.info/Appeal. Should you remain dissatisfied
with the Commissioner’s decision, you have a right of appeal to the Court
of Session on a point of law.
Kind regards,
Claire
Claire Barranger-Clark
Information Governance Officer
University of Aberdeen
[2]www.abdn.ac.uk
4^th in the UK for Overall Student Satisfaction (NSS 2022)
13^th in the UK (The Guardian University Guide 2023)
World Top 160 (Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2022)
Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Further and Higher Education winner 2017 and
2021
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The University of Aberdeen is a charity registered in Scotland, No
SC013683.
Tha Oilthigh Obar Dheathain na charthannas clàraichte ann an Alba, Àir.
SC013683.
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Dear Claire,
Thank you for your detailed response and for the time and effort put into reviewing your initial decision.
I appreciate the release of the reading lists and the extracts from the Medicine Course Handbooks. Your careful consideration of the balance between transparency and protecting commercial interests is appreciated.
Thank you also for confirming the accommodation details for students. Your assistance in this matter has been very helpful.
Best regards,
James
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