MChD/BChD Dental Surgery, BSc Oral Science Admission Statistics

The request was refused by University of Leeds.

Dear University of Leeds,

I am writing to you regarding your MChD/BChD Dental Surgery, BSc Oral Science (A200) course.
Could you please provide myself with an Excel spreadsheet with the following data/information from the last 2 admission cycles:
1) A Level grades (predicted)
2) A Level grades (achieved)
3) BMAT score
4) Whether an offer was made
5) Whether they were interviewed

Could you also provide me with the average GCSE grade for Biology, Chemistry and Mathematics for those who were given an offer?
Also, what was the lowest GCSE grade combination for those who were given an interview and given an offer and what was the lowest GCSE grade in Biology for offer holders?

Yours faithfully,

J Singh

Freedom of Information, University of Leeds

Dear J Singh,

Freedom of Information request reference K/20/200

Thank you for your Freedom of Information (FOI) request dated 19 May 2020. Your request has been allocated the reference number K/20/200. Please include this number in all further correspondence related to your enquiry.

Please note that in light of the ongoing coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, the University of Leeds is, like other organisations around the world, experiencing disruption to services. We consider it likely that there will be some short- to medium-term impact on our ability to respond to FOI requests, which may result in FOI responses taking longer than 20-working days . We will endeavour to keep applicants informed at all times, and appreciate your understanding. More information on how the University of Leeds is responding to Covid-19 is available on our dedicated webpages.

If you have any questions about your request, please contact us at [University of Leeds request email]

Yours sincerely

Chloe Wilkins
Freedom of Information Officer

Secretariat
University of Leeds

show quoted sections

Freedom of Information, University of Leeds

Dear J Singh,

 

Freedom of Information Response (Our Ref: K/20/200)

 

Thank you for your Freedom of Information (FOI) request dated 19 May 2020,
reference K/20/200.

 

Your request read:

 

“I am writing to you regarding your MChD/BChD Dental Surgery, BSc Oral
Science (A200) course.

Could you please provide myself with an Excel spreadsheet with the
following data/information from the last 2 admission cycles:

1) A Level grades (predicted)

2) A Level grades (achieved)

3) BMAT score

4) Whether an offer was made

5) Whether they were interviewed

 

Could you also provide me with the average GCSE grade for Biology,
Chemistry and Mathematics for those who were given an offer?

Also, what was the lowest GCSE grade combination for those who were given
an interview and given an offer and what was the lowest GCSE grade in
Biology for offer holders?”

 

The University of Leeds holds some of this information.

 

Firstly, it may be helpful if we explain that not all applicants take
A-Level and/or GCSE courses before applying/attending university. As such,
your questions do not apply to the entire cohort of A200 applicants, which
in turn limits the amount of relevant information we hold. 

 

Predicted grades are used as a starting point when considering
applications. Applicants with predicted grades which do not meet the entry
requirements of the course (either directly or via a widening
participation programme) will not progress through the application
process. As such, we do not retain a record of each applicant’s predicted
grades, and as such do not hold information relevant to question one of
your request.

 

We only hold information regarding the achieved grades of applicants who
were offered and accepted a place on the course. The achieved grades of
unsuccessful applicants and those who withdrew from the admissions process
is not retained. We did not start recording (and retaining) this
information in relation to successful applicants until 2019. As such, we
only hold partial information in relation to question two.

 

We do not hold information regarding BMAT scores in the format you have
requested. BMAT scores are used to inform our academic scoring system,
which is used for shortlisting. As such, we do not hold information in
relation to question three.

 

We do not retain information regarding the GCSE grades of applicants.
Applicants who do not hold relevant or sufficiently strong GCSE grades
will not progress through the applications process. As such, we do not
hold information relevant to your final two (unnumbered) questions.

 

We do hold information in relation to applicants who were interviewed, and
who were offered a place on the course. We do, therefore, hold information
in relation to questions four and five of your request. However, we
consider that to provide the information in the format you have set out
engages section 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act, which exempts
information which, if disclosed, would infringe on someone’s rights under
the Data Protection Act.

 

To provide the information broken down to the level you have requested and
linked in the manner you have (i.e. demonstrating what each applicant
achieved) would be likely to result in the identification of individuals,
contrary to their rights under the Data Protection Act.

 

Providing a response to your request in the format you have set out would
reveal detailed information regarding the academic achievements of
applicants to the A200 course. Your request seeks detailed information
regarding the academic history and achievement of each applicant. This
would result in information which people expect to be handled sensitively
and confidentially by the University of Leeds being publicly available,
and in a manner which makes it likely that it can be linked back to a
specific individual. This would be grossly unfair, far exceeding
individuals’ expectations and would therefore contravene the Data
Protection Act, thus engaging section 40(2) of the FOI Act. As such, we
are not providing the information we hold in the format you have
requested. However, we are able to provide information in an unlinked way.

 

In 2018, we received 460 applications to the A200 dentistry course. Of
these, 250 applicants were interviewed. The remaining 210 applicants were
not interviewed. This may have been because they did not meet entry
requirements, or they withdrew from the application process. 107 offers
were made. As outlined above, we do not hold information in relation to
the achieved grades of 2018 applicants.

 

In 2019, we received 486 applications to the A200 dentistry course. Of
these, 246 were interviewed and 240 were not. 91 offers were made. Offer
holders achieved grades from A*A*A* to BDD at A-Level. As noted above, not
all applicants rely on A-Level grades for entry and as such this does not
give a full picture of the 2019 cohort.

 

We hope this information is helpful. If you have any questions about this
email, however, please do not hesitate to contact us on [1][University of Leeds request email]

 

If you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation to your
request and wish to make a complaint or request a review of our decision,
you can request an Internal Review. Requests for Internal Review should be
made in writing using the following contact information:

 

Post:             Mr D Wardle

Deputy Secretary

The University of Leeds

Leeds

LS2 9JT

 

Email:           [2][University of Leeds request email]

 

Requests for Internal Review should be submitted within 40 working days of
receiving the University’s response to your request. Further information
about how the University manages Freedom of Information requests and about
our complaints procedure is also available on our website
(www.leeds.ac.uk).

 

If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have
the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a
decision.  Generally, the ICO cannot make a decision unless you have
exhausted the review/complaints procedure provided by the University.  The
Information Commissioner can be contacted at:  Information Commissioner’s
Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.

 

Kind regards

 

Chloe Wilkins

Freedom of Information Officer

 

Secretariat

University of Leeds

 

 

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