Dear Shaji,

I am writing to acknowledge your request under the Freedom of Information
Act 2000 received by The University of Manchester, our reference as per
the subject line.

The University will respond to your request within 20 working days.

NB Due to the evolving situation with the Covid-19 virus and the
University’s response to it, there may be a delay in receiving your
response at this time.

With best regards

Lisa

Dr Lisa Crawley l  Information Officer  l Information Governance Office
l Directorate of Compliance and Risk l  Professional Support Services |
Room G7 Christie Building  l Compliance & Risk Management Office l  The
University of Manchester  l  Oxford Road  l  Manchester  l  M13 9PL  l 
Tel +44 (0)161 275 8400  

[1]www.manchester.ac.uk

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We are all responsible for protecting person identifying data held by the
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References

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Dear Shaji,

Thank you for your request for information received by The University of
Manchester on 24 April 2020 which was as follows:

I would like to make a humble request regarding statistics for the
medicine UCAS cycle. Please can you answer these questions to help me with
my application.

1. Is the interview score the sole factor when deciding to give out
offers?/ Do you take into account the UCAT score and achieved examination
results (A-levels, GCSEs) holistically with the interview score when
deciding to give out offer?

2. Due to students getting calculated a level grades because of the
coronavirus outbreak, would the university look at students applying with
these achieved/weighted a level grades differently/ would the calculated
achieved a level grade be weighted less than previous years or be given
same weighting as predicted grades?

3. Would a high set of achieved a level grades (e.g 3 A* ) compensate for
a low gcse/ucat result?/ Would getting 3 A* at a level (biology,
chemistry, maths) give a high chance of gaining an interview even with an
average/low ucat via the holistic route?

4. Is role play assessed in the interview?

5. Is there a personal statement/ NAI form station at the interview?

6. What % of students who were invited to an interview were given an offer
7. Am I allowed to see how the interview is assessed/ can I access the
interviewer assessment score sheet?

8. What are the common mistakes students make at the interview?

9. How do you think students can improve their interview score/ key
advice?

10. Is there an interview cut off score and if so may I know the cut off
score for past cycles, else do you rank and select the top scoring
applicants at the interview when allocating offers?

11. Would Manchester consider that it would be more difficult to get work
experience due to the coronavirus lockdown/ outbreak?

The University has now considered your request and our response can be
found below.

We are able to provide the following information in relation to the
application process:

Role play is assessed in interview. The interview station composition will
vary from year to year. We do not release interview questions in advance.
As things stand interviewers will have access to your NAI in one form
station. We will rank students in order of interview performance, taking
into account the profile of performance across the interview stations and
any significant concerns raised by interviewers. You can find application,
interview and offer statistics on our website at
[1]https://www.bmh.manchester.ac.uk/study/m....

We are unable to provide you with the interview assessment score sheet. In
accordance with Section 1 (1) (a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000
(FOIA), The University of Manchester confirms that this information is
held but we are refusing to provide it in response to your request as it
is deemed to be exempt by virtue of the  listed exemption at Section 43
(2) – Commercial Interests.  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).

We may rely on this exemption if the disclosure would prejudice someone’s
commercial interests (including the University’s own). Commercial
interests may be prejudiced where a disclosure would be likely to:

•             Damage its business reputation or the confidence that
customers, suppliers or investors may have in it 

•             Have a detrimental impact on its commercial revenue or
threaten its  ability to obtain supplies or secure finance 

•             Weaken its position in a competitive environment by
revealing market  sensitive information or information of potential
usefulness to its competitors.

Section 43 (2) is a prejudice-based exemption and therefore we are 
required to conduct a public interest test. Please see details of this
below.

Public Interest Test

Factors in Favour of Disclosure

There is public interest in disclosing the interview assessment scoring
mechanism as this would ensure that members of the public would be
satisfied that the University of Manchester applies the highest standards
during its interview process to evaluate that the medical practitioners of
the future have been rigorously interviewed.  It would also allow greater
understanding of the interviews that take place.

Factors Against Disclosure

To release the interview assessment scoring mechanism would afford those
who had seen this a competitive advantage in the interview process,
potentially allowing them to advance further through the University’s
admissions process than they would have without this prior knowledge. This
in turn may undermine the University’s admissions procedures and
potentially compromise our implied duty to protect patients as charged by
the General Medical Council, as applicants could “cheat” their way through
the interview process. Medical Schools are in increasing competition to
attract the best possible candidates to their courses and this disclosure
would potentially undermine our ability to do that.

The University of Manchester has carefully considered the balance of
public interest in this instance and has concluded that for the reasons
outlined above, the balance lies in maintaining the exemption. This email
serves to act as a refusal notice for this part of your request in
accordance with Section 17 (1) of the FOIA.

I can advise that the remainder of your questions are not valid under
Section 8 of the FOIA as they are seeking an opinion rather than recorded
information (Section 8 (1) (c)).  However our Medical School staff have
advised that there is a lot of information on the application process
available on their website at
[2]https://www.bmh.manchester.ac.uk/study/m.... In addition to
this, if you cannot find the answers you require on the website they will
be very happy to answer any such questions you have about their admissions
process via email at [3][email address]. 

I hope that this is helpful however if you feel that The University of
Manchester has refused access to information to which you are entitled, or
has not dealt with your request appropriately under the FOIA, you have a
right of appeal.

An appeal in the first instance should be directed to the Information
Governance Office at [4][email address]. You should include: 

·         details of your initial request

·         any other relevant information

You must make this appeal within 40 working days from receipt of your
response. We will not accept appeals received after this date, as per the
Freedom of Information Code of Practice, Section 5.3.

The University will deal with your appeal within a reasonable time, and
will inform you of the projected time scale on receipt of your complaint.
You are also welcome to contact the Information Governance Office with
informal questions about the handling of your request. 

After The University’s internal appeals procedure has been exhausted, you
have a further right of appeal to the Information Commissioner’s
Office. Details of this procedure can be found at [5]www.ico.org.uk.

Kind regards

Sharon

Sharon Glen | Information Officer | Information Governance Office |
Directorate of Compliance and Risk |Professional Services | G7 Christie
Building | The University of Manchester | Oxford Road | Manchester | M13
9PL | Tel +44(0) 161 306 7549| [6]www.manchester.ac.uk

[7]data_matters_logo2-(3)

We are all responsible for protecting personal data held by the
University, including who we share that data with. Stop and think before
you send your email.  For further guidance see:
[8]www.dataprotection.manchester.ac.uk

References

Visible links
1. https://www.bmh.manchester.ac.uk/study/m...
2. https://www.bmh.manchester.ac.uk/study/m...
3. mailto:[email address]
4. mailto:[email address]
5. http://www.ico.org.uk/
6. http://www.manchester.ac.uk/
8. http://www.dataprotection.manchester.ac....