Dear Lucy

I acknowledge receipt of your email received by this office on 28th August
2021.

Your request will now be dealt with under the Freedom of Information Act
2000 and has been allocated reference FOI21-340  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 27th September 2021.  

Please note that in order to fulfil your request we need to liaise with
other teams across the University. Due to the Coronavirus pandemic most
staff are now working remotely and have intermittent access to information
held in hard copy. Staff may not be able to assist as they may need to
prioritise other work, cover for colleagues who are ill, or be away from
work themselves due to illness. However, we will do our best to meet this
deadline and keep you informed should we be unable to do so. 

Where we consider that we will not be able to meet the deadline or if
further time is required to consider the public interest test we will
contact you as soon as possible and give you a revised date for response. 

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 

  Ian Johnson                                                             
               Ian Johnson 

  Swyddog Cydymffurfiaeth                                    
              Compliance Officer

Swyddfa Ysgrifennydd y Brifysgol   University Secretary’s Office

Prifysgol Caerdydd   Cardiff University

Tŷ McKenzie   McKenzie House
 
30-36 Heol Casnewydd   30-36 Newport Road

Caerdydd   Cardiff

CF24 0DE   CF24 0DE
Ffôn: 029 208 79633 Phone: 029 208 79633

E-bost: [1][email address] E-mail: [2][email address]

Rydym yn croesawu gohebiaeth trwy’r   We welcome correspondence in Welsh
Gymraeg neu’r Saesneg. Ni fydd gohebu or English. Corresponding in Welsh
yn Gymraeg yn creu unrhyw oedi. will not lead to any delay.

Ysgrifennwch ataf yn Gymraeg neu’n Please write to me in Welsh or
Saesneg English

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From: Lucy Morgan <[FOI #786176 email]>
Sent: 28 August 2021 17:36
To: InfoRequest <[Cardiff University request email]>
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Medicine A100 Admissions
Statistics 2019/20/21
 
External email to Cardiff University - Take care when replying/opening
attachments or links.
Nid ebost mewnol o Brifysgol Caerdydd yw hwn - Cymerwch ofal wrth
ateb/agor atodiadau neu ddolenni.

Dear Cardiff University,

I am requesting the following information regarding your Medicine A100
course for 2019, 2020, and 2021 entries.

1) What percentage of applicants for 2019/20/21 entries scored the maximum
27/27 points for GCSE scoring?

2) What percentage of applicants who scored the maximum 27/27 points for
2019/20/21 entries were invited to interview?

3) What was the average UCAT score invited to interview for 2019/20/21
entries?

4) What was the lowest UCAT score invited to interview for 2019/20/21
entries?

5) How are achieved AS grades used in selection?

6) Is there any preference given to applicants from Wales?

7) What is the percentage and number of applicants who were invited to
interview for 2019/20/21 entries?

Yours faithfully,
Lucy Morgan

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References

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Dear Lucy 

I am writing in response to your Freedom of Information request dated
28^th August 2021.   

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

The admissions cycle for 2021 entry is still in progress. The University
is unable to release information on the current cycle of applications in
light of Section 43 of the Freedom of Information Act. The University
operates in a competitive environment for students and feels that
releasing such information at this stage may impact on its ability to
attract students. 

The University holds some information regarding 2021 entry 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 recruitment of both Home and International students is a
very competitive environment where UK universities face competition not
just from each other but also from other institutions around the world.
Students are highly mobile and have wide choices over where they may
decide to study. 

The release of information on applications and offers for the
current admissions period 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, particularly in the
run up and during the confirmation and clearing period. 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 'For Our Future: the higher education strategy plan
for Wales' and in the Welsh Government Policy Statement on
Higher Education which is available
at: http://wales.gov.uk/docs/dcells/publicat....
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. We are however able to provide response to your
questions in relation to entry at the A100 course in 2019 and 2020:  

1) What percentage of applicants for 2019/20/21 entries scored the maximum
27/27 points for GCSE scoring?

2019 – 27.64% 

2020 – 33.58% 

2) What percentage of applicants who scored the maximum 27/27 points for
2019/20/21 entries were invited to interview? 

2019 – 100% 

2020 – 100% 

3) What was the average UCAT score invited to interview for 2019/20/21
entries? 

2019 – 2493 

2020 - 2566
4) What was the lowest UCAT score invited to interview for 2019/20/21
entries? 

2019 – 1570 

2020 - 1980
5) How are achieved AS grades used in selection?

Please refer to our website for entry requirements, interview and
selection process: [1]Medicine (MBBCh) - Study - Cardiff University 

6) Is there any preference given to applicants from Wales? 

The School of Medicine aims to admit students with the qualities,
abilities and attributes that can benefit from our medical programme and
“to attract, train and retain the best students and staff,
producing graduates who understand the needs of individuals and the
community in which they live”. 

This requires that the process of student selection is objective,
transparent, open, fair and free from discrimination of any kind. The
selection process is bound by the University’s policy on Equality and
Diversity: [2]https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/public-informa...

7) What is the percentage and number of applicants who were invited to
interview for 2019/20/21 entries? 

  Applications  Interviews (number)  Interviews (0%) 
2019/2020  2482  1344  54% 
2020/2021  2736  1312  48% 

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
[3][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 

  Ian Johnson                                                             
               Ian Johnson 

  Swyddog Cydymffurfiaeth                                    
              Compliance Officer

Swyddfa Ysgrifennydd y Brifysgol   University Secretary’s Office

Prifysgol Caerdydd   Cardiff University

Tŷ McKenzie   McKenzie House
 
30-36 Heol Casnewydd   30-36 Newport Road

Caerdydd   Cardiff

CF24 0DE   CF24 0DE
Ffôn: 029 208 79633 Phone: 029 208 79633

E-bost: [4][email address] E-mail: [5][email address]

Rydym yn croesawu gohebiaeth trwy’r   We welcome correspondence in Welsh
Gymraeg neu’r Saesneg. Ni fydd gohebu or English. Corresponding in Welsh
yn Gymraeg yn creu unrhyw oedi. will not lead to any delay.

Ysgrifennwch ataf yn Gymraeg neu’n Please write to me in Welsh or
Saesneg English

References

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