Dear Max Colbert

I acknowledge receipt of your email received by this office on 20 February 2024.

Your request will now be dealt with under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and has been allocated reference FOI24-056 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 20 March 2024

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.

Finally, should you require the disclosure in an alternative format, e.g. screen reader accessible, large print etc, please let us know as soon as possible.

Yours sincerely

Swyddfa Ysgrifenydd y Brifysgol
Prifysgol Caerdydd
Ebost : [email address]

Mae'r Brifysgol yn croesawu gohebiaeth yn Gymraeg neu'n Saesneg. Ni fydd gohebu yn Gymraeg yn creu unrhwy oedi.

University Secretary's Office
Cardiff University
Email: [email address]

The University welcomes correspondence in Welsh or English. Corresponding in Welsh will not lead to any delay.

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Dear Max,

I am writing in response to your Freedom of Information request dated
19^th February 2024.

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

Please disclose to me the following:

 

 1. copies of the admissions policies for domestic and international
students for the 2023-24 intake, and the 2024-25 intake. (These
policies should cover the degrees listed in (3) below).

 

2024-25

Please see
 [1]https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/public-informa....
The 2024 policy for undergraduate medicine programmes is available under
the other policies for applicants heading on the main page.

Accordingly this information is reasonably accessible to you by other
means and is exempt from disclosure under section 21 of the Freedom of
Information Act 2000.

 

2023-24

Please see enclosed admissions policies.

 

 

 

 2. the domestic/international split (by number and percentage) for all
undergraduates for the 2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24 intakes - and the
aggregate student fees charged to the domestic undergraduate cohort in
total and the international undergraduate cohort in total for each of
those intakes. (This to show the changing splits over time).

 

Information in relation to 2022-23 and 2023-24 undergraduates’ domicile is
published annually by HESA and in relation to information for the period
2022/23, this is due to be published by HESA in Spring 2024 and will be
available to the public on the HESA website at [2]Where do HE students
come from? | HESA  . Information for 2023-24 will be published in Spring
2025. As this information is intended for future publication it is exempt
from disclosure by virtue of Section 22 of the Freedom of Information Act
2000 subject to a public interest test.

It is acknowledged that there is a public interest in making information
available that contributes to public debate and understanding about higher
education and this would include information around student numbers.
However, HESA is the official agency for the collection, analysis and
dissemination of quantitative information about higher education in the
UK. It would not be in the public interest to undermine established
processes for the publication of such information particularly where a
commitment has been made to make this information generally available and
a date for publication has been fixed. Therefore, in the absence of any
compelling public interest to disclose this information prior to its
scheduled release date it is considered reasonable, in all the
circumstances, to withhold this information prior to HESA's publication
date. As such Section 22 of the FOI Act applies.

 

Fees

Please see note 2 (p61) of the Annual Report and Financial Statements for
2023. [3]Financial information - Public information - Cardiff University

Please see note 2 of the Annual Reports and Financial Statements for 2021
and 2022 which are available at [4]Financial statements archive - Public
information - Cardiff University,

Accordingly this information is reasonably accessible to you by other
means and is exempt from disclosure under section 21 of the Freedom of
Information Act 2000.

 

 

 

(3) for the domestic/international split (by number and percentage) for
the 2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24 intakes on undergraduate degrees in each
of Law, Medicine, Engineering, English, Maths (where the Uni offers that
degree) - and the fees charged to each type of student for each course in
those years and in 2024-25.

 

We can provide the following information for the School of Medicine.

 

  Home International
2021/22 93% 7%
2022/23 92% 8%
2023/24 93% 7%

 

 

The University holds this information for the remainder of the courses
requested, 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 course level international enrolments 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. Disclosure of this information would
reveal details of the outcome of the University’s recruitment strategy and
to release this information into the public domain would enable our
competitors to benefit 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:
[5]principles-for-change-post-compulsory-education-and-training.pdf
(gov.wales). 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.

 

 

            Fees

 

 

HOME 2021/2 2022/3 2023/4 2024/5*
LAWPL £9,000 £9,000 £9,000 £9,000
MEDIC £9,000 £9,000 £9,000 £9,000
ENGIN £9,000 £9,000 £9,000 £9,000
ENCAP £9,000 £9,000 £9,000 £9,000
MATHS £9,000 £9,000 £9,000 £9,000

 

 

*Home undergraduate fees are not yet confirmed for 2024/5.

 

               

OVERSEAS 2021/2 2022/3 2023/4 2024/5
LAWPL £17,450 £18,700 £20,450 £22,700
MEDIC £34,450 £36,700 £39,700 £43,700
ENGIN £21,950 £23,450 £25,450 £28,200
ENCAP £17,450 £18,700 £20,450 £22,700
MATHS £21,950 £23,450 £25,450 £28,200

 

 

 

 

 

 

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
[6][email address] where it will be forwarded to the
University’s Data Protection Officer who will be responsible for
overseeing the review.

 

If you remain dissatisfied following the outcome of your complaint, 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.

 

Kind regards,

 

Swyddfa Ysgrifenydd y Brifysgol University Secretary’s Office

Prifysgol Caerdydd Cardiff University

Ebost : [7][email address] Email: [8][email address] 
 
 
 
The University welcomes
Mae'r Brifysgol yn croesawu correspondence in Welsh or English. 
gohebiaeth yn Gymraeg neu'n Saesneg.  Corresponding in Welsh will not lead
Ni fydd gohebu yn Gymraeg yn creu to any delay.
unrhwy oedi.

 

 

 

References

Visible links
1. https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/public-informa...
2. https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis...
3. https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/public-informa...
4. https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/public-informa...
5. https://gov.wales/sites/default/files/pu...
6. mailto:[email address]
7. mailto:[email address]
8. mailto:[email address]