Past exam papers for 1st year of BSc Computer Science

The request was refused by University of Liverpool.

Dear University of Liverpool,

I request that you kindly provide the past exam papers from the academic years 2000 - 2018, or for as many years as possible from within that timeframe, for your 1st year modules (i.e., Level 4) of your BSc Computer Science course, including for any modules that have been discontinued or amended.

Many thanks,

Yours faithfully,

Kevin Fakouri

foi Uof Liverpool, University of Liverpool

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Fakouri

This is to acknowledge receipt of your request for information from
the University of Liverpool on 14^th June.   Your reference number is
FOI/2019/221. We will review and process your request as soon as possible.

We will respond within 20 working days of the day we received the
request.  You will hear back from us by 15^th July at the latest.

Yours sincerely

 

Kirsty Rothwell
Freedom of Information / Data Protection Officer 
Legal & Compliance

University of Liverpool, Foundation Building, Brownlow Hill, Liverpool L69
7ZX

 

The information in this email and any attachments is confidential. Unless
you are the intended recipient, you must not read, copy, distribute, use
or retain this message or any part of it. If you are not the intended
recipient, please notify the sender immediately.

 

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foi Uof Liverpool, University of Liverpool

1 Attachment

FOI/2019/221

27^th June 2019

 

Name:  Kevin Fakouri

By email to: [FOI #583102 email]

 

Dear Mr Fakouri,

 

Thank you for your email of 14^th June requesting information concerning
past exam papers.  Colleagues have provided the information you requested
below.

 

I request that you kindly provide the past exam papers from the academic
years 2000 - 2018, or for as many years as possible from within that
timeframe, for your 1st year modules (i.e., Level 4) of your BSc Computer
Science course, including for any modules that have been discontinued or
amended.

 

The University confirms that it holds the information requested however,
the University considers this information to be exempt from disclosure
under section 43(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 as the
information is commercially sensitive. Section 43(2) states:

 

Information is exempt information if its disclosure under this Act would,
or is likely to prejudice the commercial interests of any person
(including the public authority holding it).

Universities are subject to Competition Law restrictions.  As you will
appreciate we are in competition with other Universities and need to
maintain our competitive position. We believe that our assessment
materials are commercial assets of the University. The University operates
in a competitive environment where other institutions of higher education
deliver similar products (undergraduate degree courses).  By placing past
exam papers into the public domain, this would substantially prejudice our
commercial interests. Generating and developing exam questions to test
undergraduate students takes a significant amount of time and resources.
For this reason, questions from previous exams are often reused and
reworked into future exam papers.    By sharing past papers publically,
other universities will gain an understanding of the structure of our
examinations and the questions that may be asked.

 

As section 43(2) is a qualified exemption, the University has conducted a
public interest test The University recognises the general public
interest in transparency, accountability and the use of public funds to
provide the best standard of education for students. However we have
concluded that release of this data would be more likely to prejudice the
University’s commercial interests. We consider that the public interest
does not favour disclosure and an exemption under Section 43(2) applies.

 

If you are unhappy with the way we have handled your request for
information, you have a right under Section 50 of the Freedom of
Information Act to ask the University to review it; however, you must do
so within 40 working days of the date of this response. Your request
should include our reference number and explain the reason for requesting
a review. Email [University of Liverpool request email] or write to the Freedom of Information
Reviewer, Legal & Compliance, University of Liverpool, Foundation
Building, 765 Brownlow Hill, Liverpool L69 7ZX.  We will respond to your
request for an internal review within 20 working days of receipt.

 

Following an internal review, if you remain dissatisfied with the handling
of your request, you have a right to appeal to the Information
Commissioner at The Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House,
Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF. Telephone:  0303 123 1113
www.ico.gov.uk.

 

There is no charge for making an appeal.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Kirsty Rothwell
Freedom of Information / Data Protection Officer 
Legal & Compliance

University of Liverpool, Foundation Building, Brownlow Hill, Liverpool L69
7ZX

 

The information in this email and any attachments is confidential. Unless
you are the intended recipient, you must not read, copy, distribute, use
or retain this message or any part of it. If you are not the intended
recipient, please notify the sender immediately.

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Dear University of Liverpool,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of University of Liverpool's handling of my FOI request 'Past exam papers for 1st year of BSc Computer Science'.

[ GIVE DETAILS ABOUT YOUR COMPLAINT HERE ]

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am very disappointed with your institution's decision. Thus, I shall try to inform you of an additional factor which I hope shall at least partially change it: I am a first-year MSci Computer Science student, and having achieved 100% in my A-level exams for Physics and (Human) Biology in particular, I cannot accept to graduate with any grade below 90% as the average for my qualification, at least not for the examination components.

Therefore, any pastpapers that you can provide me with, even if from 15 years ago, will only serve to improve my chances of achieving my dreams. Thus, I request that you kindly reconsider, and promise that I shall use them only for personal use (for my own studies). Please note, should you not provide me with at least two pastpapers for each of your first-year modules, I shall be forced to pursue this through other avenues, ending with my exhausting any and all legal avenues.

Please e-mail your pastpapers to the e-mail address: [email address].

Please note, I am prepared to provide you with evidence to show you that I shall be commencing my MSci Computer Science course this year.

Yours faithfully,

Kevin Fakouri

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/p...

Yours faithfully,

Kevin Fakouri

foi Uof Liverpool, University of Liverpool

Dear Mr Fakouri

This is to acknowledge receipt of your request for an internal review of our response to your request (our reference FOI/2019/221) on 28th June.  We will review and process your request as soon as possible.

We will respond within 20 working days of the day we received the request. You will hear back from us by 22nd July at the latest.

Yours sincerely

Kirsty Rothwell
Freedom of Information / Data Protection Officer
Legal & Compliance
University of Liverpool, Foundation Building, Brownlow Hill, Liverpool L69 7ZX

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foi Uof Liverpool, University of Liverpool

Dear Mr Fakouri

 

This is to acknowledge receipt of your request for an internal review of
our response to your request (our reference FOI/2019/221) on 28th
June.  We will review and process your request as soon as possible.

 

We will respond within 20 working days of the day we received the
request.  You will hear back from us by 29th July at the latest.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Kirsty Rothwell

Freedom of Information / Data Protection Officer Legal & Compliance
University of Liverpool, Foundation Building, Brownlow Hill, Liverpool L69
7ZX

 

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foi Uof Liverpool, University of Liverpool

FOI/2019/221

16th January 2019

Name: Kevin Fakouri
By email to: [FOI #583102 email]

Dear Mr Fakouri,

Thank you for your email of 14th June requesting information concerning past exam papers.

I am very disappointed with your institution's decision. Thus, I shall try to inform you of an additional factor which I hope shall at least partially change it: I am a first-year MSci Computer Science student, and having achieved 100% in my A-level exams for Physics and (Human) Biology in particular, I cannot accept to graduate with any grade below 90% as the average for my qualification, at least not for the examination components.

Therefore, any past papers that you can provide me with, even if from 15 years ago, will only serve to improve my chances of achieving my dreams. Thus, I request that you kindly reconsider, and promise that I shall use them only for personal use (for my own studies). Please note, should you not provide me with at least two past papers for each of your first-year modules, I shall be forced to pursue this through other avenues, ending with my exhausting any and all legal avenues.

I have reviewed our original decision and maintain that the University still considers this information to be exempt from disclosure under section 43(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 as the information is commercially sensitive. We consider that the public interest does still not favour disclosure and our exemption under Section 43(2) still applies.

We provide our students with sample questions and examination materials via our intranet to assist their understanding of the structure of the examinations and the types of questions that may be asked. These materials are provided in a format that does not allow them to target and narrow their revision to the detriment of the standard of the quality and scope of assessments.

If you are unhappy with the way we have handled your request for information, you have a right under Section 50 of the Freedom of Information Act to ask the University to review it; however, you must do so within 40 working days of the date of this response. Your request should include our reference number and explain the reason for requesting a review. Email [University of Liverpool request email] or write to the Freedom of Information Reviewer, Legal & Compliance, University of Liverpool, Foundation Building, 765 Brownlow Hill, Liverpool L69 7ZX. We will respond to your request for an internal review within 20 working days of receipt.

If you remain dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you have a right to appeal to the Information Commissioner at The Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF. Telephone: 0303 123 1113 www.ico.gov.uk.

Yours sincerely,

Victoria Heath
Data Protection / Freedom of Information Manager
Legal & Compliance
University of Liverpool, Foundation Building, Brownlow Hill, Liverpool L69 7ZX

The information in this email and any attachments is confidential. Unless you are the intended recipient, you must not read, copy, distribute, use or retain this message or any part of it. If you are not the intended recipient, please notify the sender immediately.

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