Studentship Outcome Statistics
Richard Taylor made this Freedom of Information request to Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
This request has been closed to new correspondence. Contact us if you think it should be reopened.
Dear Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council,
For all those who have started a BBSRC funded postgraduate studentship in each of the last ten years could you please release the absolute number, and percentage, who have eventually graduated with a PhD.
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Richard Taylor
Cambridge
http://www.rtaylor.co.uk
Reference: FoI – 111
Dear Mr Taylor,
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000 - REQUEST FOR INFORMATION
I am writing to acknowledge receipt of the request you made to BBSRC under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. The request was received on Thursday 19 August 2010. BBSRC is dealing with it under the terms of Freedom of Information Act.
Your request is being considered and you will receive the information within the statutory timescale of 20 working days, subject to the information not being exempt or containing a reference to a third party.
Yours sincerely,
Ksymena Okonska
BBSRC Freedom of Information Officer
Reference FoI-111
Dear Mr Taylor,
Please find attached BBSRC's response to your request under the Freedom of Information Act.
Yours sincerely,
Ksymena Okonska
Freedom of Information Officer
BBSRC
Richard Taylor left an annotation ()
This is the result I expected.
I think it is extraordinary this very basic statistic is not collected.
Without it how can they possibly give any assurance they are getting value for the public money they distribute?
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Richard Taylor left an annotation ()
Astoundingly according to the BBSRC website the research council does not record the overall PhD submission or graduation rates for its students (it records only the "submission within 4 years" figure). It's one thing to use the "within 4 years" figure for decision making regarding future funding decisions, but not collecting the overall figure for PhD submissions or degrees awarded makes it really difficult to assess the effectiveness of the BBSRC's spending on studentships.
This FOI request is intended to determine if the information on the BBSRC website is accurate about what information the research council collects; if successful it will result in the release of key performance information not currently published.
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Richard Taylor
Cambridge
http://www.rtaylor.co.uk