Full table of pass rates by subject available here:
>>University of Otago Pass Rates by Subject 2009-2011Picking papers has become even easier at the University of Otago after figures stating the average pass rate for each subject were released under the Official Information Act (OIA).
The release came after student Sam Wagener’s request under the OIA for “a statistical breakdown of the average grade distribution by course subject code for the last three years.”
By law, public authorities have 20 working days to respond to any request, from police search warrant results to whether or not regional councils open meetings with a prayer. The authority must give a “good reason” to refuse a request, such as commercial sensitivity or risk to national security.
Wagener stated that his request to the University, made on July 19, was “to try to gain an understanding of how “easy” or “hard” different subjects mark, as I have heard rumors that different subjects are known to grade easier than other subjects.”
Disappointingly, the University did not provide data on the average grade for each subject code, which means Critic’s assertion that COMP111 is the go-to paper for an easy A+ is based on anecdotal evidence rather than hard facts.
However, the pass rates for the nearly 100 undergraduate subjects with over 10 students enrolled were released on August 24.
University Registrar Jan Flood provided a word of caution along with the data: “We must emphasise that this data does not take into account the nature of student cohorts in the various subject areas, variations in course content, variations in the nature of course delivery, difference between professional programmes and general areas of study, and a range of other variables all affecting pass rates.”
The subjects with the lowest pass rates in 2011 were Finance and Quantative Analysis (68%), Computational Modelling (72%) and Mathematics (75%) - a clear indication that numerical subjects don’t add up to an easy degree.
On the other hand, Dentistry and Design for Technology, despite being quite different subjects, both had 100% pass rates for the past three years.
The 2011 University of Otago Annual Report notes that the academic pass rate for all students increased to 89.3% in 2011, up from 88.4% in 2010 and 87.7% in 2009. Of the four core academic divisions, Sciences had the lowest examination pass rate with 85.8%, while Humanities topped the list with 91%.
