Freedom of information disclosure log
In the interests of transparency, Birkbeck has opted to publish basic details of all freedom of information requests received and responded to over a rolling 12-month period.
If you have any queries, please contact our freedom of information team.
| Ref | Description | Response date | Response |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-004 | Student drug use | 21/01/2022 | I am making a freedom of information request about the outcome of any investigation of class A drug use of your students (of any course) from 1 August 2021 to 7 January 2022.
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| 2022-025 | Student marking | 08/02/2022 | How many students' marks have been changed after the submission of marksheets by markers to administrators, in order to uplift the students' degree classifications, or in response to informal requests by staff or students asking to change the students' marks, within Department of Organizational Psychology's postgraduate examination board (chaired by Almuth McDowall), in the academic years 2021-22, 2020-21, 2019-20, 2018-19, and 2017-18?
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| 2022-016 | Birkbeck bar | 11/02/2022 | 1. Could you please provide me with information about the permanent or temporary closure of Birkbeck Bar, located in the main operational building (Malet Street)? 2. Please provide things such as circulars, board meetings, or executive decisions about the plans for this bar.
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| 2022-006 | PhD information | 21/02/2022 | 1. Is the above-cited thesis (Taiwanese planning law: a historical review and comparison with Hong Kong) the final examined PhD thesis submitted by Mr Shih?
2. Has Mr Shih eared his PhD degree in law from Birkbeck?
3. If yes for question (2), when was this doctoral degree awarded?
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| 2022-008 | Staff demographics | 21/02/2022 | 1. How many British Muslim employees have you recruited? Please provide figures for every year since 2010. 2. What is the average length of service?
3. How many British Muslims have you employed in communications/media roles since 2010?
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| 2022-023 | Student accommodation | 21/02/2022 | 1. How many students have you had staying in university-run accommodation and student halls, in the last five years? 2. How much rent has the university collected year on year for university-run accommodation and student halls, in the last five years? 3. How much money has been invested in university-run accommodation and student halls for upkeep/maintenance/renovations, in the last five years? 4. How many students staying in university-run accommodation and student halls, if any, have been indebted to the university for late rent payments, in the last five years? 5. How many students staying in university-run accommodation and student halls, if any, have been evicted for missing rent payments, in the last five years?
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| 2022-005 | Student drug use | 28/02/2022 | 1. How many reports have been made regarding students taking recreational drugs in the last academic five years (2016-17 to 2020-21)?
2. Can I have a breakdown of which recreational drugs these were, please?
3. What are the steps you take after a student has been reported for recreational drug use?
4. How many students have been suspended due to recreational drug use in the last academic five years (2016-17 to 2020-21)?
5. How many students have been expelled permanently due to recreational drug use in the last academic five years (2016-17 to 2020-21)?
6. How many students have been reported for dealing recreational drugs in the last academic five years (2016-17 to 2020-21)?
7. How many staff members have been reported for taking recreational drugs in the last academic five years (2016-17 to 2020-21)?
8. What are the steps you take after a member of staff has been reported for recreational drug use?
9. How many staff members have been suspended due to recreational drug use in the last academic five years (2016-17 to 2020-21)?
10. How many staff members have been fired due to recreational drug use in the last academic five years (2016-17 to 2020-21)?
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| 2022-009 | CCTV | 28/02/2022 | 1. Supplier of the contract for CCTV maintenance and support.
2. How much the organisation spends annually with the supplier (if multiple suppliers please list the annual spend for each)?
3. What is the expiry date of this contract?
4. What is the duration of the contract?
5. What is the review date of this contract? If possible the likely outcome of this review
6. The primary brand of the CCTV equipment. I don’t require the model just the brand. If there is various brands could you please list?
7. What is the total number of cameras in use/under this contract?
8. The description of the services provided under this contract. Please state if this contract includes more than just CCTV services.
9. Contact details of the employee responsible for the contract between the supplier and the organisation. Can you please provide me with their full contact details:
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| 2022-011 | Estates | 28/02/2022 | 1. Do any of the university buildings have central deionised water plants?
2. What are the age of the central water plants?
3. Are there any plans to replace the central water plants?
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| 2022-020 | Grants | 28/02/2022 | 1. The value of grants made to each of the organisations listed below. Please provide the information for each of the three financial years separately, and list all grants separately. 2. The value of loans made to each of the organisations listed below. Please provide the information for each of the three financial years separately, and list all loans separately.
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| 2022-021 | Ransomware | 28/02/2022 | 1. Has your university been subject to any ransomware attacks in the last 2 years?
2. If so, when did they take place?
3. Have you paid a ransom/s in return for data stolen during a mentioned ransomware attack/s?
4. If you've paid ransom/s, then what's the total amount you've paid?
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| 2022-022 | Past papers | 28/02/2022 | Please may you release the following past theory and practical exam papers taken by geology undergraduates from 2015 to 2021?
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| 2022-027 | Staff contact details | 28/02/2022 | Chief Information Officer (or equivalent)
Chief Technology Officer (or equivalent)
Director of IT, ICT, IM&T
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| 2022-037 | Research grants | 28/02/2022 | Please can you provide me with any information you have about donations (financial or in kind), research grants/funding and loans to your institution from the companies and individuals listed below, from the start of the 2016-17 academic year until your most recent records: Companies: Gazprom; Gazprom Neft; Rossiya; Jenn Bank; General Bank; Promsvyazbank; the Black Sea Bank; Sberbank; Aquind; Rosneft; Lukoil; Novatek; Nornickel; Yandex; Polyus; Surgutneftegas. Individuals: Boris Rotenberg; Igor Rotenberg; Gennady Timchenko; Lubov Chernukhin; Alexander Temerko; Dmitry Leus; Lev Mikheev.
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| 2022-001 | Student demographics | 04/03/2022 | 1. Number of Chinese mainland applications and offers made (for each postgraduate programme) for the 2021 autumn admission cycles. 2. Number of all application and offers made (for each postgraduate programme) for the 2021 autumn admission cycles.
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| 2022-002 | Application information | 04/03/2022 | Please can you email me, for each academic year between 2017-18 and 2021-22 inclusive, and for each master's degree qualification and other RQF Level 7 qualification offered by the University in that year, a) the number of applications and b) the number of admissions, with each number broken down into i) home students and ii) international students.
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| 2022-018 | Estates | 04/03/2022 | 1. The make and model of readers used.
2. The company which manufactures/distributes the readers.
3. Any third-party installers/channel partners used to purchase the readers.
4. The security infrastructure provider.
5. The software used to manage the door controllers and readers.
6. Approximate quantity of doors at the university.
7. Name of the Head of Estates for the university.
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| 2022-031 | Advertising budget | 04/03/2022 | 1. What fraction of the Birkbeck University budget is dedicated to communications and PR?
2. What fraction of Birkbeck's comms/PR budget was spent designing the "Hootie" graphic?
3. What amount of money was spent on posters/banners/window pieces which feature the "Hootie" graphic?
4. Compared to the total communications/PR budget for Birkbeck, what do each of these costs represent?
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| 2022-012 | Graduation | 07/03/2022 | 1. Is it mandatory for distance learning Master's students of Birkbeck, University of London who have completed their studies to attend a graduation ceremony in person if they wish to graduate?
2. If it is not mandatory for a distance learning master's student of Birkbeck, University of London to attend a graduation ceremony in person if they wish to graduate, what are the costs to the student to graduate if they do not attend the ceremony?
3. If it is not mandatory for a distance learning master's student of Birkbeck, University of London to attend a graduation ceremony in person if they wish to graduate, is there a delay to when the student obtains the degree certificate? If so, how long is the delay?
4. If it is not mandatory for a distance learning master's student of Birkbeck, University of London to attend a graduation ceremony in person if they wish to graduate, what is the cost to a student to receive the certificate through the post to their home address?
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| 2022-028 | Non-disclosure agreements | 10/03/2022 | 1. Since 1/1/2019 how many non-disclosure legal agreements have been signed between the university and (i) staff or ex-staff, (ii) students and (iii) other people.
2. For each of these agreements please state (i) the year the agreement was signed, (ii) whether the person signing the agreement with the university was (a) a staff member or ex-staff member, (b) a student or (c) other person, and (iii) how much, if any money, was also paid to the person as part of the agreement.
3. Have you signed up to a pledge NOT to use non-disclosure agreements for people making claims of bullying, harassment or sexual assault which involve your university? If so when did you sign the agreement?
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| 2022-029 | Development and Alumni | 10/03/2022 | 1. Email and name of the alumni relations manager or equivalent person in charge of the alumni.
2. The exact number of graduates registered in your alumni association.
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| 2022-024 | Sexual assault | 15/03/2022 | I am writing to request the number of sexual misconduct cases involving university students reported to the University. I also require the data to include information on the following:
For the following academic years: 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20, 2020-21. To clarify both the victim and perpetrator must be or have been students.
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| 2022-030 | Overpayment | 15/03/2022 | 1. What are the total funds that the university currently has, as a result of overpayments, which are due to be returned to the party who paid?
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| 2022-042 | Refund requests | 15/03/2022 | 1. How many students each year have requested a refund for their tuition (whether they received it or not)?
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| 2022-043 | Library management system | 15/03/2022 | I wish to make a request for the name of the library management system used by the university and the date the licence/contract is due for renewal.
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| 2022-044 | Student numbers | 15/03/2022 | Can you please provide the number of full-time students attending each campus from 2017-18 up until the latest year you have data available for?
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| 2022-046 | Estates | 15/03/2022 | Please provide the telephone and email contact details of Estates and any other department in charge of maintenance.
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| 2022-003 | Staff information | 17/03/2022 | Question and answer provided as spreadsheets. |
| 2022-026 | Student marking | 17/03/2022 | 1. What was the number of students whose marks were changed in order to uplift their degree classification (except for students with approved mitigating circumstances)?
2. How many students' marks were changed for the purpose of raising their grades from one ending with a 9 to a 0 (e.g., 39 to 40, 49 to 50)?
3. How many students' degree classifications were uplifted before the examination board, or during the examination board?
4. What were the reasons for the application of discretion in each of the cases where students' marks were raised or degree classifications were uplifted?
5. What were the races and genders of the students for whom each type of discretion was applied?
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| 2022-033 | Student retention | 17/03/2022 | For each academic year from 2017 to present (2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20, 2020-21, 2021-22, up to the date this FOI request is received), I would like to know the following:
I would like the above information divided by sex of the student, and the academic department of study to be indicated, if possible.
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| 2022-019 | Decolonisation | 18/03/2022 | What work is being done, or has been proposed in the above material, to tackle historic legacies of slavery, racism, or other contested legacies?
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| 2022-035 | Non-disclosure agreements | 18/03/2022 | 1. Please could you provide me with the amount of non-disclosure agreements the university has funded in relation to sexual misconduct cases where the victim and perpetrator are or were both students.
2. Please could you disclose the amount of money the university has spent on non-disclosure agreements in relation to sexual misconduct cases where the victim and perpetrator are or were both students
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| 2022-048 | Student retention | 18/03/2022 | Request cancelled |
| 2022-010 | Student mental health services | 21/03/2022 | 1. Detail the amount spent on mental health and whether you have a dedicated mental health budget.
2. Detail the amount of a) counsellors b) other clinical staff employed.
3. Detail the a) median b) longest wait to see a counsellor.
4. Detail the number of students enrolled.
5. Detail the number of students engaged with counselling.
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| 2022-014 | Spam emails | 21/03/2022 | Please provide me with the total number of malicious emails blocked by your organisation over the last three calendar years (2021, 2020, 2019) broken down by year and categorised accordingly.
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| 2022-034 | Procurement | 21/03/2022 | Your annual turnover or operating budget.
Your total procurement spend (inc VAT), including via Purchase Order/Invoice, Purchasing/Procurement Card, and Direct Debit.
Your total procurement/purchasing spend (inc VAT) with Amazon, and its major subsidiaries, including Amazon Web Services (please note that Amazon purchases may be listed under a range of merchant names [i.e. AMZNMKTPLACE, AMAZON MARKETPLACE] within purchasing/procurement card spend data).
Please could you also answer the following questions: Is your organisation or any part of it subscribed to Amazon Business?
How much of the total spend with Amazon and its major subsidiaries (detailed above) is for the purchase of vouchers for gifting/award or other purposes?
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| 2022-036 | Student information | 21/03/2022 | 1. What are the names of Mr Wei-Chuan Shih's PhD viva examiners?
2. When and where was the PhD viva held?
3. When did Mr Shih enter Birkbeck's MPhil/PhD programme? And what is the course length for Mr to earn his PhD?
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| 2022-038 | Disabled students | 21/03/2022 | The number of students studying with the provider for each of the below academic years:
The number of disabled students studying with the provider for each of the below academic years:
If the provider can confirm whether it holds more specific data on how many students across the institution have specific disabilities (e.g. how many students studying with the provider have dyslexia). The number of staff working for the provider for each of the below academic years:
The number of disabled staff working for the provider for each of the below academic years:
If the provider can confirm whether it holds more specific data on how many staff working across the institution have specific disabilities (e.g. how many members of staff working for the provider have dyslexia).
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| 2022-032 | Staff dismissal | 24/03/2022 | How many members of staff have been subject to a dismissal or summary dismissal for reasons of conduct by the university in each of the last five complete academic years (2016-17; 2017-18; 2018-19; 2019-20; 2020-21). Please include data for all staff. Where possible please also provide the reason for dismissal.
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| 2022-040 | Student demographics | 24/03/2022 | I would like to know the percentage of English, undergraduate, enrolled students, under the age of 25, since 2013-14 who are confirmed as care experienced, that do not meet the following criteria. Either:
For the avoidance of doubt, only a failure to meet both conditions above should indicate that a student meets the criteria of this request. Where possible, please disaggregate the information by academic year and provide the total student numbers used in the calculation. However, if disaggregation isn't possible please return the figures at any level of aggregation possible. Please provide the same information, in the same format, for students who are not confirmed as care experienced (i.e. the general student population excluding confirmed care experienced students). For the purposes of this query, students who are returned to HESA as Care Leaver 04 (UCAS identified care leaver) without any further verification should not be included in the care experienced population. Students identified as 04 and assessed as independent by Student Finance should be included in the care experienced population. Students identified as 04 and in receipt of a bursary for either care experienced or independent students should be included in the care experienced population. This list isn't exhaustive, any internal verification process is acceptable to include a student in the population.
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| 2022-051 | Library facilities | 24/03/2022 | 1. Name and contact details of the Head of Library Services.
2. Name and contact details of Estates and Facilities.
3. Capacity for students.
4. The number of seats/study places.
5. The number of computer terminals.
6. The number of acoustic controlled pods/rooms/study areas?
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| 2022-039 | College events | 25/03/2022 | 1. What risk assessment (if any) was conducted?
2. What consideration (if any) was given to the need to foster good relations between persons of different ethnicities, nationalities and religions?
3. What consideration (if any) was given to the need to eliminate harassment, victimisation and other conduct contrary to the Equality Act 2010.
4. What was the outcome of any consideration of any of the above?
5. What steps (if any) were taken to establish the accuracy of factual allegations to be made in the event on 5 March?
6. Please provide copies of all correspondence, notes, minutes and other documents containing or recording the above.
7. Please provide copies of your established policies as referred to in Professor Latchman's email below this by 12 noon on Monday 28/02/2022.
8. Please advise the names of the event panel and their contact details as well as provide minutes of the meetings in which they felt that this event complied with your free speech policies.
9. Please let me have a copy of your free speech policies.
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| 2022-050 | Researchfish | 25/03/2022 | 1. Do you have any commercial or financial relationship with Researchfish?
If so, please provide (a) a summary of the services provided
(b) the financial cost of the services provided
2. Do you keep any records or place any obligations on your academics/departments to interact/cooperate with Researchfish?
If so please provide (a) the obligations which you require your academics to fulfil
(b) the type of information you keep on your academics or departments with regard to Researchfish
(c) a summary of the Researchfish completion rates by department
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| 2022-007 | Student mental health services | 28/03/2022 | 1. Total cost of employed counsellors (named in the job title presented to students - not practitioner or adviser roles). This sum should include on costs such as pension etc.
2. Cost spent by the institute on outsourced counselling provision (do not include web-based self-help such as Togetherall or Silvercloud). Also do not include services who are statutory provision which the institute does not pay for.
3. The cost for mental health advisers, wellbeing advisers and mental health advisers (do not include those funded by DSA).
4. Total number of students for academic year 2021-22. Please break this down into undergraduate and postgraduate.
5. Basic undergraduate fee for a UK (Home) student.
6. Fee for an overseas/international student - if this is variable then include the range from-to.
7. Postgraduate fees - Masters level and PhD. level. Include in this the charge for overseas and home students.
8. Total cost of staffing in your institute's marketing dept. This includes social media staff, alongside management etc.
10. Total number of students referred to outside mental health services such as IAPT.
11. The percentage and number of students directed or referred into IAPT services (where present).
12. The percentage and number of students directed or referred into third sector services (such as Mind or local charities).
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