Making a Freedom of Information request

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) gives a general right of access to all types of recorded information held by the University of Sheffield. It also sets out exemptions from that right and places a number of obligations on the University when responding to requests for information. For the purposes of the Act, the University of Sheffield is defined as a public authority.

The University publishes a great deal of information via the University website.

Information can also be found via the University’s Publication Scheme.

Potential students often mistakenly use the above email address to ask questions relating to admissions and applications - a quicker and more appropriate response can be found on the following web page: Contacts for prospective students.

Complaints and requests for an internal review

If you wish to appeal against a decision or complain about any aspect of a request, then contact the Freedom of Information Unit. You have 40 days from receipt of a response to request an internal review.

An internal review of a decision or complaint about a response will be carried out in a timely fashion. A reasonable time for completing an internal review is deemed to be 20 working days from the date of receipt of the request for review, although it is recognised that there may be circumstances where it may be reasonable to take longer. The University also notes that no review should normally take longer than 40 working days.

Complainants will be informed of the outcome of the complaint. If a review determines that the information should have been supplied, or if any other action should have been taken, then this will be addressed. It may also be the case that a review re-affirms the original course of action.

If complainants are still unhappy at the outcome of a University internal review, they are entitled to take their complaint to the Information Commissioners Office at the following address:

 The Information Commissioner, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.