University of the Philippines System

Dear Mr. Angeles,

This is with reference to your FOI request, for academic and research purposes, for “data from the UP College Admission Test (UPCAT) or UPCA from 2010 to 2022. Specifically:

Number of applicants yearly, separated between their 1st and 2nd campus choices;
Number of slots each constituent unit opened, disaggregated into degree programs, if possible;
Number of qualified applicants per campus, disaggregated into degree programs;
Number of qualified applicants per campus who accepted and reserved the slot; and
Number of applicants who were admitted by recon, INB, and the like.”

Your request assumes that the databases -- covering 12 years -- exist in digital form, and, therefore are amenable to processing, following the multiple variables you enumerate.

Only summary data on number of applicants and number of qualifiers per choice of campus (first and second choice) across the 12 years are available digitally. These are summary reports with no further cross-tabulations.

The other datasets, to the level of detail you are requesting, do not exist in electronic form. Most of the data are in analogue format, printed out in continuous forms.

Data on qualified applicants, by campus and degree program, are transmitted by the UP System Office of Admissions to the Registrars’ Offices of UP Constituent Units. There is no centralized database to determine whether the qualified applicants actually accepted/enrolled in the degree program or campus of choice. To provide the information as you require, the registrar's offices of each campus will have to manually process 12 years’ worth of data that are in their possession.

Your FOI request cannot be complied without the UP (i.e., the UP System Admissions Office and the Registrars Offices of each UP campus) investing manpower and time resources. Hence, your request falls in the category of unreasonably complex request (FOI MC No.5, Sec 4d) and is therefore denied.