Changes to HSE Rules and Regulations for Employees and Students

On January 25, The HSE University Academic Council reviewed proposed changes to the Employee Internal Regulations, the Student Internal Regulations, and the Procedures for Supporting HSE Student Organizations and Student Initiatives.

The majority of the Academic Council voted to approve the proposed amendments to the Employee Internal Regulations after taking into consideration a number of changes proposed following the discussion. The newly revised Employee Internal Regulations provide for wider employee benefits, a well-defined internal awards system, and clear guidelines regarding faculty-student relations.

The proposed amendments to the HSE Student Internal Regulations and to the Procedures for Supporting HSE Student Organizations and Student Initiatives as revised by the Legal Department of HSE University in collaboration with the Student Council were also approved. The changes align with international practices in place at universities around the world with regard to the regulation of public announcement of an institution’s name and student and/or faculty involvement in political campaigns. As HSE Rector Yaroslav Kuzminov has noted, reputation is HSE university’s key asset and the whole university community should strive to build and protect it.

Here is a summary of the approved amendments:

• Open letters are not prohibited. However, the personal or group position should not be presented as the collective position of the university. Write, for example, ‘We, the undersigned HSE students’, instead of ‘We, HSE students’.
• Clarifications will also be developed on how students can make anonymous public statements (for example, if you want to report a problem, but cannot name yourself for any given reason).
• If someone is engaged in political activities, they must do so in the capacity as a private person and not a university employee or student.
• Human rights activism of student initiatives and organizations is not prohibited nor ever was. At the same time, it was decided to create a glossary that will contain examples outlining, for instance, human rights and politics, as well as provide clarification as to what constitutes political activism and what does not.
• To avoid contradictions and discrepancies, an explanation of the clause on ‘the use of the university’s premises for its intended purpose’ will be developed in response to questions from the student community.
• Student media groups may no longer qualify to be student organizations. However, they will now be classified as student initiatives. This means that they are still eligible for all other types of support, save for the basic funding of 15,000 rubles a year. They will also continue to operate as before.
• Interaction of student media with the university’s press service will also remain the same: student media can receive comments, accredit themselves to events, and remain in touch with the Internal Communications Unit.
• The matter of introducing a separate internal regulation ‘On the Status of Student Media’, according to which the university, faculties, and campuses will be able to establish university student media, will be up for discussion.

What Does It All Imply?

Students and employees of HSE University care about what is happening and changing at the university.

The Student Council continues to be a productive platform for discussion, which provides students with an opportunity to come to agreement and present student interests.