A document shared by the Ministry of Education (MoE) now mandates a 'Minimum mandatory disclosure for Universities and other Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) to be uploaded at their respective website'. The educational institutions will now have to disclose information regarding their institution in order to create transparency and ward off any confusion.
The listicle mentioned in the document states the various categories that the institutions have to necessarily mention in their website in order to maintain a standard and provide the website visitor with the information that one may need to know fully about the college.
University Grants Commission (UGC) Chairman, M Jagadesh Kumar asserted, "Of late, different stakeholders in the Higher Education System like prospective students, parents, research scholars, govt. officials, alumni and the public at large desire to seek certain basic information from the websites of different Universities/HEI’s."
The initial survey of the websites of several universities revealed that they were unsuccessful in providing basic minimum information related to the university and also found that their websites were neither functional nor updated.
The document disclosed a listicle that stated the requirements to be fulfilled by the universities. Check it out here -
About HEI/University
1) About us: Overview
2) Act and Statutes or MoA
3) Institutional Development Plan
4) Annual Reports
5) Constituent Units/ Affiliated Colleges, Off campus/Off shore campus
(Wherever applicable)
6) Accreditation/ Ranking (NAAC, NIRF)
Administration (Profiles with photographs)
1) University Organogram Chart
2) Chancellor
3) Vice Chancellor
4) Pro-Vice-Chancellor (wherever applicable)
5) Registrar
6) Finance Officer
7) Controller of Examination
8) Chief Vigilance Officer
9) Executive Council, Academic Council, Board of Studies, Finance Committee
10) Academic Leadership (Dean/HoD of Schools/Departments/ Centres)
Academics
1) Academic Programs
2) Academic Calendar
3) Schools/Departments/ Centres
4) Department/School/Centre wise faculty details with photographs
5) Library: Basic information at a glance
Admissions & Fee
1) Prospectus (Provide link and upload soft copy of Prospectus)
2) Admissions (provide link)
3) Admission guidelines for international students (wherever applicable)
4) Fee structure for various programs
5) Fee refund policy
Research
1) Research and Development Cell
2) Publications
3) Patents
4) Foreign Collaboration (wherever applicable)
5) Industry Collaborations
6) Central facilities
7) MoU
8) Shodhganga and Shodhgangotri (provide links)
Student Support Services
1) Hostel
2) Fellowships/ Scholarships (provide details)
3) Academic Bank of Credits (provide link)
4) Digi Locker NAD Portal (provide link)
5) National Scholarship Portal (provide link)
Campus Harmony & Well-Being
1) e-Samadhaan (Provide link)
2) Student Grievance Redressal Committee (SGRC)
3) Details of OMBUDSPERSON
4) Internal Quality Assurance Cell
5) Internal Complaint Committee
6) Anti-Ragging Cell with Helpline number
7) Equal Opportunity Cell
8) Socio-Economically Disadvantaged Group Cell (SEDG)
Alumni
1) Alumni Association (provide link of portal wherever applicable)
2) Alumni Co-ordination Cell
Information Corner
1) RTI: Details of CPIO and Appellate authority (wherever applicable)
2) Circular and Notices
3) Announcements
4) Newsletters
5) News, Recent events & Achievements
6) Job openings
7) Reservation Roster (wherever applicable)
Picture Gallery
Contact us
1) Details with Phone Number, Official Email ID and Address
2) Telephone Directory
In addition to this, it also mentions that the links that are "Important" should be given at the bottom or on the side as “Persistent Links''
The issuance of the document, according to the UGC Chairman, would diminish the inconvenience and uncertainty that the stakeholders face.
He further emphasises upon the importance of heightening the standards of education in the country and said, "It would be prudent to desire from the Universities to provide basic minimum information and updated content on their website," given the New Education Policy (NEP) 2020 has already entered its third year.
