Regulations on Ensuring Access to Public Information
at National Aerospace University
«Kharkiv Aviation Institute»
Approved:
Rector of the
National Aerospace University
«Kharkiv Aviation Institute»
QMS KhAI-LA-R/003:2018
Effective Date: October 01, 2018
Revision No. 1
1. General Provisions
1.1. These Regulations determine the procedure for access to public information at the National Aerospace University «Kharkiv Aviation Institute» (hereinafter - the University) and have been developed in accordance with the requirements of the Law of Ukraine «On Access to Public Information» dated Jan 13, 2011 No. 2939-VI, Laws of Ukraine «On Information» dated Oct 02, 1992 No. 2657-XII, «On Higher Education» dated Jul 01, 2014 No. 1556-VII, «On Citizens' Appeals» dated Oct 02, 1996 No. 393/96-VR (in force) and other regulatory legal acts of Ukraine, taking into account the recommendations of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights dated Aug 14, 2018 No. 1-2359/18-13 regarding the practical application of the Law of Ukraine «On Access to Public Information» and judicial practice by higher education institutions.
1.2. In these Regulations, the terms listed below are used in the following meaning:
- person responsible for information requests (responsible person) - an official of the University entrusted, in accordance with these Regulations, with duties regarding the processing, systematization, and analysis of requests for information, control over their fulfillment, and provision of consultations during the formulation of requests;
- executor - a structural unit and/or an official of the University who possesses public information regarding a specific area of the University's activity and is obliged to provide such information upon request of the person responsible for information requests;
- request for information - a request by a person or a group of persons in oral, written, or other form to provide public information held by the University;
- information requesters - natural persons, legal entities, and associations of citizens without legal entity status, except for public authority bodies;
- citizens' appeals - proposals (comments), applications (petitions), and complaints stated in written or oral form;
- restricted information - confidential, secret, or official (internal) information;
- information of public interest (publicly necessary information) - information that indicates a threat to the state sovereignty or territorial integrity of Ukraine; ensures the exercise of constitutional rights, freedoms, and duties, in particular regarding admission to higher education institutions; indicates the possibility of human rights violations, misleading the public, harmful and other negative consequences of activities (inactivity) of natural persons or legal entities, etc. The list of types of information that are publicly necessary is not exhaustive; when resolving the issue of whether a corresponding public interest exists in obtaining such information, it is necessary to consider the identity of the requester, the number of persons concerned by the requested information, and the presence of public discussion on the relevant issues (para. 6.4 of Resolution No. 10 of the Plenum of the Higher Administrative Court of Ukraine dated September 20, 2016);
- confidential information - information access to which is restricted by a natural person or legal entity, except for public authority bodies, and which may be disseminated in accordance with the procedure and conditions established by them at their discretion;
- public information - information reflected and documented by any means and on any media that was received or created in the process of performance of duties by the University as provided for by applicable legislation, or which is held by the University. Any information contained in documents related to the planning and organization of the educational process, as well as in documents created during the management of the University (orders and directives of the rector, decisions of collegial management bodies and public self-government, local regulatory acts of the University, etc.), holds the status of public information at the University. Information related to the use of funds from both general and special funds is considered public at the University, including information contained in:
- primary documents recording business transactions conducted using budget funds (agreements, acts, delivery notes, etc.);
- cost estimates and expenditure reports;
- staffing tables and other documents related to remuneration of labor using budget funds (personnel orders, timesheets, documents on planning and accounting of educational, methodological, scientific, and organizational work of pedagogical and scientific-pedagogical employees, etc.);
- documents related to the execution of state and/or regional procurement orders for specialist training;
- minutes of scholarship committee meetings and other documents related to the assignment and payment of scholarships to higher education applicants, regardless of the type of scholarship (academic, social, named, etc.);
- information administrators (for the purposes of these Regulations) - the University with respect to information created or received by it in connection with educational activities, as well as regarding the University's use of budget funds of both general and special funds, and/or officials of the University who have been granted delegated powers by public authority bodies by law or contract, if they perform public management functions in accordance with legislation and whose decisions are binding;
- official (internal) information - information contained in documents of public authority bodies that constitute intra-departmental official correspondence, explanatory internal notes, recommendations, if they are related to the development of an institution's line of activity or performance of control and supervisory functions by state authorities, the decision-making process, and precede public discussion and/or decision adoption, as well as information collected in the process of operational-search or counterintelligence activity or in the defense sphere of the country that is not classified as state secret;
- special location for receiving written requests and working with documents or their copies for requesters - Office Work and Archive Department (hereinafter - the general office) of the University;
- public authority bodies - state power bodies, local self-government bodies, authority bodies of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, their officials or officers, and other entities when performing public management functions based on legislation, including in the execution of delegated powers, whose decisions are binding;
- secret information - information access to which is restricted in accordance with Part 2 of Article 6 of the Law of Ukraine «On Access to Public Information», disclosure of which may cause harm to an individual, society, or the state, and which contains state, professional, banking secret, secret of pre-trial investigation, or other secrets provided for by law.
1.3. Legal regulation of relations associated with ensuring access to public information is carried out in accordance with the Law of Ukraine «On Access to Public Information».
1.4. The scope of these Regulations does not extend to relations arising in the field of citizens' appeals, which are regulated by a special law.
1.5. Compliance with the established procedure for providing public information (processing, systematization, analysis of requests for information, and monitoring their fulfillment, including coordinating actions regarding reimbursement of actual expenses by requesters for copying or printing in cases established by the Law of Ukraine «On Access to Public Information») regarding the activity of the University is organized and ensured, by authorization of the Rector of the University, by the Vice-Rector for Academic and Scientific Work (if necessary - involving heads of structural units within assigned powers and according to the distribution of functional duties).
2. Ensuring Access to Public Information on the Activity of the University
2.1. Access to public information on the activity of the University is ensured by:
1) publishing public information in mass media (hereinafter - MM);
2) placing public information on information notice boards;
3) placing public information on the official website of the University (website address http://www.khai.edu);
4) publishing public information in the official printed publication of the University - the newspaper «Za Aviakadry»;
5) providing information upon requests for information;
6) in any other way.
2.2. Publishing public information in mass media is ensured in accordance with the Laws of Ukraine «On Access to Public Information», «On Information», «On Printed Mass Media (Press) in Ukraine», «On Television and Radio Broadcasting», «On Information Agencies».
2.3. The person responsible for information requests, through the Public Relations Center, organizes the placement on the official website of the University of information (documents) prepared by structural units, taking into account the requirements of the Laws of Ukraine «On Access to Public Information» and «On Higher Education».
2.4. Publishing public information (documents) on the official website does not relieve the University of the obligation to provide relevant information upon requests for public information in accordance with the Law of Ukraine «On Access to Public Information».
2.5. The following are subject to placement on the official website:
1) information about the University and its activity:
- location, postal address, email address for sending electronic requests for information, telephone numbers;
- organizational structure, full names (surname, first name, patronymic), official communication phone numbers, email addresses of the rector, vice-rectors, deans of faculties, as well as heads of structural units of the University;
- work schedule and schedule for receiving citizens at the University;
- full name of the person responsible for working with requests for public information, their contact details;
- vacancies, procedure, and conditions for conducting competitive selection to fill vacant positions;
2) internal labor regulations of the University;
3) information on the regulatory legal bases of the University's activity;
4) information on financial resources (structure and volume of budget funds, procedure and mechanism for their expenditure, etc.);
5) data on the procedure for drafting and submitting a request for information;
6) form for submitting a request for public information;
7) details on the accounting system and types of information held by the University;
8) reports, including those on the fulfillment of information requests;
9) admission terms and admission rules to the University in the current year;
10) information regarding the purpose and principles of activity of the University's structural units;
11) information regarding the activity of primary trade union organizations;
12) information regarding the activity of student self-government at the University;
13) information subject to mandatory publication in accordance with the requirements of Article 79 of the Law of Ukraine «On Higher Education», namely:
- Charter and other documents of the University regulating the procedure for carrying out the educational process;
- information on the composition of the governing bodies of the University;
- budget of the University;
- annual report, including financial reports;
- cost estimate for the current year and all amendments thereto;
- report on the use and receipt of funds;
- information regarding procurement/tender procedures;
- staffing table for the current year;
14) other information regarding the activity of the University that qualifies as public information.
Any information about facts threatening life, health, and/or property of persons, and about measures applied in connection therewith, is subject to immediate publication.
2.6. The official website of the University and the newspaper «Za Aviakadry» shall display:
- conditions and procedure for obtaining public information on the activity of the University;
- other information necessary for prompt notification of information requesters about the activity of the University.
2.7. Access to public information on the activity of the University is restricted if such data, in accordance with the legislation of Ukraine, belongs to restricted information. The list of information that does not contain characteristics of public information, as well as information belonging to restricted information, is specified in Appendix A to these Regulations.
In accordance with Para. 9 of Art. 45 of the Law of Ukraine «On Higher Education», the following is not restricted information:
- statistical information on the results of external independent testing;
- details contained in certification papers of persons who passed external independent testing, except those identifying the person who completed a specific certification paper, from the moment of completion of paper grading.
2.8. Providing requesters with public information on the activity of the University by posting the specified information on the website is ensured by the person responsible for information requests (if necessary - with the involvement of heads of structural units within their delegated authority and in accordance with the allocation of functional duties).
3. Procedure for Requesting Public Information on the Activity of the University
3.1. The information requester has the right to apply to the University with a request for information, the requirements for the formulation of which are defined by the Law of Ukraine «On Access to Public Information».
3.2 Information requesters have the right to apply to the University with a request for information regardless of whether this information concerns them personally or not, without giving a reason for submitting the request.
3.3. A request for information may be individual or collective.
3.4. Information requesters may submit a request for information orally, in writing, or in another form (by mail, fax, telephone, email) at the requester's choice, as well as apply to the University with a request for information during personal reception by officials of the University. To prevent misinterpretation of the content and scope of the request, it is recommended to submit requests in writing or in the form of an electronic document.
3.5. A written request may be submitted in any form.
3.6. A request for information must contain:
1) name (company name) of the requester, postal address or email address, as well as a contact telephone number, if any;
2) a general description of the information or the type, title, details, or content of the document regarding which the request is made, if known to the requester;
3) signature and date, provided that the request is submitted in writing;
4) necessary details identifying the person, in order to create conditions for sending a response to the request to the proper addressee.
3.7. If, for valid reasons (disability, special physical needs, etc.), a person cannot submit a written request personally, it must be drafted by the person responsible for information requests or another University employee designated by this person, who must state their name, contact telephone number in the request, and provide a copy of the request to the person who submitted it.
3.8. In order to simplify the procedure for submitting written requests for information, a person may submit a request by filling out the relevant request forms for information, the templates of which are given in Appendix B and Appendix C to these Regulations (posted on the official website of the University).
4. Procedure for Registration and Processing of Requests for Information
4.1. Requests for information received by the University are accepted, preliminary processed, and registered in the chancellery, taking into account the requirements of these Regulations and in accordance with the requirements of the Law of Ukraine «On Access to Public Information».
If a request for information was received by the chancellery by mail in any form, the postal envelope must bear the mark - «Request for Public Information».
If the relevant document is not identified as a request for information, the final decision regarding the relevance of the received document to such a request is made upon the proposal of the responsible person by the rector or, on his/her instruction, by the vice-rector for academic and pedagogical (scientific) work.
4.2. Requests for information, together with other incoming correspondence, are registered in the chancellery and subsequently accounted for by the responsible person in the Register of Requests for Public Information.
The Register of Requests for Public Information is maintained and stored by the responsible person in accordance with the current nomenclature of files and records management instructions.
4.3. After receipt and registration of incoming correspondence, requests for information are separated and, together with the proposals of the responsible person, immediately forwarded to the Rector of the University to obtain an appropriate resolution and assign executors.
4.4. The response to a request for information is provided no later than 5 (five) working days from the date of receipt of the request by the University.
4.5. If the request contains a demand to provide public information related to different areas of the University's activity, the heads of structural units are designated as executors according to their areas of activity.
In such a case, the executor is obliged to provide the responsible person with relevant materials and information no later than four working days from the date of receipt of the request by the University.
4.6. Registration and processing of requests for information received by the University in the form of an electronic document (fax, email) are carried out by the relevant employee in the manner established by clause 4.1 of these Regulations after printing them out on paper.
4.7. The response to the request is provided by the responsible person to the address specified by the information requester, and in the requested form (by letter or in the form of an electronic document).
Correspondence regarding requests for public information, including hard copies of electronic information requests, is stored by the responsible person in a separate file «Correspondence regarding requests for public information» according to the current nomenclature of files.
4.8. If an accepted request, along with the requirement to provide information or a copy of an official document, also contains a complaint, proposal, or statement, it shall be processed as a request for public information under the Law of Ukraine «On Access to Public Information» regarding the provision of information or a copy of an official document, and under the Law of Ukraine «On Appeals of Citizens» regarding the complaint, proposal, statement, or appeal.
4.9. If a request contains a demand to provide public information along with a demand to provide non-public information, the response to the request may be provided to the applicant separately within the time limits provided by law, of which the requester is notified.
5. Procedure for Providing Public Information on the Activity of the University and Student Self-Government Bodies
5.1. A response to a request for public information on the activity of the University may be provided under the signature of the person responsible for information requests, if so provided by the rector's resolution on the request.
A response to a request containing a demand to provide public information on various areas of the University's activity, for which several persons are assigned as executors, as well as a response refusing to provide such information, shall be signed by the rector or, on his/her instruction, signed by the vice-rector for academic and pedagogical (scientific) work, unless otherwise established by the rector.
5.2. Taking into account the provisions of Article 40 of the Law of Ukraine «On Higher Education» regarding non-interference in the activities of student self-government bodies by the University administration, as well as the principle of openness in the activities of these bodies, since the student self-government bodies of the University do not have legal entity status (which makes it impossible to address requests for public information directly to them), the provision of responses in such cases shall be ensured by the University in the following order:
5.2.1. If the requested information is stored only in the student self-government body, the rector or, on his/her instruction, the vice-rector for academic and pedagogical (scientific) work applies to such body to obtain the relevant information, after which a response is provided to the information requester in the manner established by these Regulations. If necessary, the rector or, on his/her instruction, the vice-rector for academic and pedagogical (scientific) work may extend the deadline for providing a response to a request for public information up to 20 working days in accordance with Part 4 of Article 20 of the Law of Ukraine «On Access to Public Information» and clause 5.9 of these Regulations.
5.3. Public information on the activity of the University may be provided orally, on paper, and in electronic form. To prevent misinterpretation of the content and scope of the response to the request, as a rule, the response to the request is provided in writing or in the form of an electronic document.
5.4. Public information on the activity of the University is provided in the form and in compliance with the rules specified by the University Records Management Instructions.
If the form of providing public information is not specified by legislation, it shall be provided in the form requested in the information request. In case it is impossible to provide public information in the requested form, it shall be provided in the form in which it is stored.
Public information is provided orally to individuals, representatives of legal entities, and associations of citizens during personal reception by University officials. The specified information may also be provided by phone by authorized officials of the University.
5.5. The response to a request must contain the requested information or a reasoned refusal to provide it. The response to the request must state the name and postal address of the University, the title of the person providing the response, as well as the registration number and date of the response.
5.6. If the requested public information about the activity of the University or a student self-government body constitutes restricted access information, the response to the request shall specify the grounds on which access to the specified information is restricted. In cases where part of the requested information constitutes restricted access information and the rest is publicly accessible, only the latter shall be provided. The response to such a request is subject to mandatory approval by the Security and Confidentiality Department and the Legal Department of the University.
5.7. Responses to requests for public information are subject to mandatory registration in the chancellery.
5.8. A response to a request for public information is provided no later than five working days from the date of receipt of the request by the University.
If a request for information concerns data necessary for protecting a person's life or freedom, the state of the environment, the quality of food products and household items, accidents, disasters, dangerous natural phenomena, and other emergencies that have occurred or may occur and threaten the safety of citizens, the response must be provided no later than 48 hours from the date of receipt of the request by the University (Part 2 of Article 20 of the Law of Ukraine «On Access to Public Information»).
5.9. If a request for information involves providing a large volume of information or requires searching through a significant amount of data, the Rector or, on his/her instruction, the Vice-Rector for Academic and Pedagogical (Scientific) Work, upon submission by the head of the structural unit responsible for providing public information upon such request, may extend the period for considering the request up to 20 working days. The head of the structural unit, through the person responsible for information requests, shall notify the requester in writing of the extension no later than five working days from the date of receipt of the request by the University.
5.10. In cases where the requested information contains documents exceeding ten pages, the person responsible for information requests shall, no later than five working days from the date of receipt of the request by the University, notify the applicant of this, specifying the cost of actual expenses related to copying or printing documents, as well as payment details and procedure. Under such circumstances, public information is provided within three working days after confirmation of payment of actual expenses.
5.11. A petition for urgent processing of a request must be justified.
5.12. Public information upon request is provided free of charge. However, if fulfilling a request for information involves producing copies of documents exceeding ten pages, the requester is obliged to reimburse the actual costs of their copying and printing. The amount of expenses for copying and printing documents, and the procedure for reimbursing such expenses, are determined within the maximum limits established by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, in accordance with the cost estimate for copying or printing documents provided upon request for information. To a person who has not paid the actual expenses related to copying or printing documents provided by law and established by the above-mentioned estimate, the requested public information shall be provided after payment of these expenses.
5.13. The University has the right to refuse to fulfill a request if:
1) the University does not possess and is not obliged to possess the information requested, in accordance with current legislation and the University Charter;
2) the requested information belongs to the category of restricted access information in accordance with Article 6 of the Law of Ukraine «On Access to Public Information»;
3) the person who submitted the request for information has not paid the actual expenses related to copying or printing provided for by Article 21 of the Law of Ukraine «On Access to Public Information» and clause 5.12 of these Regulations;
4) the requirements for formatting a request for information provided for by Part 5 of Article 19 of the Law of Ukraine «On Access to Public Information» and clause 3.6 of these Regulations regarding the content of such request have not been met.
5.14. Refusal to fulfill a written request for information is provided only in writing.
5.15. A refusal to fulfill a request for information must state:
- full name and position of the person responsible for processing the request;
- date of refusal;
- reasoned ground for refusal;
- procedure for appealing the refusal;
- signature.
5.16. Refusal to fulfill a request is subject to mandatory approval by the Legal Department of the University and the person responsible for information requests.
5.17. A response from the University stating that information can be obtained by the requester from publicly available sources, or an off-topic response, is not permitted.
5.18. If the University does not possess the requested information, but by virtue of its status or nature of activity knows or should know who possesses it, the request shall be forwarded to the proper information holder with simultaneous notification to the requester.
5.19. Postponement of fulfilling an information request is permitted if the requested information cannot be provided for review within the prescribed time limit due to force majeure circumstances. The decision on postponement is communicated to the requester in writing, explaining the procedure for appealing the decision taken.
5.20. The decision to postpone the fulfillment of an information request must state:
- full name and position of the person responsible for processing the request;
- date of sending or hand-delivering the postponement notice;
- reasons due to which the request for information cannot be fulfilled within the established deadline;
- timeframe within which the request will be fulfilled;
- signature.
5.21. Decisions, actions, or omissions of the responsible person and/or executor may be appealed in accordance with the procedure established by law.
5.22. Control over the status of consideration and responses to requests for public information is exercised by the Rector or, on his/her instruction, the Vice-Rector for Academic and Pedagogical Work or the Vice-Rector for Research.
6. Final Provisions
6.1. The Regulations are approved by order of the Rector of the University.
6.2. Amendments and/or additions to these Regulations are made in accordance with the procedure established for their adoption.
Appendix A
List of Information Not Displaying Signs of Public Information, as well as Information Belonging to Restricted Access Information
1. The following is not considered public information:
- information that, as of the date of receipt of the request, is not recorded or documented in any way and on any media, and its recording and documentation are not provided for by the legislation of Ukraine;
- information obtained or created during the processing of materials related to the University's cooperation with state bodies of other states, international organizations, and diplomatic missions accredited in Ukraine;
- information obtained or created during correspondence with state authorities, local self-government bodies, enterprises, institutions, organizations, and citizens;
- internal official correspondence and reports (internal memos), recommendations, if they are directly related to the development of KhAI's areas of activity, the management decision-making process, and precede public discussion and/or decision-making;
- information that is not related to the exercise of managerial functions by the University or does not pertain to data on KhAI's use of budget funds.
2. Public information with restricted access at KhAI includes:
- confidential information — information to which access is restricted by a physical or legal entity, except for public authorities, and which may be distributed in the manner determined by them at their discretion in accordance with the conditions specified by them;
- secret information — information containing state, professional, banking, investigative, or other secrecy provided for by law, access to which is restricted in accordance with Part 2 of Article 6 of the Law of Ukraine «On Access to Public Information», and disclosure of which may cause harm to an individual, society, or the state;
- official information — information contained in documents classified as «For Official Use Only».
Appendix B
Electronic Request Form for Obtaining Public Information Held by National Aerospace University «Kharkiv Aviation Institute»
Appendix C
Form for Submitting a Written Request for Public Information
