Amendments to HSE University Regulations Follow Global Practices

HSE University has cited the practices of universities and academic institutions around the world for the purpose of developing recent amendments to its Student Internal Regulations and Internal Labour Regulations.

For example, the amendments with respect to the principle ‘HSE University out of Politics’ echo the Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure of the American Association of University Professors. It therein states: ‘As scholars and educational officers, they should remember that the public may judge their profession and their institution by their utterances. Hence, they should at all times be accurate, should exercise appropriate restraint, should show respect for the opinions of others, and should make every effort to indicate that they are not speaking for the institution’.

Furthermore, the Standards of Conduct for the Harvard community also declare that staff and students should be careful in how they use their affiliation with the institution. In particular, suggestions of affiliation with Harvard in connection with any organization, publication, activity, or third party are only possible with the advance permission of the Dean of Harvard College or its Provost.

Duke University has regulations regarding campus political activity and engagement with government representatives. If an employee writes about a political campaign in the media, a blog or social media, they must take care to indicate that their comments are purely personal and do not represent the views of the university. In addition, faculty and staff should take care to only use their personal e‐mail, social media or other online accounts (and not Duke-related electronic resources) for the distribution of campaign messages, petitions and similar material.

Also, Tufts University has a policy on political activities. For instance, it states that faculty and staff who engage in political campaigns should do so in their individual capacity, rather than on behalf of the university. If a faculty or staff member supports a political initiative, this should be done without mention of their institutional affiliation, or with a disclaimer indicating that their actions and statements are their own and not those of the university. In addition, another policy on the use of Tufts University’s name and insignias notes that the use of the institutions name in situations that may present potential damage its and reputation must be avoided.

Moreover, Yale University follows a similar reasoning and emphasizes that faculty and staff interested in participating in political campaigns should do so on their own time, outside of their regular work and responsibilities at the university. Faculty and staff should take care not to give the impression that they represent or express the university’s views. Faculty and staff who wish to work together with colleagues in political campaigns should do so off-campus and not state or suggest any affiliation with the university.

Similar standards apply in European universities. For instance, the rules of Charles University (Prague), one of Europe's oldest universities, explicitly prohibit support for student activities that are 'aimed at providing support for political parties or movements, nion organizations, employer associations, professional self-regulatory organizations, church or religious groups'. 

Moreover, a student organization must be registered in accordance with the standards of state law, and enrolled Charles University students must make up at least 50% of its membership.

With all of this in mind, the world’s leading universities have rules in place regulating public announcement of an institution’s name. As such, HSE University also follows the best global practices in this regard.

January 21, 2020