Circular No. 15/2018/TT-BGDĐT stipulates the organization of activities, the use of email and websites for higher education institutions and teacher training colleges.

CIRCULAR

Regulations on organizing activities and using electronic mail and websites of higher education institutions and teacher training colleges and the websites of higher education institutions and teacher training colleges

__________________ 

Pursuant to Decree No. 69/2017/NĐ-CP dated May 25, 2017 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Education and Training;

Pursuant to Decree No. 64/2007/NĐ-CP dated April 10, 2007 of the Government on the application of information technology in the operation of state agencies;;

Pursuant to Decree No. 43/2011/NĐ-CP dated June 13, 2011 of the Government on providing information and public services online on the website or portal of state agencies;

Pursuant to Decree No. 72/2013/NĐ-CP dated July 15, 2013 of the Government on managing, providing, and using Internet services and information on networks;

Pursuant to Decree No. 27/2018/NĐ-CP dated March 1, 2018 of the Government amending and supplementing some Articles of Decree No. 72/2013/NĐ-CP dated July 15, 2013 of the Government on managing, providing, and using Internet services and information on networks;

Pursuant to Directive No. 34/2008/CT-TTg dated December 3, 2008 on enhancing the use of email systems in the operation of state agencies;

At the proposal of the Director of the Department of Information Technology,

The Minister of Education and Training issues this Circular stipulating the organization of activities and the use of electronic mail and websites of higher education institutions and teacher training colleges.

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation and Applicability

Article 1. This Circular stipulates the organization of activities and the use of electronic mail, websites, or portals (hereinafter referred to collectively as websites) of higher education institutions and teacher training colleges.

Article 2. This Circular applies to universities, academies, university-level schools, teacher training colleges, and research institutes assigned the task of training doctoral level (hereinafter referred to collectively as higher education institutions).

Article 2. Interpretation of Terms

1. Electronic information portal is the sole access point for educational management agencies and educational institutions on the network environment, linking and integrating various information channels, services, and applications through which users can exploit and utilize.

Clause 1. An email group is a collection of email addresses established for internal information sharing among participating email addresses. When a member sends to the common address of the group, all members of the group receive it.

Clause 2. RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is a standard format aimed at sharing content over computer networks.

Clause 3. The Dublin Core metadata element set is a collection of 15 basic metadata elements used to describe resources. Metadata refers to information describing characteristics of data such as content, format, quality, conditions, and other features to facilitate data search, access, management, and storage.

Article 3. General requirements for electronic mail and website systems

Clause 1. The design and construction of electronic mail and websites must meet the following requirements:

Point a) Compliance with technical standards on the application of information technology as prescribed in Circular No. 39/2017/TT-BTTTT dated December 15, 2017 of the Ministry of Information and Communications on the list of technical standards on the application of information technology in state agencies;

Point b) Use of second-level national domain name ".vn".

Clause 2. The electronic mail and website systems of higher education institutions shall be established in one of the following ways:

Point a) Self-investment in establishment;

Point b) Renting information technology services or using free services.

Clause 3. Management of electronic mail and websites at higher education institutions must ensure the following contents:

Point a) Establishment of regulations on management, operation, and use of electronic mail and websites;

Point b) Technical solutions to maintain continuous, stable, and secure operations of the electronic mail and website systems;

Point c) Regular upgrade and maintenance plans to meet practical needs and user-centered requirements.

Clause 4. Investment in building and staffing for the management and operation of electronic mail and website systems shall be carried out by higher education institutions. The implementation and operational costs of the electronic mail and website systems shall be balanced within the budget of the higher education institution.

Chapter II

ELECTRONIC MAIL

Article 4. Management, operation, and use of email

1. Universities shall be responsible for providing free domain-specific email (including address and storage space) to affiliated units, administrative managers, lecturers; encouraging provision of email to postgraduate students, graduate students, and undergraduate students to serve management, operational, and transactional activities on online platforms.

2. The regulations on the management, operation, and use of email at universities shall include at least the following provisions:

a) Provisions on the provision and administration of electronic mail;

b) Provisions regarding the content of information sent and received via email;

c) Provisions regarding the responsibilities of units and individuals when using email.

3. The management, administration, and operation of the email system at universities shall be assigned to a specific unit to carry out.

Article 5. Common Email Groups

1. The Ministry of Education and Training establishes common email groups for exchanging information between the Ministry of Education and Training and universities.

2. Common email groups provided and managed by the Ministry of Education and Training include:

a) Email group for heads of universities:

[email protected].

b) Email group for secretaries of universities:

[email protected].

3. Universities shall be responsible for contacting the Ministry of Education and Training (Information Technology Department) to register and update promptly the email addresses of heads and secretarial departments into the common email groups.

Chapter III

ELECTRONIC WEBSITE

Article 6. Functions and Duties of the Electronic Website

1. Establishing an online relationship between the university and related organizations and individuals.

2. Publicly disclosing information of the university in accordance with current regulations.

3. Providing complete, accurate, and timely official information of the university on online platforms.

Article 7. Principles for Providing Information on the Electronic Website

1. Information provided on the electronic website of the university must align with the viewpoints, policies, and guidelines of the Party, state policies, laws, and have legal value.

2. Information provided on the electronic website of the university must comply with legal provisions concerning cybersecurity, national security secrets, press, intellectual property rights, and internet information management.

3. When posting, quoting, or reusing information on the electronic website of the university, the author and source of the information must be clearly stated.

Article 8. Management, Operation, and Use of the Electronic Website

1. The head of the university decides to establish an Editorial Board to manage the content of the electronic website, assigning a leader from the university to serve as the head of the Editorial Board.

2. Regulations on the management, operation, and use of the electronic website issued by the head of the university shall specify at least the following contents:

a) Content required to be disclosed on the electronic website;

b) Procedures for receiving, processing, editing, updating, and handling information posted on the electronic website.

c) Timeframe for providing and updating information on the electronic website;

d) Responsibilities of units and individuals in providing, compiling, reviewing, and approving content posted on the electronic website;

đ) Provisions regarding technical management and operation of the electronic website.

3. The university assigns a subordinate unit to be responsible for managing and ensuring stable and secure operations for the electronic website.

Article 9. Application of technology and technical standards

The electronic information website of higher education institutions shall apply the following technologies, standards, and technical solutions:

1. Vietnamese Unicode character encoding standard TCVN 6909:2001 for data storage and information exchange on the electronic information website.

2. Technical solutions to support users accessing the electronic information website from mobile devices.

3. Solutions supporting persons with disabilities to access information as prescribed.

4. Solutions providing full-text search tools.

5. Solutions allowing RSS content sharing.

6. Dublin Core metadata standard.

Article 10. General Information about Organization and Administration

Higher education institutions shall provide and regularly update accurate general information about their organization and administration on their electronic information websites, including:

1. Introduction information comprising: mission, vision, development strategy; organizational structure diagram, functions, tasks, and authorities of the higher education institution and its affiliated units; summary of the formation and development process of the higher education institution; full name, position, telephone number, email address, and responsibilities of the leadership of the higher education institution.

2. Transaction information comprising: official address, telephone number, fax number, and email address of the higher education institution for transactions and receipt of information.

3. System of regulations and management documents related to the activities of the higher education institution.

4. Administrative procedure information comprising:

a) List of online services organized and implemented on the electronic information website of the higher education institution;

b) List of administrative procedures within the jurisdiction of the higher education institution, accompanied by procedures, files, processes, transaction information of direct handlers, processing deadlines, fees and charges (if applicable).

5. Information for propaganda, dissemination, and guidance on the implementation of laws, policies, and planning of the higher education institution.

6. A section for collecting opinions from organizations and individuals including: List of issues requiring opinions; content of the issue seeking opinions; contact addresses and email addresses for receiving opinions and deadlines for receiving opinions.

7. Encouragement for affiliated units of higher education institutions to establish separate electronic news pages within the system of the higher education institution's electronic information website.

Article 11. Public Information for Higher Education Institutions

Public information of higher education institutions and the deadline for posting such information on the electronic information website of the higher education institution shall be carried out in accordance with Circular No. 36/2017/TT-BGDĐT dated December 28, 2017, promulgating the regulation on public disclosure for educational and training institutions under the national education system, including:

1. Group of public information on quality assurance commitments and actual educational quality.

2. Group of public information on conditions ensuring educational quality.

3. Group of public financial income and expenditure information.

Article 12. Information on University and College Teacher Training Admissions

1. Information on regular university admissions, regular college teacher training admissions, and the deadline for posting such information on the electronic information website of the higher education institution shall be carried out in accordance with the Admissions Regulation for Regular University Programs and Regular College Teacher Training Programs, including:

a) Admission plan, admission information;

b) Information related to conditions, files, procedures, time, and location for registration, preliminary selection, and admission;

c) Necessary information for candidates to register for admission;

d) Admission results, admission scores, list of admitted candidates;

đ) School admission regulations (if any).

2. Information on distance learning bachelor’s degree programs and the deadline for posting such information on the electronic information website of the higher education institution shall be carried out in accordance with Circular No. 10/2017/TT-BGDĐT dated April 28, 2017, issued by the Ministry of Education and Training on the regulation for distance learning bachelor’s degree programs, including:

a) Admission announcement and related information on distance learning programs, admission results;

b) Regulations related to distance learning, distance learning programs, conditions ensuring quality for implementing distance learning programs, information on quality assessment of the higher education institution, employment situation of graduates after graduation for each major and each course.

Article 13. Information on Graduate School Admissions and Master's Degree Training

Information on graduate school admissions, master's degree training, and the deadline for posting such information on the higher education institution’s electronic information website shall be implemented in accordance with Circular No. 15/2014/TT-BGDĐT dated May 15, 2014, issued by the Ministry of Education and Training regarding the regulations on master's degree training, including:

1. Information on admission methods, number of admissions, admission time points within the year, and admission locations.

2. Information on supplementary study, rules for supplementary knowledge study.

3. Admission announcement information.

4. List of candidates eligible to take the exam.

5. List of successful candidates.

6. Information stipulated in Clause 9, Article 34 of the Regulations on Master's Degree Training issued together with Circular No. 15/2014/TT-BGDĐT dated May 15, 2014, by the Ministry of Education and Training.

Article 14. Information on Graduate School Admissions and Doctoral Degree Training

Information on graduate school admissions, doctoral degree training, and the deadline for posting such information on the higher education institution’s electronic information website shall be implemented in accordance with Circular No. 08/2017/TT-BGDĐT dated April 4, 2017, issued by the Ministry of Education and Training regarding the regulations on doctoral degree admissions and training, including:

1. Information related to doctoral degree admissions and training, admission announcements. The admission announcement clearly states the admission conditions, fields of study, list of advisors, enrollment quotas, application forms, application receipt period, and admission plan and method.

2. Time, location for organizing thesis evaluation, abstracts, and full texts of theses, new points of theses in Vietnamese and English or other foreign languages.

3. Full text of the thesis and complete abstract signed by the research student, advisor, and confirmed by the head of the higher education institution after supplementation and correction according to the requirements of the thesis evaluation board at the university or institute and the review board (if any).

Article 15. Information on Educational Quality Assurance and Diploma Issuance

Publicize on the higher education institution’s electronic information website the information on educational quality assurance and diploma issuance, including:

1. Certificate of educational quality assurance published no later than ten working days after issuance in accordance with Circular No. 12/2017/TT-BGDĐT dated May 19, 2017, promulgating regulations on higher education quality assurance.

2. Information on external assessment results, decisions and recommendations of the educational quality assurance council, results of recognition of meeting or not meeting educational quality standards.

3. Information on diplomas and certificates of the national education system in accordance with the management regulations for higher education diplomas and national education system certificates.

Article 16. Statistical Yearbooks on Education

Publicize on the higher education institution’s electronic information website the information on statistical yearbooks and education statistics, including:

1. Statistical yearbook of the higher education institution for at least the last five years or from the date of establishment for newly established higher education institutions.

2. Statistical yearbook includes the following basic information: Academic year, number of lecturers, teachers, professors, associate professors, doctors, masters; number of students, by types and levels of training; number of incoming students; number of graduating students.

Article 17. Other Information

The other information that must be disclosed on the website of higher education institutions includes:

1. Digital library system (textbooks, lectures, digital learning materials) integrated on the website of the higher education institution.

2. Online learning system (e-Learning) and virtual meeting rooms integrated on the website of the higher education institution.

3. Information about Party organizations, Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union, student associations, and other mass organizations.

4. Press releases, interview responses, and official statements of the higher education institution regarding related issues.

5. Answers to students' inquiries related to the higher education institution.

6. Scholarship information, loan services, and other support services for students.

7. Career counseling and vocational guidance information.

8. Other information as prescribed.

Chapter IV

IMPLEMENTATION

Article 18. Responsibilities of Higher Education Institutions

1. Higher education institutions shall be responsible for implementing and using email and websites in accordance with this Circular.

2. Incorporate plans for building, upgrading, managing, and operating email systems and websites into their five-year and annual work plans.

3. Be responsible for managing email accounts participating in email groups, be responsible for the content of information sent to email groups, and check and process emails received in common email groups as stipulated in Article 5 of this Circular.

4. Report annually or at any time upon request to the Ministry of Education and Training (through the Department of Information Technology) on the implementation and use of email and websites.

5. Create favorable conditions for the inspection, evaluation, and ranking of the operation results of email systems and the content of information on the website of the higher education institution.

Article 19. Effective Date

1. This Circular takes effect from September 11, 2018.

2. This Circular replaces Circular No. 07/2010/TT-BGDĐT dated March 1, 2010, issued by the Ministry of Education and Training, which regulates the organization of activities, use of email, and websites of higher education institutions.

Article 20. Responsibility for Implementation

The Director of the Office, the Director of the Department of Information Technology, the Heads of relevant units under the Ministry of Education and Training; Rectors of universities and academies; Principals of teacher training colleges; and related organizations and individuals are responsible for enforcing this Circular./.