Ensuring Information Openness by Higher Education Institutions of Ukraine

Abstract

The article attempts to explore the concept of “information transparency” as a legal and scientific category; to analyse the modern theory and practice of this requirement on the example of leading higher education institutions of Ukraine, including Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, National Technical University of Ukraine “Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute”. The study assessed not only the communicative and informational, but also the marketing and image functions of the educational institution official website. Since the target audience of the higher education institutions websites consists not only of students and staff but also of entrants, their parents, government officials, employers, foreign colleagues and partners, the representation on the World Wide Web can be a key factor in forming a positive or a negative impression. Therefore, the method of content analysis of official websites of leading higher education institutions in Ukraine determined the characteristics of attractive and at the same time ergonomic structure of the site: information should be available to those who are significantly influenced or can be influenced by the organization; it should be timely, evidence-based, presented in a clear and objective way so as to enable the target audience to accurately assess the impact of the organization’s decisions and activities on their interests.

Keywords

• information openness
• educational institution
• higher education institution
• official website
• target audience