Search

This paper challenges the view that internationalisation of higher education is a 'global public good' by examining the growing tension between centres and peripheries in higher education. We argue for the need to develop new conceptual frameworks of internationalisation that recognise the uneven landscape of higher education, and that take greater account of the local (socio-political and geographic) contexts in which institutions are situated. Drawing on a recent study of universities in the less explored Eastern regions of Russia, this paper shows how Klemenčič's integrated approach to higher education internationalisation provides a useful conceptual framework for exploring and potentially guiding the internationalisation process in higher education institutions in the periphery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

EU-Russia higher education cooperation has continued despite global tensions including Crimea incorporation. One example of this cooperation is the development of Finnish-Russian double degree programmes. This paper focuses on institutional environments where double degrees develop and asks how and why they produce uncertainty from inside Finnish and Russian universities in the period of this unfavourable political situation. The matryoshka model is applied to understand the institutional environment of a university and the institutions around it. The institutional nature of a double degree is determined by comparative analysis of how internal university stakeholders in Finland and Russia perceive a programme’s benchmarks. The study is based on the analysis of interviews conducted in partner universities. This paper discusses how perceptions of double degrees influence uncertainty in programme provision within and between institutional environments in Finnish and Russian universities. In addition, the level of institutionalisation of the double degrees may be evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined the role of peer review in the quality assurance system developed for the regulation of higher education institutions in Russia. Given their negative attitude towards the state's attempts to increase control over universities, how can the participation of academics in regulatory activity be explained? This essay applies resource allocation theory to suggest that engagement in academic service might depend on an individual's performance of their core professional task: research. Results indicate that Russian academics who perform relatively poorly with respect to publications and citations in selective journals are more likely to engage in academic citizenship in the form of inspections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the link between the efficiency of regional higher education systems and the rates of regional economic development between 2012 and 2015 in Russia. The efficiency scores are calculated at the institutional level using Two-stage Semi-parametric data envelopment analysis. Then, the scores are aggregated at the regional level. We formulate an economic growth model that considers the efficiency of regional higher education systems as one of the explanatory variables. As an econometric method, we employ a robust GMM estimator. The findings highlight a positive, and statistically significant effect of higher education institutions efficiency on the regional economic growth. We also found negative spillover effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers new challenges for Russian universities and the state, including flourishing and widespread corruption, politicization and state pressure, and student activism, and hypothesizes on how these three may be linked. To do so, this paper uses systematic research of media accounts from 2007 to 2012 in order to investigate student activism and its possible links with corruption and university politicization. This paper develops a theoretical extension that explains the corruption and coercion mechanism as applied to student activism, and places emphasis on higher education corruption and state pressure applied to universities. This study concludes that students are more interested in fighting for their economic rights and fulfilment of contractual obligations by the universities, while remaining politically inactive. This is normal for modern Russian society, where market reforms in higher education gain momentum, while democratic changes in the country remain very slow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews some government policy measures aimed at strengthening competition in the Russian university market and looks at the best international practices in this area. It analyzes the competitive behavior of universities under the current government policy on higher education and research and development and suggests an approach to assessing the efficiency of government stimulation of competition among universities and to predicting the outcomes of applying existing stimulation tools. This paper presents the results of assessing the current level of competition in the Russian university market using a nonstructural method, an adjusted Panzar-Rosse competition assessment model. We used the value of grants received by universities as part of government orders as one of the model factors and also analyzed the effects of other factors describing the size, entrance requirements, and research activities of universities. This article investigates how university income depends on the value of grants received (a ratio of total income to the size of grants) and on the number of students and teachers. The level of competition in this market is characterized by the elasticity of the total income of an average university based on the value of grants received. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article is based on a survey carried out among 2,428 ninth-graders from 64 high-performing schools in St. Petersburg, Russia. In the study, we examine the relationships between socioeconomic background, extracurricular participation, and educational outcomes. The findings demonstrate high levels of participation in out-of-school, compared to school-based, extracurricular activities. Extracurricular participation was also shown to be associated with better grades and, to some extent, with higher levels of university aspirations. The relatively small estimate sizes indicate, however, that extracurricular participation is not a major factor in differences in educational outcomes. Nevertheless, since participation was higher among socioeconomically more advantaged students, and grades and/or levels of university aspirations were higher among those who participated, we argue that extracurricular participation should be understood as part of social reproduction in Russia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses official Russian discourse on educational diplomacy—that is, discourse that prioritizes the political rationale for internationalization of higher education. When Russia promotes its higher education abroad and recruits international students to Russian universities on the territory of the Russian Federation (RF) or abroad, it engages in educational diplomacy as part of its public diplomacy activities. Thus, in official discourse, cross-border education should also serve foreign-policy goals. Economic, cultural, and academic rationales do co-exist, but they are instrumental to the political rationale. This becomes evident with the emphasis on the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) as the “target audience” for Russia’s higher education promotion and the main recruitment area, in line with Russia’s foreign-policy priorities; and the understanding that cross-border education would help Russia to enhance its negative external image and that alumni would function as “Russian diplomats” after returning home. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Field training is seen as a central component of the discipline of Physical Geography and an essential part of the undergraduate curriculum. This paper explores the structure and relationships between fieldwork and theoretical courses and the abundant experiences of field training in the undergraduate curriculum of 37 Russian universities. It details a case study of the Faculty of Geography, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia's largest center of geographical scholarship and training with 860 employees, which admits about 1000 undergraduates and 180 PhD students annually. Here, the total duration of field training extends up to 18 weeks annually and involves 14 (11 Physical Geography) specialist departments. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper describes how the Excellence Model® developed by the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) can be used and applied within higher education, with practical examples accompanying the Model in a Russian University to raise management quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the history of Christianity in Russia dates back to the tenth century, the history of private Christian higher education in Russia is no more than a decade. This paper first explains the historical reasons for this fact and then describes the contemporary development of faith-based private education in Russia over the past decade. When Russia's system of higher education first developed, both the system and the Russian Orthodox Church were under the centralized control of the Russian government. Thus, although Christian perspectives and practices influenced Russian higher education, the Orthodox Church did not start or control universities. The period of communist control in Russia meant that Russian Orthodox perspectives and practices in Russian universities were abolished. Only in the post-communist era have a small number of Christian colleges and universities begun to emerge. These schools represent an interesting cross-section of Christian groups and a unique element in Russia's emerging system of private education. These institutions face numerous and unique challenges in the current Russian climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Universities have long been seen as hotbeds of student activism. Yet institutions of higher education differ in their capacity to serve as mobilising structures. This study argues that history of activism, quality of education and local political climate influence a university's potential to foster student protest engagement. Using a case study approach, the essay traces how a configuration of structural and cultural factors at three universities in western Siberia shaped Russian students' involvement in the 2017 anti-corruption protests. At the same time, it demonstrates how universities in contemporary Russia are used as an instrument of authoritarian control to suppress anti-regime mobilisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent decades have witnessed a distinct worldwide trend of launching national programs and projects to develop and expand a group of the so-called "world-class" universities with the aim of enhancing the quality and prestige of respective national systems of higher education. This article presents a case study that matches the results of 5–100 Project, an ambitious university excellence initiative in Russia (terminated in December 2020) against the originally set targets and criteria of success. In addition, the key elements of the project are compared to similar programs in other countries (e.g., the German Universities Excellence Initiative – Exzellenzinitiative). The following research questions determine the focus of the research efforts: (1) "What are the challenges in introducing university excellence programs in Russia and other countries? (2) What are the weaknesses of the program design and implementation? and 3) What strategy would likely ensure effective achievement of the program objectives?" Data are derived from published and unpublished materials, archival records, and interviews. Though primarily a comparative case study, this article offers implicit and explicit contributions to knowledge and literature on higher education systems worldwide. Institutional theory and resource dependence theory as well as political economy of "marketization" help frame a theoretical grounding for this primarily case study article. The undertaken study also seeks to contribute to the identification of key nationally and globally tied factors that define favorable conditions for enhancing excellence of higher educational institutions with measurable outcomes. It further outlines two major areas for further research on the subject. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the level of corruption in higher education in Russia. The sociological approach to the study of shadow economic relations in higher education aims to estimate the magnitude of the phenomenon and ratings its internal characteristics and the specifics of its manifestation in its territorial and sectoral aspects, the factors that give rise to it, and its consequences for the sphere of higher education and for society as a whole. Results show that the corruption situation in higher educational institutions is a reflection of the situation in the country. It notes that this deformation of the civic consciousness reflects the fact that very often, the legal field does not coincide with real life practices.

The historical prerequisites for the foundation and teaching of neurology at Kazan University are described; the relationship between the history of Kazan Imperial University Kazan medical university and neurology school is shown. Brief biographies of outstanding representatives of Kazan Neuroscience (D.P. Skalozubov, V.M. Bekhterev, L.O. Darkshevich, N.O. Kovalevsky, N.A. Mislavsky, A.V. Kibyakov, A.S. Dogel, A.V. Favorsky, L.I. Omorokov, and Y.Y. Popelyansky) are presented. The description of scientific interests of the Kazan neurological school and its specific features related to the one century period since 1885 are described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the design and implementation of the first working master of public administration program in Russia. This program has been in existence at the Urals Academy of Public Administration (UAPA) in Yekaterinburg since 2001 and graduated its first class in 2003. The development of the program from 2001 through 2004 was aided by a U.S. State Department Newly Independent States Colleges and Universities Partnership Program (NISCUPP) grant. The article examines why public administration education is important to Russia and how UAPA is implementing innovative public administration education through its MPA program while also meeting the national standards for such education issued by the Russian Ministry of Education. At the current time, the Urals Academy is partnering with London Metropolitan University under a British government Russian-UK Partnerships in Higher Education (BRIDGE) grant to increase the number of students in the MPA program, to build faculty expertise further, and to prepare to meet the challenges of European integration as negotiated in the Bologna Process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses student science societies and special-interest circles which are among the most venerable forms of corporate association among students in colleges and universities. The first such associations, the "Assembly of University Students for Exercises in Composition and Translation" and "Friendly Science Society," came into being at the University of Moscow, Russia. The author of this article relates how scientific and technical circles began to be widespread after the first Russian Revolution and attempts to examine the different work style characterizing the circles. College students in Russia have always been characterized by a certain amount of local patriotism, which is why quite a few were certain preparing themselves to fulfill noble missions for the good of their home.

This article investigates careers of early-career academics in the Russian academic system as it strives to improve its position in the global academic landscape. The typology of "boundaried" and "boundaryless" careers is applied in order to analyze careers in Russia. Two types of academics were identified: "connectors" and "conservationalists." "Connectors" are more likely to embrace research orientation than "conservationalists" and tend to alter their positions in academia based on research reputation in the global professional community, whereas "conservationalists" are oriented at the hierarchies of positions within universities and country-specific academic credentials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article deals with social, psychological and pedagogical aspects of teaching mathematics students at universities. The sociological portrait and the factors influencing a career choice of a mathematician have been investigated through the survey results of 198 first-year students of applied mathematics major at 27 state universities (Russia). Then, psychological characteristics of mathematics students have been examined based on scientific publications. The obtained results have allowed us to reveal pedagogical conditions and specific ways of training mathematics students in the process of their education at university. The article also contains the analysis of approaches to the development of mathematics education both in Russia and in other countries. The results may be useful for teaching students whose training requires in-depth knowledge of mathematics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes how Russia’s networks of higher education institutions contribute to their host regions in terms of the following three major facets: the economic development; the human capital development; and the innovative development. To ensure the analytical framework used derives relevant and representative findings given the nature of the Russian socio-economic environment, the authors implement a customized methodology that factors in the most appropriate components from various international best practices in assessing university effects on comprehensive societal development. The study will be of interest to a wide audience of stakeholders in higher education and broader contexts, including policy professionals at the federal and regional levels, institutional leadership, researchers and analysts, students in socio-political, economic, and educational majors, etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We attempt to prove the hypothesis that, under certain conditions, a phenomenon of propitious selection may arise on the higher education market: When talented university entrants favor applying to branded universities, the latter are able to automatically build up a positive reputation without having to actually improve the quality of their educational process. We have performed an econometric modeling and regression analysis on a set of data that were obtained from a survey of Moscow university freshmen to show that high school graduates with high scores on the Unified State Exam (USE) really are oriented toward branded universities and that these prospective students believe that obtaining a prestigious degree is even more important than entering any particular profession. Entrants lack complete information about the quality of education at any given university. The analysis of university rankings presented in this article shows that they are unable to completely solve this information asymmetry since they contain signal distortions introduced by their ranking methodology. These rankings primarily prioritize the research activity of faculty members, and they ignore their teaching performance and work with students. Therefore, often universities design their policies in such a way as to privilege the criteria that are used in rankings, and they focus on improving precisely these indicators at the expense of other considerations. As a result, branded universities are able to distinguish themselves from conventional higher education institutions not by actually providing higher quality educational services, but by selecting the best applicants and benefiting from the powerful peer effect of having these students study together. In this way, these universities can produce excellent graduates that ensure their positive reputation in the eyes of employers and at the same time increase their brand value by raising their position in the rankings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article argues that Vladimir Putin's regime launched support programs for the leading Russian universities in 2005 because of a perceived threat of the political mobilization of youth, similar to the one that triggered “color revolutions” in Serbia, Georgia, and Ukraine. The support programs created cleavages in the university community, covered an attack on university autonomy, and made the containment of possible anti-regime student mobilization a part of an implicit agreement between the regime and the universities. The historical coincidence of the “demographic hole,” which caused a shrinkage of the higher education market, and high oil prices, which provided the necessary resources for the regime, made this implicit agreement possible. The article contributes to the research on authoritarianism, youth mobilization, authoritarian backlash after the color revolutions, and the development of research universities in Russia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alumni could be considered a large source of support for their alma maters in such areas as lobbying, volunteering (e.g. mentoring), information, donations, investment, and networking. However, in order to increase alumni contribution, it is necessary to identify key factors that influence alumni loyalty. In this article, the authors develop an integrative model of intention to alumni loyalty (IAL model), which proposes that alumni loyalty is determined by the main model dimensions of relationship quality, philanthropic effect, and discretionary collaborative and student dropout behavior. In order to validate the proposed model structure, the authors test the IAL model using the structural equation modeling approach and empirical data from a survey of leading German and Russian universities. The results indicate that a predisposition to charity, benefits from alumni association, and quality of teaching are crucial for intention to alumni loyalty for both Russian and German universities. Suggestions for the work of alumni associations are derived from the findings. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The author reflects upon the issue of the global education market, where leading universities turn into a matter of national prestige. But what could the specifics of Russian academic profession be, and are we ready to develop world-class universities? By analyzing data from surveys, conducted in Russian universities with the methodology of the international project Changing Academic Profession (CAP), the author comes to a conclusion that national universities require a significant transformation in order to successfully enter the global academic field. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Today, combining academic study with employment is typical for a wide range of students. There are many reasons why students choose to work, from the need to integrate into the job market to the desire to fill spare time. The present article investigates how various study and work combinations affect the academic performance of students in their final years in Tatarstan higher education institutions. The article examines the first set of results produced by longitudinal studies commenced in 2009 by the Institute of Education, NRU HSE (National Research University, Higher School of Economics). Two factors—work schedule and correspondence between the type of work and the future profession—are used to identify five types of study and work combinations. Various combinations reveal different levels of academic performance, different plans for the future, and somewhat different reasons for having entered an institution of higher education. Regression analysis of the data showed that only one type of study and work combination—non-professional fulltime employment—has a negative effect on academic performance. Other strategies of student employment showed no statistically significant effect on academic performance. All other conditions being equal, professionally employed students perform better than their non-professionally employed counterparts, and sometimes even better than those who do not work at all. The article concludes that the optimal strategy for students is to combine study with professional part-time employment. In this case, work becomes an additional source of knowledge and skills, as well as a motivation to learn. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article analyzes the possible causes of the degradation of certain public universities in Russia. On the basis of in-depth interviews with representatives of universities with deteriorating performance, certain external and internal causes of institutional degradation are identified. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The author assesses the preferences of the faculty and teaching staff at Russian universities with regard to their research and teaching duties. She investigates how they structure their work schedule and academic productivity, and how universities with and without special status differ. The study is based on data from two international studies conducted in Russia and other countries: International Academic Profession (1991–93) and Changing Academic Profession (2007–12). In Russia, most university instructors prefer teaching to research, in contrast to the preferences of academics in many other countries. The distribution of the preferences of instructors at institutions with “research university” status is no different from that of instructors at institutions without special status. Although the research workload of instructors who prefer to conduct research is greater and the tasks they perform are less routine, they experience less stress and have greater job satisfaction. The author concludes that the distribution of instructors' preferences reflects the peculiarities of the higher education system in the USSR and the Russian Federation, including the focus of its universities on teaching, the allocation of research functions to institutions that are separate from universities, and the poor funding of universities in general and their research functions in particular. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article presents the authors' views regarding the lack of value in analyzing the common structures and trends seen within the BRIC developing countries of Brazil, Russia, India and China. Introductory comments are given noting that while the use of BRIC-centered analysis in economics is popular, it is not particularly helpful for education. Profiles of the particular features and challenges of each country are then given in turn with closing comments on their shared difficulties.

The decline in the number of young people in Russia will mean fewer students in higher education, and a reduction in the number of professors by about a quarter. This will require difficult decisions to be made, the rationale for which has not yet been decided on, with uncertain consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social inequality in access to superior quality higher education in Russia is due to the unequal development of the regions of Russia. The country's two biggest cities and the areas adjacent to them account for a quarter of Russia's infrastructure that offers young people an access to a higher education. The regional colleges and universities in Russia have weaker connections with the sphere of science, and provide lower educational quality than institutions in the capital cities. The most important way to solve this problem is to decentralize the development of science in Russia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the elaboration of institutional research practice, which is an important element of any research university. The study addresses three questions. First, how did institutional research arise, and what is its raison d'être in a research university? Second, how can institutional research contribute to the improvement of the research university? And third, what are the most viable alternatives regarding the structure, staffing, and responsibilities of the institutional research office? To answer these questions, the article will draw on the historical and current state of institutional research data from different countries derived from an extensive literature review and several case studies conducted while launching and running the institutional research office at a newly established research university, the Higher School of Economics in Moscow, Russia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data on supplemental professional education in Russia indicate that in the future it will be increasingly provided by private companies and independent educational institutions rather than by state-funded organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article highlights the significant connection between a quality education and the quality of society in Russia. The authors focused on the appropriate curriculum for higher education that could help in national development and the methods in teaching such curriculum. Researchers examined the basic challenges of education in the 21st century, since the state and tendencies of higher educational development differed in radical ways. These basic problems include the need of a radical restructuring of the educational system; formulation of principles of a new educational programs design; and, the search for means of practical implementation.

The article provides information on the university, professors and students in Russia from 1910-1915. It discusses the different reforms made in the system of instruction in the country and the changes in the system of administration. The article relates the role played by higher education and by universities in Russia at the start of the twentieth century. It also highlights the role of universities play in the development of national and world culture. Furthermore, it states that higher education has to be vehicle of enlightenment in society and among the people in the country.

The article examines the attitudes of school and college students toward military service in Russia. In 2004, two sociological surveys were conducted including one covering school students in Tiumen during their period of field training assemblies and the other covering college students. According to the findings, there has been a substantial increase in the number of school students and college students who take a negative attitude toward military service. Both groups stated that the main difficulties of military service include harassment, and the great physical, nervous, and emotional stresses.

The article presents a study that explores the strategies, approaches and mechanisms employed by Russian private colleges and universities to maintain their legitimacy despite legal and normative pressures by the government. The authors analyze the tension between state control and free enterprise. A brief overview of the higher education quality assurance system in the country is presented. The impact of state-imposed legitimacy pressures on the quality and the competitiveness of educational institutions is discussed.

The Elektronnaia biblioteka (Electronic Library) of the Faculty of History at Moscow State University (MGU) holds online texts that relate to different periods of global history. It contains about 100 texts on Russian history electronically published within the MGU project, as well as links to hundreds of other historical sources on Russian history on the Internet. Project texts are usually accompanied by short annotations with comments on the role of the document in Russian history. Another important component of the Electronic Library is an example of a topic-oriented historical Internet resource (TOHIR) on Russian/Soviet labor history. Online access to the catalog of resources within the TOHIR is provided on the basis of MySQL and PHP-scripts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article considers some patterns of ranking higher education institutions which are used in the Russian Federation to reveal strengths and weaknesses in meeting the national individual, societal and state-related needs, as well as those of the international academic community concerning relevant information on Russian higher education institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses Urals State Technical University-Urals Polytechnic Institute (USTU-UPI) located in the Ural Mountains region of Russia. USTU-UPI is one of the most prestigious polytechnic institutes in the Russian Federation, and its graduates supply the labor market needs of the highly industrialized region. The authors present data and information on the various faculties and degree programs offered by USTU-UPI, which have been expanded to include social sciences and humanities, as well as career training.

This article discusses the impact that the Bologna Declaration will have on higher education in Russia. The Bologna Declaration is a compact of European nations pledging to standardize higher education across borders to allow students and instructors to move freely from one university to another and for universal recognition of diplomas. The author states that given the financial and sociocultural differences between Russia and the other signatory countries, it is important that Russia not just reflect and carry out directives from beyond its borders but should take an active part in developing the cultural and civic aims of the standard education as put forward by the declaration.

The article focuses on issues and topics related to the gap between school and college in Russia. Educators are becoming concerned with the decline in the overall level of education of the rising generation. Although the issue has been discussed in different contexts, both in mass media and in the scientific press, indications show that not much has been done to address the issue. This article into a number of aspects of the difficulties afflicting the system of higher education as a result of the decline in the overall level of training of students and the gap between the level of education of secondary school graduates and the historically established requirements of higher education in this country.

The last decade has witnessed a growing number of international exchange and training programs for educators, particularly in the areas of social studies. Dramatic changes in Central and Eastern Europe made the western, particularly the American, experience in civic education and teaching for democracy more and more desirable. In many instances, instructors from the US and western Europe have acted as experts in those programs. However, there are observations that challenge the success of the ‘West as Expert model.’ In the described study, a group of Russian faculty and administrators of teacher‐training universities was probed on questions regarding their attitudes toward foreign and native teachers and instructors. The results of the study demonstrate that, despite unanimous support for international education, all respondents, regardless of the length of their professional experience, demonstrated a slight preference for Russian teachers and instructors compared with foreign teachers and instructors. This preference is a result of differences in school cultures, determined mainly by specific features of every school, local cultural traditions, and prejudices and misconceptions of the local population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information on a survey related to the attitude of post-soviet students in Russia. Social-pedagogical surveys were conducted in various higher learning institutions in St. Petersburg, using a variety of sociological methods. The main places of survey included the University of Culture and Art and the Humanities University of Trade Unions. More than 1,500 students were surveyed. Some of the findings of the survey made it possible to judge the spiritual and intellectual world of today's young people. According to the survey 30 to 40 percent of college students hope to enter the ranks of the upper class or to become wealthy people. These students aspire to become members of the social elite, or more accurately the economic elite. The survey also highlighted another very important and attractive trait of the younger generation, which is their desire to be independent. They aspire to be on their own materially and spiritually. The author concludes that the majority of post-Soviet college students are ethically incomplete but intellectually developed people who are consciously striving for full self-realization.

This article addresses the failure to look at the issue of the higher educational institution in Russia as a corporation that has particular interests and orientations with respect to the surrounding social space: "Until recently, sociology in Russia did not pay due attention to the study of the organizational aspects of systems of education. The authors have pointed out the contradiction between the needs of society and the organizational structure of professional education. For the most part this is attributed not to the social organization of education but to the proportions in the structure of the contingent of students in particular areas of training. Analysis of crisis phenomena in the reproduction of the scientific and pedagogical potential of institutions of higher learning, for example, is generally confined to the social and economic context, and one gets the impression that the source of contradictions in the sphere of professional education relates only to the state level of administration...This shortcoming has gradually been surmounted, with the development of research on the structure of education as a social system and its functional organization."

Russia at the beginning of the twenty-first century has turned into a country of paradoxes. For example, even though society is increasingly dependent on education and science, it is spending less and less on them. As a result, the simple reproduction of the intellectual potential of the country's educational institutions finds itself in jeopardy. This article examines the actual situation in the financing of education in Russia and relates the exploitation of college instructors. The author asserts that economizing at the expense of college instructors can lead to intellectual impoverishment. It can also bring about disrupted continuity, deteriorated specialist training, and less knowledge in society.

The article focuses educational system in Russia. In the past ten years, the organizationally homogeneous Soviet system of higher education has been transformed into a heterogeneous set of educational structures, most of which have the term university in their title, a term that has taken on a polymorphous character at the present time. The institutional autonomy of educational institutions carrying out programs of higher education allows them considerable freedom in the choice of the means by which they provide for their development, but, on the other hand, owing to their diverse nature, it does not enable them to construct administrative models that are common to all kinds of educational institutions and to offer unified practical methods of operation under the new conditions.

Discusses the problem of the schoolbook in the system of sources of knowledge and means of training school teachers in Russia. Attitudes toward the publication of textbooks; Theoretical principles governing the creation of textbooks for institutions of higher learning; Issues surrounding the creation and functioning of college textbooks.

Describes the multiprofile college system for the development of professional education in Russia. Forecasting of educational processes in planning a professional education system; Importance of regionalizing the content of professional education; Regional approach to professional education; Criteria for posting grades for particular kinds of language activity.