Change of Higher Education Model: University Viewpoint

摘要

This paper deals with public demand concerning the public function of modern higher education and analyzes near-term prospects of its development. On the one hand, Russia demonstrates stable demand for higher education, which has always been and remains among important social values. That is why the majority of parents prefer their children to graduate from a higher educational institution. On the other side, the gap between education and real demands of the economy has negative effects on its quality. According to Rosstat, which analyzed employment of graduates from higher educational institutions in 2010-2015, about 30% of the Bachelor's program graduates and 16% of the Master's program graduates found job in professions they were trained. The main reason for low demand is their inadequate vocational qualification. The low competitiveness of recent graduates is due to traditional conservatism of higher education system with its emphasis on classical academicism, detriment of applied orientation of educational programs. The set development vector can be changed only by linkage of interests of the State, business and higher education, the latter will have to adapt to demands of environment. So, it is obvious that updating of federal state educational standards is a question of renovation of the whole system of higher education. The article argues in favor of the necessity of higher education reforming, describes its aims and conceptual aspects of upcoming changes; interfacing of educational programs and professional standards in order to achieve close interrelation between employers and universities, and approaches to solving the problem of quality of specialists training. The article analyzes a mechanism how to link mutual interests of the State, employers, higher educational institutions, graduates, and the regulatory framework of forthcoming reforms. The authors analyze difficulties, which higher educational institutions will face in the near future, when new educational standards will be introduced.