Withdrawal from the Bologna Process has initiated discussions of future development of the level system of higher education in the Russian Federation. The article systematizes the main directions of criticism of the “Bolognaization” of Russian higher education and presents the author’s approach to rethinking the level system, formulating proposals for its new outlook. It is indicated that in view of the dynamic nature of the professional sphere and the growth of professional mobility, the multi-level system of higher education tends to be more promising, and it is advisable to build its new contours ensuring its multi-format, structural flexibility, openness, internal and external integration.

Taking into account these principles, an updated interpretation of the main levels of higher education (Bachelor’s, Specialist’s, Master’s, Postgraduate) is proposed, a new vision of a multi-format Master’s program is presented. The author formulates proposals regarding flexibility of study periods at all levels and possible schemes for building individual educational trajectories in the system of inter-level mobility. Transition from the paradigm of the level system of higher education to the paradigm of the integrated education system is substantiated as a promising growth vector.

This paper presents the results of a quantitative analysis of the contribution of grant activities to ensuring the sustainable development of higher education institutions in the Russian Federation. The authors consider sustainability in five aspects of activity: educational, research, international, financial and social. Results of higher educational institutions performance monitoring (2014-2022) formed the empirical basis of the study. In this research, we used the quantile regression model to identify the effects of inertial development and the effects associated with grant activities in the dynamics of universities performance indicators. We estimated the model parameters separately in each of the decile groups. Thus, we tested the central hypothesis of the study about the quantile heterogeneity of the sensitivity of university target indicators to the intensity and effectiveness of grant funding. This paper provides evidence of significant contributions the inertial nature of the development of universities, representing advanced development groups, into the sustainability of target performance indicators. However, in terms of sensitivity to the effectiveness and intensity of grant activities, they are inferior to universities from catch-up development groups in almost all aspects of their activities. The identified patterns of sensitivity to grant funding indicate a high potential for convergence (“catch-up development effect”) in the higher education system of the Russian Federation. These patterns can improve the effectiveness of management decisions in higher education by focusing on growth points with high sensitivity to grant support.

The article is devoted to the identification and analysis of indicators of the risk of low-quality education in Russian universities. In 2021-2022, the approach to higher education inspections has changed significantly: accreditation monitoring has been introduced, it includes eight indicators. However, this monitoring was formed by the expert community, so the results of its testing in practice have yet to be analyzed. The purpose of this work is to identify risk factors for estimation the likelihood of violations of mandatory requirements by universities, and to develop recommendations for expanding the set of risk indicators included in accreditation monitoring. The main methods used in the work are methods of quantitative analysis, including econometric modeling. The novelty of the work is determined by the approach used: risk indicators are identified using a quantitative econometric analysis of data on the observed characteristics and results of inspections of Russian universities in 2015-2019. The results of the study indicate the possibility of supplementing the set of accreditation monitoring indicators. As additional indicators, first of all, various characteristics of research activities of universities can be used. Such a change in accreditation monitoring will increase its effectiveness as a preliminary assessment tool used in the implementation of a risk-based approach to state control. In cases where the assessment of even extended monitoring is ambiguous, the quantitative model proposed by the authors can be used.

This article presents the results of applied research aimed at developing topical approaches to solving the problem of dysfunctionality of universities’ digital infrastructures in social media. In the context of the large-scale digitalization and networking processes of modern society, higher education institutions are faced with new challenges that threaten their further sustainability and reduce their competitiveness. As a possible solution to this problem, the authors propose a comprehensive study of university network structures in social media and further implementation of actual practices of online profile management and digital communities. By applying the method of social graphs and automated tools for processing open digital data, a universal algorithm for building and interpreting the resulting visual models is defined. The article substantiates the basic problems faced by modern universities in developing their own digital structures, as well as the ways to solve them, aimed at improving digital infrastructure management, establishing effective communication with target groups, consolidating the organizational structure, developing educational and scientific communities, and promoting the university brand. The proposed interactive digital maps have a high practical potential for direct implementation in the management process of the Russian universities.

Recently, there has been an increase in the number of students who combine study with work. This requires special attention of universities to such students and updates the study of educational success factors. The study is relevant as considers working students as subjects of learning and life, from the standpoint of personal and professional development experience acquired at the university, involvement in the educational process, satisfaction with learning, and well-being.

The purpose of the empirical study is to identify the features of educational experience, subjective well-being and self-change potential among working students. The study involves 290 students of bachelor and specialist programs from five universities. The sample includes students who work for more than half a year (N=95), work from time to time (N=90) and study only (N=105). The results showed that the educational experience is most formed among those students who combine their studies with work in the specialty which is being received at the university. Long-term and occasionally working students differ from non-working students by a higher desire to participate in developmental activities, confidence in their ability to successfully solve the problems of learning and social interaction, self-directed learning skills, tendency to analyze and self-control their learning.

Also, working students are superior to those who are just studying in the self-change potential and the subjective well-being level. It is concluded that the success and well-being of working students are largely determined by their resources of subjectness and aspiration for development. This allows them to function successfully, combining educational and labor activities as two areas of experience accumulation. Directions for improving university practice in terms of creating conditions for the educational success of working students are proposed.

The article is devoted to the study of the attitude of university students to the problem of harassment in universities, including the identification of their existing stereotypes. Within the framework of this research, domestic and foreign studies of harassment in the academic environment were analyzed and a questionnaire was developed to identify the ideas of university students about the essence and practices of harassment. In total, 250 full-time students from one of the Russian universities took part in the survey.

The conducted research has shown that in the students’ view, harassment is not limited to sexual harassment and at the same time includes many practices that were previously fully or partially acceptable for the field of education. In the minds of students, there is a denormalization of bullying, evaluation and commenting on personality and appearance, discrimination based on gender, age, political views and other parameters. The most common stereotypes among students are that harassment is a media construct, that the older generation of men is the bearer of harassment practices, and only women become victims; there is also a widespread belief that the victim herself should cope with the situation in case of harassment. It was also recorded a polarization of opinions in the student environment about the reality of the problem and the essence of harassment and the strategies of action in case of harassment.

As a result of the study by the authors of the article, proposals were formulated on the implementation of forms of preventing harassment and resolving conflict situations at the university level.

The issue of discouraging students from having an induced termination of pregnancy is still relevant. Studying at university is a socialization stage, coming after finishing school or college. In this period students may not only choose their future profession, but also their partner. Their relationship with the opposite sex may result in the unplanned pregnancy that can affect the student’s plans. In this case, owing to various reasons, the student is likely to seek a termination of the pregnancy. However, this medical intervention could result in negative reproductive health outcomes. Moreover, until now it has been carrying moral stigma. The present paper aims to research students’ opinions concerning support measures, provided to students by their universities in case of the pregnancy during their study. The results of the survey through the Google Forms have revealed the students’ need for these measures. Thus, 91,2% of 650 respondents stated that the university support is vital for both the pregnant girl and the future father. On the basis of the received answers the author suggests changing the policy of the universities by increasing their role in discouraging students from the termination decision and provide recommendations for the creation of the anti-crisis team, offering the support to the students in difficult life situations including cases of the unplanned pregnancy. In addition, the author deriving the conclusions from polling the students is the first to have suggested the various means of interaction between the university and other non-profit organizations that can provide assistance to pregnant women or mothers in need.

The abrupt transition to distance learning during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic triggered an urgent need for online resources at higher education institutes (HIEs). Creating analogues of traditional full-time courses demanded for competencies and time resources. In this case ready-made massive open online courses (MOOCs) were supposed to be the most obvious and fastest solution for HIEs. However, analytics demonstrated that educational institutions did not consider MOOC a promising option. This contradiction served as an incentive to conduct this research, which includes the analysis of both non-reactive (MOOCs platform analytics) and reactive (online survey and interviews with instructors) data. Based on our research, we can conclude that the reasons for not integrating MOOCs at Russian HIEs during the COVID-19 pandemic are the following: the peculiarities of MOOCs format, low motivation of instructors, administrative risks, and the uncertainty of HIEs’ and national policies on MOOCs integration. This article will be useful for those who determine educational policy in Russia, university administrators, methodologists responsible for the development of digital educational technologies in HIEs, as well as researchers of higher education.

The article is devoted to the study of the processes of changing innovative learning technology in the conditions of a typical educational process. The study was conducted on the example of end-to-end design technology (based on the CDIO methodology in accordance with its standards) for bachelor’s degree in technical areas of training. The study used methods of expert assessment, written survey, content analysis, structural-logical and statistical analysis. The experts were engineers of design departments of industrial enterprises, teachers of engineering disciplines of the university and undergraduate students. A review analysis of the understanding of educational innovation available in the scientific literature is carried out. A concise description of the end-to-end design technology for a training and production workshop that meets the criteria of educational innovation is presented. Based on the expert assessment, a detailed analysis of the influence of the conditions of the typical educational process of the university on the change of the specified learning technology at the level of the characteristics of students’ academic work and its results is made. Data on changes in innovative technology according to the criteria of twelve CDIO standards, as well as its impact on the formation of hard and soft skills of engineers before and after adaptation are presented. A comparative analysis of the assessments of changes in teaching technology made by students and experts is carried out, on the basis of which conclusions are substantiated about: 1) the nature of the degradation of educational innovation when it is introduced into the standard learning process; 2) the special role of the first stages of end-to-end design technology for the formation of effective skills of educational and practical work, which partially compensate for the shortcomings of the educational process caused by its adaptation to the conditions of a typical university education. A hypothesis is also put forward about the reasons for the low efficiency of educational innovations in the educational process of universities.