The authors propose to use vector representation of university areas of activities for ranking universities. Two novel indices reflecting UN experts’ recommendations are introduced. Based on expert estimates, a priority vector of weights enables to represent the university activity.

The outcomes of the Webometrics ranking, published by the Spanish National Research Council in 2014 are correlated against the new regional university rankings compiled by the Russian agencies Interfax and Expert-RA. It is shown that coverage by the regional rankings can be increased by grouping the participating universities according to profile. The quantitative indicators are shown for higher education institutions worldwide and separately for the CIS HEIs occupying the first 100 places in the 2013 and 2014 rankings.

The article describes the possibilities of foresight in determining the long-term prospects of development of society and its institutions, including the institution of education. Stresses the necessity of taking into account national, political, socio+economic aspects when carrying out foresight. The article substantiates the importance of the effective work of the Institute of social partnership, and responsibility for the decisions in the field of educationalreform.

The key theme of the paper is managerial decision making process in Russian academic science and higher school. The author states that education and science have an international character but also have a domestic specificity resulting from the national history and culture. So, the managerial decisions aimed at reforming of social institutions should beviewed through the historical perspective, and the core principle in this process is “do no harm”.

The paper aims to illustrate a heuristic potential of an interpretation of the university as a scientific and social institute from the mode-2 science perspective. Thedemand of recontextualization of science and higher education leads to understanding of the transgressiveness of knowledge acquisition, and this means that the opposition between the scientific and social roles of the university may be overcomed. Taking into account that the most part of the contemporary Russian universities have never carried out a significant scientific function, the successfulness of the settlement of the opposition between thescientific and social roles of the university strictly depends on the role that the governmentmay play to provide an adequate grounds for the university to answer the demand of recontextualization.

The article is devoted to the identification and analysis of trends in the development of higher education in Russia in terms of its modernization. The article shows that the core of higher education today is its focus on the needs of the market. In connection with the development of globalization, the need to improve the competitiveness of the national economy primarily through innovative products, higher school faces a new challenge for preparation of a professional, capable for independent search for knowledge, to innovate and create new quality products. Modernization of higher education in Russia requires consistency in systemic reforms, as well as substantial state support.

In the light of social trends the requirements to the educational outcomes and accordingly to the educational process in higher education have been significantly modified.The purpose of this article is to analyze the models of educational process that meet the trends in higher education, to analyze the readiness of education subjects to implement them, to identify possible risks of important pedagogical innovations. The basic directions of innovation in higher education are systematized in the article. It is shown that the pedagogical innovations should provide constructive character of learning and activation of students’ personal mechanisms of professional development. At the sam e ti meimplementation of new educational technologies is a necessary but not sufficient condition for the transition to a new quality of educational outcomes. The essence of the educational process related to the nature of the interaction between its subjects can be changed only through the development of students’ personal resources and through formation of teachers’ new professional-pedagogical position. Otherwise risks of falsification and imitation mayarise in modernized educational systems.

Quality and efficiency of an institute of higher education activity depends not only on subdivisions that implement education process. Numerous subdivisions that are not directly engaged in providing education services must function with maximum effect. This dictates the necessity to pay attention to the personal efficiency of managers in highereducation and to consider the ways of optimizing their activity. The article examines severaltime management instruments that are directed at more rational organization of working time of an institute of higher education managers and employees, such as corporate agreements. Applying these instruments in the activities of institution of higher education forms corporate culture of time management and helps to optimize business processes.

The article focuses on the problems concerning organization of career guidance at higher education institutions and presents an experience in organization of career guidanceat Belgorod National Research University. Basing on the survey conducted in 2012-2013, the authors reveal the typical shortcomings in arranging career guidance, such as the lack of strategic approach, predominance of enrolment measures over career counseling and career coaching, insufficient support of young people who deal with career-related challenges, inadequate reflexion of university administration. Besides strategic omissions, the authorsexplore the tactical mistakes such as vague addressee, inadequacy of methods, insufficientprocurement of resources. In a conclusion the authors formulate recommendation for raising the efficiency of career guidance measures.

Round table discussion of the journal “Vysshee obrazovanie v Rossii” was heldon March 14 2014 within the framework of the Fourth International regional IGIP conferenceand a methodological seminar of the State Technical University - MADI. The participants were the members of the Editorial Board and the experts in teaching personnel training.Participants: Prikhodko V.M. (Prof., Rector, Moscow Automobile and Road Construction Institute), Zhurakovsky V.M. (Prof., NTF - National Training Foundation), Verbitskiy A.A. (Prof., Sholokhov Moscow State University for the Humanities), Kondrat’ev V.V. (Prof.,Kazan National Research Technological University), Senashenko V.S. (Prof., Peoples FriendshipUniversity of Russia), Bednyi B.I. (Prof., Lobachevsky State University of Nizhni Novgorod), Shestak V.P. (Prof., Financial University under the Government of the RF), Minin M.G. (Prof., National Research Tomsk Polytechnic University), Sazonov B.A. (Prof., The Federal Institute of Development of Education), Medvedev V.E. (Prof., Bauman Moscow State Technical University), Muratova E.I. (Prof., Tambov State Technical University), Krasinskaya L.F. (Prof.,Siberian Transport University), Robotova A.S. (Prof., Herzen State Pedagogical University),Sazonova Z.S. (Prof., Moscow Automobile and Road Construction Institute), Sapunov M.B. (Editor-in-Chief of the journal “Vysshee obrazovanie v Rossii”). The reports of the participants and the discussion between them is presented.

The functions of a disciplinary blog are considered in the integrated process of traditional learning and e-learning. The guiding possibilities of independent learning for graduate students and for teacher’s professional training by using a blog as an educational and methodical complex are discussed. The main functions of the disciplinary blog are the following: providing with information and content, guiding of a user, stimulation of users’ thinking, training and self-control, socialization, formation of students’ outlook.

The paper deals with the prerequisites of application of mobile technologies in institutions of higher education taking into consideration Russian specifics. The author suggeststhe construction of the university informatization strategy, based on using mobile devices; discusses the approaches to mobile devices management in the information space of the university; offers mobile data services to support a variety of organizational and educational processes.

The rector of Orenburg State University has granted an interview to the journal. The main themes covered the issues concerning the role of the university in the regional development, university’s responsiveness to the interests and requirements of the main stakeholders in vocational education. The university became the winner of the competition “Cadres for regions” conducted by the Ministry of education and science of Russian Federation.

This article focuses on the technological aspects of creation of bachelor’s educational programs providing assignment to graduates qualification « an applied bachelor».The basis of this technology is the modular principle of content formation and a cluster modelof interaction with potential employers.

The article describes the areas of cooperation between the OSU Institute of Aerospace and an industrial enterprise “Strela”, which became a partner of the university in the scientific, educational and financial sectors of engineers training and retraining. There have been marked out successes and mutually beneficial areas of cooperation, such asmodernization of resource and technical base of the institute, skills upgrading and vocational retraining of the enterprise’ workers, co-participation in grant competitions. The authors also formulate directions for further development of partnership.

The article is devoted to the problem of ensuring the quality of bachelor’s degree programs in electrical power engineering. The authors discuss the core principles and features of the organization of applied baccalaureate programs in the conditions of the FSES and FSES3+. The analysis of the current state of the energy industry in the Orenburg region is presented and the need for engineering personnel is substantiated.

The article deals with the issues of integration of education, science and production by the example of Kumertau Branch of Orenburg State University. The author proposes the ways to gain an optimal solution to arrange an effective interaction between employers and university through the system of supplementary professional training in Kumertau Branch.

The article substantiates the need to increase the efficiency of interaction of higher education institution with employers for solution of the problem of training high-quality personnel. The authors show the role of practical work in development of students’professional competences and skills.

The article is devoted to the implementation of a cluster approach in organizationof practice+oriented education for bachelors at Orsk humanitarian-technological institute. The experience and traditions of engineering and pedagogical staff training is presented in the context of the modern trends of higher education development at the regional university. The prospects of the cluster system are defined based on the regional needs.

Experience in organization of engineering students training at the Karaganda State Technical University according to the bachelor degree program on the basis of metasubject principles within modular approach is presented. The core element of the programfastening various disciplines of a module in a whole is an actual complex project. The perspective direction for course and diploma engineering projects can be considered creation of educational equipment by students of various courses working in one team. This approach, on the one hand, provides, continuous updating of laboratory base used for knowledge-intensive, dynamically developing specialties, and on the other hand, enables to organize elite bachelor technical training.

The article presents an experience in organization and realization of doctoral programs at Vilnius Gediminas Technical University. The goals, peculiarities of organization, scope and content of educational programs, the requirements for applicants are characterized. The author dwells upon the thesis defense procedure. The article is prepared within the framework of TEMPUS project «NETCENG» - New Model of the Third Cycle in Engineering Education Due to Bologna Process in BY, RU, UA. The project “NETCENG” is financially supported by the European Commission. The European Commission is not liable for the content of this publication.

The system of training medical specialists in internship and residency is a priority direction in medical university. The specialized training program in the field of dermatovenereology, developed at the Department of Skin and Venereal Diseases of Ural State Medical Academy, involves using the grade point average system, which meets the current requirements and has proven its effectiveness in the learning process.