The article addresses the problems of network interaction organization in Russian higher education system. The problems are divided into several groups: organizational, methodical, and concerning the informational basis and individualization of student study process. Prospective solutions of the problems for Russian universities are provided too. Solutions are based on network education program being developed in module and competence form and individual education program constructed with the preference to student wishes. Problems of organization of network interaction with foreign universities are considered separately. There are also offered the prospective approaches to international education program realization. One of them can be teaching of interesting for foreign students modules in English or their additional training in learning Russian.

The article analyzes the necessity and possibility of achieving a new quality of engineering training. In the light of the society trends, the article considers the guidelines for improving engineering education. The authors systematize the requirements to the educational process ensuring effective development of students’ professional and universal competencies. One of the hindrances is an inadequate readiness of teachers, employers, students to perform new functions. It is concluded that in the face of the unsolved problems, it is advisable to implement a phased transition to a new engineering education. It is necessary to realize at each stage not only the possible at that moment changes in educational process, but also measures that can help to resolve contradictions and create the prerequisites for a successful transition to the next stage. The article describes the most effective measures of the first stage of improving engineering education: the creation of university education-al standards, the use of project-based learning, the contest of lecturers, the independent assessment of educational outcomes, the interaction with employers, the elaboration of a system of activities with schoolchildren and etc.

The article focuses on one type of educational monitoring – monitoring of results of students’ educational achievements. Through a prism of modern processes and innovations in the practice of higher education the authors consider functions of monitoring and its problem zones. The paper emphasizes that there are significant changes in teachers’ role and essential target changes in the student contingent. The authors highlight the importance of taking into account the widely introduced practice of gamification while implementing the monitoring processes in education. The effectiveness of monitoring is stipulated by the effectiveness of information exchange between the monitoring system and management system.

Russia’s economic development is extremely uneven. This statement is also applicable to the development of higher education system in Russia. What is the situation in the regions? The article examines the educational potential of the subjects of the Russian Federation on the basis of eleven year practice in the preparation of Educational rating of Russian regions. The rating indicators cover the different participants in the higher education market and allow to draw conclusions about their interest in the development of education in the region. The presence of the concentric model of the distribution of educational services in the regions, and the active process of “collapse” of the “educational bubble” that arose in Russia by 2008. In addition, the results of the analysis of the Educational rating of Russia regions are compared with the findings in another rating product – Rating of the academic activity of Russian regions. It is noted that some of the regions evidently underutilize the existing educational potential.

The article presents the principles of collaboration between higher pedagogical education and employers. The system of the principles works for improving the quality of higher pedagogical education and its ability to meet the demand of all the stakeholders. The following principles are grounded: scientific basis of collaboration between pedagogical university and employers (systemcreating), openness of pedagogical university education space, stakeholders’ personal position in educational process, integration of innovations and traditions in the process of teacher training, the unity of regional education space, and the corporate unity in the process of identification of stakeholders’ demand.

The article addresses the issues concerning the implementing of effective contract in higher education institutions. The author analyzes this problem through a prism of possible increase of labor productivity of university teaching staff and adduces criteria for the evaluation of the efficiency of peofessors’ work and for assigning the stimulating payments. The author points out that there is a devaluation of the initial sense and understanding of the term “effective contract” towards its use as an administrative “whip”. It is treated in terms of a new “managerialism” and considered as an instrument of Russian universities’ entry into global rankings. So, the professors are imposed to fulfill financial and commercial duties. Professor’s conversion into a business unit won’t become the effective mechanism of improvement Russian higher education. The trust labour relationships shouldn’t be replaced with market trust relationships. The author comes to a conclusion that the system of effective contract is still undeveloped and demands the further analysis both on institutional, and at the functional level.

The article presents the authors’ technology of interdisciplinary open-ended engineering. This technology is an integrated teaching method that significantly increases the practical component in the educational program. It creates conditions to overcome the shortcomings in engineering education. The basic ideas of the technology of open-ended engineering, the experience of their implementation in higher education and the authors’ vision of teaching technology are examined in the article. The paper highlights the main stages of development process of the technology of open-ended engineering to prepare students in higher school of engineering (Ural Federal University). As well as the complex of methodological tools and procedures. The presented organizational model of open-ended engineering technology integrates the functions of creation and implementation of all educational program. The authors analyze the characteristics of students’ educational activity while implementing projects according to the technology of open-ended engineering and present the intermediate results of the application of the authors’ technology in engineering education process of the undergraduate engineering students.

The Russian Federation needs engineers to provide innovative economy. The project of continuous professional training of engineers was developed in Kazan National Research Technological University that is based on a new type university benefits: developed system of professional education; integration of education process and scientific research held in university laboratories and scientific centers; opportunities of network cooperation and international collaboration; implementation of modern educational technologies including e-learning. The project illustrated by “Processing Technology of Polymers and Composite Materials” training program is multi-level and has continuity in both content and competences to be developed. Promising part of this training is study placements of Ph.D. students and specialists that are based on network cooperation with universities and partner-companies.

The article highlights the changes in the training content of programs at higher educational institutions due to the implementation of the Federal State Educational Standards of the third generation. The authors stress the necessity of flexible learning content development that meets the requirements of the Federal State Educational Standard of the third generation, along with the requirements of professional standard of the labor market and the needs of students. The purpose of the article is to define methodological approaches, principles and methods of designing the structure and content of the optional part and its interlinkages with the compulsory part of bachelor’s programs. Using the methods of didactic analysis, and summarizing pedagogical experience, the authors propose the framework of designing flexible content of vocational training at technical universities along with linkages within the content of the compulsory and optional parts of the educational program. On this basis, there is achieved matching and conjugation of the educational standard requirements, professional standards and the requirements of the regional labor market.

There is a widely spread opinion, that contemporary higher education experiences a severe crisis, because its educational methods, programs and standards do not correspond to the modern social demands. The structure of developed and developing countries has been changing rapidly under the influence of scientific progress, but the educational standards and programs don’t keep up with these changes. To explore the situation and to ground the future changes is the task of philosophy of education. It is necessary to state first of all that the modern society may be called multiple-elite. But all of the elites are grounded on intellectual achievements, which are also multitude. Hence a new task for the modern higher school can be formulated. It should provide this new society of multiple elites with high-skilled and competent specialists. So, the intellectual component of higher education increases significantly. Hence the pressing demand for the penetration in the epistemological structure of higher education.

The article attempts to analyze the key ideas of the philosophy of Merleau-Ponty in its relationship with the education phenomenon. Borrowed the old idea about education as a cultivation of capacity for logical inference, as well as ability to investigate and to find solutions to problems, the author demonstrates that these notions reflect a false view of reason as somehow separate from motion and body. Basing on the unity of mind and body, the author shows that one of the main goals of education is to engage and disclose body as a source meaning making. The importance of such curriculum areas as drama, dance and music lies in their possibilities for giving students experience of embodiment.

The article analyzes the possible use of modern learning management systems in the context of Russian tertiary education. It outlines the currents trends in higher education and summarises the experience of LMS use in some European countries and the USA. The focus of the analysis is on the requirements to be met by LMS to correspond to progressive pedagogical ideas, thereby improving the quality of education.

The article discusses the conception of “flexible learning” in the context of implementation in traditional educational process. The author highlights the experience of flexible learning organization in the learning process of the students of the educational programs “Applied Informatics” (bachelor level) and “Information Systems and Technology” (bachelor level) by using web resources for practical training. Flexible learning provides additional opportunities for students’ independent work, provides individual control over solving of tasks, allows using personalization in the framework of traditional academic learning. Flexible learning improves the techniques of students’ self-education and long-life education and advances the development of IT professionals’ competencies. It helps students to develop personally-oriented electronic information-educational environment including using of mobile devices.

The purpose of the study is to develop a methodology for assessing the impact of research activities of undergraduate and graduate students via student electronic portfolio. Research methods included analysis of information on existing forms of research activity of bachelor, master and postgraduate students, requirements to the performance of research work on each educational stage. The main result of the study is the positioning of student electronic portfolio as a modern and effective means of monitoring students’ educational achievements, assessing the development of students ‘ professional competencies, solving organization, planning, and implementation problems. This is an effective tool for qualitative/quantitative evaluation of learner’s research activity implemented as part of the educational process and parallel to it. Pedagogical monitoring is characterized as a modern means of monitoring and evaluating the impact of research activities, ensuring the efficiency and availability of information. The authors identify the principles of focus and predictability, objectivity, integrity and continuity, development and self-organization, of regularity and consistency in the implementation of pedagogical monitoring. The paper also grounds relevance of the point rating evaluation of students’ research activity performance as the most adequate and efficient system demonstrating the success of each student. The paper has shown the stimulating effect of the regular pedagogical monitoring of students’ research activities by means of electronic portfolio.

The article presents the experience of Tver State University in creating quality management systems (QMS), provides the information on the participation of the University in the procedures of an external independent evaluation of the education quality, the involvement of students in the process of evaluating and improving the quality of educational services of the University. We consider the practical aspects of quality management formation and the formation of the internal system of monitoring and quality assurance, the achievements of TSU to improve the quality management systems.

The paper addresses the problem of positioning regional universities in the socio-economic system of the Russian Federation. The authors dwell on the current trends in the development of Russian higher education, supported at the state level. On the example of the Tver region the paper shows that the allocation of a strong university in the region has obvious competitive advantages and creates the basis for its faster growth. Large universities that integrate a wide range of training and educational programs and able to concentrate scientific and research potential on their territory can become serious “players” on the stage of innovative development of the country. The university’s fundamental and applied research is becoming the driving force of intellectual resource and the innovation process development. The authors focus on the mechanisms for achieving strategic goals on the basis of networking cooperation and integration of educational, scientific and innovative activities.

The article highlights the main elements of the programme aimed at modernization of the educational activities of Tver State University. Today it faces a challenge to be a key figure in the development of Tver region. The implementation of the project approach and the system of mutually agreed projects and tasks will ensure a qualitatively new level of the entire education system of the upper Volga region. The authors dwell on the main projects in the education sphere implemented now by Tver State University.

Any educational institution should care about future employment of its graduates. Almost every university has its own Job Placement Centre. Sharing experiences between such centres is a way to make their work more effective and to raise its quality and as a result to increase graduates’ competitiveness. The article focuses on the activities of the Regional Graduate Job Placement Centre of Tver State University that provides an integrated training of students for their recruitment on labour market. The training starts from the first year of studies and develops skills necessary to start a successful career. The Regional Graduate Job Placement Centre cooperates with employers who keep them informed about any vacancies for young people without any work experience.

The scientific activity of the Botanical Garden of Tver State University is focused on conducting fundamental and applied research. Botanical Garden plays a leading role in the development of scientific bases and methods of conservation and protection of the natural flora, introduction to conducting tests. Employees of the garden are working on the creation and maintenance of in vitro collections of living plants (mostly rare and endangered species of natural flora and other groups of interest for research and educational purposes. The most interesting collection contained in the Botanical Garden of Tver State University is a fundamental collection of rare species of Tver region and spore plants. Most of the collections are on display, they are available to garden visitors. Botanical Garden of Tver State University is a scientific-educational center. The main areas of scientific activities are: the introduction as a way of conserving biodiversity, bryophytes, myxomycetes, the development of methods to preserve the rare plants of the Red Book of Tver region, development of complex programs aimed at raising the ecological consciousness of different groups of population.