Do Universities Use Competitiveness Indicators in Their Development Programs? An Evidence from Russia
Do Universities Use Competitiveness Indicators in Their Development Programs? An Evidence from Russia

Summary/Abstract: Most higher education systems set objectives to improve competitive positions of the national universities as an instrument to increase country competitiveness. The goal of the paper is to analyze which indicators of competitiveness are used by the Russian universities in their development programs. Research undertaken included content analysis of the development programs and strategies of 81 Russian universities from all groups and categories, and further comparison of the results using 6 main indicators (education, employability, research, faculty, differentiation, strategic positioning) to see the gaps and make recommendations for the strategic planning. Research results show that universities in the top categories of Federal, National Research, and Core institutions, which need to meet specific government requirements in strategy and planning, have balanced development programs in all the competitiveness areas. Most other universities responsible for the mass of country’s human capital education often neglect such areas as positioning, identification of the target audience and defining the strategic vision for the future. Common drawbacks in using the competitiveness indicators were identified, and recommendations about the structure and methods of development programs assessment were formulated to assist higher education institutions in analyzing past success and planning future efforts.

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