CLUSTERIZATION OF UNIVERSITIES AND JUSTIFICATION OF THE ECONOMIC MODEL OF THEIR DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

The destruction of infrastructure, migration of teachers, students and potential applicants abroad, chaotic and unpredictable decisions on further cooperation with higher education institutions (HEIs), and cuts in budget funding for higher education are factors that make universities vulnerable. Understanding the real sustainability potential of universities and the key components of the economic model of development is a tool for making management decisions to ensure their sustainability. The purpose of the article is to substantiate the methodological tools and test the methods of clustering universities to identify the key components and indicators of the economic model of development. In the course of the study, on the basis of a panel sample of 35 HEIs, using a dynamic approach, three groups of indicators for building clusters were calculated: scale indicators determined by changes in the contingent; financial indicators characterizing university revenues and expenditures in relation to other indicators; indicators of external competitiveness assessment. The clustering of universities was carried out in the RapidMiner Studio software product using the Auto Model tool, employing the k-Means method, which made it possible to combine universities into relatively homogeneous groups according to the selected indicators and the rates of their changes. Main scientific results are as follows: methodological tools for clustering universities and substantiating economic development models have been identified; clustering of universities by scale, financial indicators and external competitiveness assessment has been carried out; models of university development have been identified and substantiated depending on the value of key indicators; the main components (enrollment, income and expenditures) and indicators of the economic model of their development are identified, the change of which is decisive for assignment to a particular cluster and is a tool for making management decisions to ensure the sustainability potential of HEIs.