Higher Education System Reform in Russia: Problems of Legislative Regulation and Standardization

Abstract

The paper is devoted to the problems of reforming the system of Russian higher education in the context of its legislative regulation and standardization. The author proceeds from the fact that the absence of its own independent concept of education in the context of the aggravation of the geopolitical situation and withdrawal from the Bologna process is one of the main threats to Russia’s national security. The author attempts to objectively assess the current state of legal regulation in the field of higher education. To this end, the paper characterizes the changes in the parameters of standardization in the field of education in the context of domestic reforms carried out in recent years and due to the entry into the Bologna process. The author argues that legislative innovations at this historical stage determined a number of systemic problems of public administration in the field of education. One of the most difficult and negatively affecting the quality of education problems is associated with the non-alternative introduction of a competence-based approach to the development of educational programs. The author concludes that the state policy in the field of higher education should be reoriented to return to the fundamental approach in higher education according to the general rule for all specialties and areas of training. At the same time, the competence approach should be implemented reasonably and only for those specialties for which such an approach is objectively more effective. The author considers it necessary to consolidate such a fundamental decision for domestic higher education as a principle of state policy in the field of education and suggests one of the possible options for the legal and technical formalization of this principle.