Russian institutions of higher education in international rankings: the problem social and environmental sustainability

Abstract

The article analyzes the place of Russian institutions of higher education in the world leading university rankings not only by educational indicators but also taking into account social and environmental impact. For the study two of the most authoritative rankings: Shanghai University ranking and «QS World University Rankings» were selected, as they are recognized by the majority of the global academic community and try to tackle the world’s greatest environmental, social and governance challenges. The appeal to the international research is due to the fact that recently the importance of the compliance of Russian higher education with leading world standards has been admitted not only at the highest level, but also in the professional circles. We have analyzed the results for the last several years, the basic criteria of the international rankings, the place of Russian universities, and identified positions in which Russian universities are inferior to leading universities World University Rankings.