Study of the Expectations of Employers-Partners of Educational Institutions as a Necessary Element of Strategic Development and Creation of the University Image

Abstract

The problems of image are now becoming a strategic management concern for higher educational institutions since they affect the level of satisfaction and loyalty of all parties interacting with the institutions. Efficient image management can be critical to the survival and success of an organization in the context of government funding reduction and a highly competitive environment. The article analyzes the results of a survey on the Anketolog.ru platform which involved 52 respondents and was aimed at collecting the expert commentaries of potential employers engaged as tutors in the educational process at Baikal State University (BSU). The survey revealed assessments of the quality of training provided by the system of higher education, assessment of the current BSU’s graduates employment efficiency, as well as the level of BSU’s graduates’ satisfaction with the quality of their training and skill level. The «word cloud» method enabled the authors to determine what skills (competencies) obtained by the graduates the potential employers consider the most important, and to find the right wording for them and for the relevant courses to be included in the academic programs. Therefore, the analysis of the survey results provided the data on the demand for specialists trained at the university and the requirements for their skills and characteristics expected by potential employers, which helps to determine possible strategic prospects for BSU’s cooperation with potential employers in the 5-year period to come. Though the results of the study are of a practical value for Baikal State University, they might be useful for any university to build up its image.