New Trends in the Development of the University Sector

Abstract

Evgeny Balatsky – Doctor of Economics, Professor, Director of the Centre for Macroeconomic Research at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation. Address: office 219, 4, 4th Veshnyakovskii passage, Moscow, 109456, Russian Federation. E-mail: evbalatsky@inbox.ru

This article discusses the current contradictions in the functioning of the traditional university system in Russia. It is shown that the classical format of lectures and seminars is becoming seriously out-dated, as modern students seek to learn through active dialogue (rather than the monologue inherent in traditional lectures). The paper also reveals the crisis among university chair professors, whose research (if any) often lacks relevance and who rarely produce positive knowledge. It is argued that current higher education also suffers from three other problems: it is generally too expensive, it takes too much time and is inadequate for modern realities. Some of these problems are currently being addressed through the emergence of distance education. Distance education enjoys the competitive advantage of being more flexible, cost efficient, affordable and diverse. Additionally, it benefits from economies of scale, because with existing technologies the supply of distance education can be increased without additional costs. Experimental calculations, carried out by the author, evaluate these economies, the costs and profitability of the new system and show that it has many advantages. This emerging trend is then extrapolated to discuss the possible future of the university system, and, particularly, whether it is realistic that an oligopolistic structure could emerge, where the whole market would be divided between major world universities. The author also discusses the possibility that national universities will stop developing their own educational programs and will adapt courses from major world universities to the national contexts and audiences from other universities.