What ended the unification of universities. The merger of Russian universities is another attempt to reform education

Image copyright getty Image caption The merger of the Sorbonne and the University of Pierre and Marie Curie should revive the spirit of the old Parisian university

Universities across Europe are interested in mergers like never before. About a hundred mergers have taken place since the early 2000s. Why?

The Association of European Universities has published a map of Europe, which shows the number of universities in 2000 and their gradual decrease by 2014.

This trend is only getting stronger. In 2013, there were 12 mergers, and in 2014, 14 university mergers.

What is behind these changes?

Are these mergers a way to boost the university's place in the rankings of higher education institutions and one of the ways to get research grants by concentrating the best minds?

Thomas Estermann, director of governance, funding and public relations for the Association of European Universities, says yes, such super-universities have more influence.

Global coverage

It's easier for large universities to improve their rankings and maintain a good reputation, Estermann said.

Merging is also a good path to optimization and uniformity.

In some cases, this is also a good way to adapt to new conditions: a decrease in the birth rate in the world entails a natural decrease in the number of potential students.

The Association says that the universities of Denmark and Estonia in 2005 became the first in the field of the merger.

Estonia reduced the number of higher education institutions from 41 to 29 between 2000-2012. Tallinn University, for example, absorbed eight smaller institutes and colleges.

In Denmark, the number of universities has decreased from 12 to eight, and public research centers are merged into the structure of universities.

french fashion

France today leads in the field of higher education mergers. This initiative is supported by the government, it unites universities and research centers into umbrella "communes", after which the final merger can begin.

One of the largest associations, the "federal university" of Paris-Saclay today includes the Polytechnic School, the Commercial School of Paris and the University of Paris-South.

There is a very specific goal in this merger: to create a university that can take a place in the top ten of the best educational institutions.

Today, Paris is set to move forward in this endeavor following the successful mergers of the universities in Strasbourg, Bordeaux and Marseille.

In the heart of the Latin Quarter, it is planned to resurrect the spirit of the old Parisian university, which was divided after the student riots in 1968. To do this, two of the most prestigious Parisian universities will be merged - the Sorbonne and the University of Pierre and Marie Curie.

Then in 1968, the government allowed the University of Paris, founded in the 12th century, to be divided into 13 autonomous educational institutions according to the principle of specializations, and each received its own number from 1 to 13.

"Old Sorbonne"

Professor Jean Chamba, head of the Pierre and Marie Curie University, also called Paris 6, says: “One of the major restrictions on the activities of universities was introduced about 40 years ago, when they were divided into separate educational institutions by faculties. natural sciences, in another only humanities, in another only law or economic disciplines.

“Before the separation, the Sorbonne University taught science and medicine. Now the Pierre and Marie Curie University specializes in teaching these subjects, and the Sorbonne specializes in the humanities and arts. But in order to meet a rapidly changing world, we must create a university that unites all these disciplines."

"Today, there are no mergers among Parisian educational institutions, but they all work closely. For example, the Sorbonne University Group includes research centers, a private business school, as well as the Paris Sorbonne, the Pierre and Marie Curie University and several other educational institutions," says the professor .

In February, the election of the presidents of two universities - the Sorbonne and Pierre and Marie Curie - should take place. The new leadership will aim for a further merger of these universities, which should be completed by January 1, 2016."

"In a sense, we are recreating the old Sorbonne, but only in the 21st century," says Professor Jean Chamba.

Professor Bartholomew Jaubert, President of the Sorbonne, or Paris 4 University, is optimistic about the global unification of universities and the opportunities it will bring in the future.

"If this venture succeeds, a new model of universities will be created in France, with independent faculties and administration, but with the authority to represent the entire university," he says.

The French government welcomes such mergers, but leaves the final decision to the universities themselves.

Professor Chamba and Professor Jaubert share the same position regarding the merger of higher education institutions, however, they believe that the support of the teaching staff, administration and students is vital for the implementation of the project.

Autonomy, not absorption

Professor Shamba cites the experience of Germany as a successful example of the merger of universities. There, the University and the Research Center in Karlsruhe were merged, resulting in the creation of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology.

The purpose of this merger was to catch up with MIT in the US. Since the merger in 2009, the Karlsruhe institute has received 20% more students and the institute's research area has narrowed to the development of alternative energy sources.

From 2009 to 2013, university funding increased by 50%.

The new Aalto University in the Finnish capital Helsinki was created with government support.

To create it, the Helsinki School of Economics, the Helsinki University of Technology and the University of Arts and Design were merged.

The purpose of the merger was to increase the level in the international ranking PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment), where Finnish universities occupied the bottom lines, while Finnish schools rank well in the same ranking.

As a result, the university climbed 50 places in the QS World University Rankings.

However, not all mergers are ardently supported by the government.

The leadership of the University of Lisbon and the Lisbon University of Technology had to go to great lengths to convince the government that a merger was necessary in order to justify the expense that the merger of the two institutions entailed.

"University mergers require a lot of time and effort. Cost savings should not be the top priority, as the return on investment can take a long time. The goal of mergers is to create independent institutions, not to be absorbed by others," says Thomas Estermann, director of management, funding and public relations of the Association of European Universities.

Russia: voluntary association of universities

In 2011, at least 12 universities merged in Moscow, in St. Petersburg the Mechnikov Academy and the Academy of Postgraduate Medical Education, the Polytechnic University and the Institute of Mechanical Engineering, ITMO and the University of Low Temperature and Food Technologies, the Mining University and the North-West Correspondence Technical University merged.

In June of this year, the Ministry of Education and Science announced its readiness to unite universities in the regions into "core" universities with the allocation of funding until 2020. Over 20 educational institutions are already potentially ready to take part in it.

According to the head of the Ministry of Education and Science, Dmitry Livanov, both universities subordinate to the ministry and educational institutions of the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Culture and other departments will be able to unite. Each such diversified association will be able to apply for a five-year financing program - from 2016 to 2020.

He explained that the process of consolidation of universities, which is currently taking place, is due to demographics: graduation from 11th grade schools is sharply reduced, and universities with a small contingent of students are forced to merge with stronger and larger ones.

"Thus, this will be the second stage of the program for the consolidation of higher education in the regions, which was launched by the formation of federal universities," the minister said.

"We are only in favor of a voluntary merger of universities in the event that they experience a shortage of applicants or have a serious request from the region to create their own strong university," the official explained.

This year, only in Moscow, five large associations of universities have already been officially announced.

It was reported about the accession of MESI to the PRUE. Plekhanov, MSGU im. Sholokhov - to MSGU, MATI - to MAI, MITHT to MIREA and the creation of the Moscow Technological University on the basis of these two universities.

Members of the Academic Council of the Samara State Aerospace University named after Academician S.P. Korolev (SSAU) on March 25 supported the petition of the Academic Council of the Samara State University of Economics (SSEU) to reorganize the Samara State Aerospace University by joining the SSEU. A year earlier, another base university in the region, Samara State University (SamGU), joined SSAU. Valery Matveev, Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs, spoke to a RIA Novosti correspondent about the advantages and prospects of the united university.

- Valery Nikolayevich, is the consolidation of universities through a merger a purely Russian phenomenon or a global trend?

In the last few decades, this is a fairly stable trend that has emerged in Western Europe and the United States. Thus, the University of Grenoble in France was formed by merging three Grenoble universities - Joseph Fourier University, Pierre Mendes-France University and Stendhal University.

For example, the University of Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia has 12 institutions located on 10 campuses throughout the country - in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Malacca, Perak, Kedah and Johor. In China, the Beihang University, the Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and the Northwestern Polytechnic University (Xi'an) were created by merging.

- How is the consolidation of universities in Russia going?

In our country, the unification of universities began with the organization of federal universities. This is how Kazan Federal University, Far Eastern Federal University, Siberian Federal University arose. Now the process continues through the formation of flagship universities.

Many universities participating in the federal program to improve competitiveness "5-100" (for example, Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, Nizhny Novgorod State University named after N. I. Lobachevsky) were formed by merging individual universities.

The merging process is different. Sometimes educational institutions that are small in terms of the number of students and the number of teachers join large universities. Sometimes there is a merger of universities that are practically equivalent in these parameters. There is also a merger of both single-profile and multi-profile universities.

- What are the results of such a combination?

- First, the scale factor begins to work. When universities become larger, their material resources also increase. This allows the leadership of universities to concentrate efforts, first of all, on promising areas of development in the field of educational programs and scientific activities, to modernize the infrastructure.

Secondly, as a result of the unification of diverse universities, it is possible to form new areas of scientific activity at the intersection of different disciplines and, on the basis of this, create new educational programs - the development of biomedical technologies, for example. Engineering educational programs are reaching a new level, having received more significant support from information technology.

When merging SSAU and SamSU, for example, we plan to strengthen the fundamental training of first-year students, primarily in physics and mathematics. This will subsequently allow them to teach special disciplines in engineering areas of training at a higher level.

Thirdly, a large university is certainly more attractive to applicants - both from the Samara region and from other regions and countries. The university is becoming more visible in Russia and in the international arena, it has a large number of areas of training and specialties. This, in turn, gives students the opportunity to study not in one program, but in several. In our country, for example, many engineering students receive economic education in parallel.

The united university is becoming more attractive for foreign scientific and pedagogical workers, also due to financial opportunities.

- Does the enlargement of the university affect its popularity among employers?

- Undoubtedly, since a wide range of specialists are being trained here.

Our traditional partner-employers, such as RCC Progress JSC, Kuznetsov PJSC, other enterprises and organizations of the Samara region, are interested in new professional educational programs. The unification of the university allows you to create programs at the intersection of specialties at the request of organizations. For example, airports and airlines need lawyers who specialize in international transportation.

Finally, enlarged universities have more opportunities to interact with government agencies. Regional ministries and federal government structures are more likely to engage in dialogue with a few large universities than with a large number of medium and small universities.

- What has changed in the work of your university in connection with its enlargement?

- By the beginning of the new academic year, we will accept applicants already as the Samara National Research University named after Academician S.P. Korolev (shortly - Samara University).

As far as qualitative and quantitative changes are concerned, in restructuring we are moving from faculties to institutes. Four institutes were formed at our university in 2015: the Institute of Rocket and Space Technology, the Institute of Aviation Technology, the Institute of Engines and Power Plants, the Institute of Electronics and Instrumentation.

In February 2016, it was decided to create two more institutes - economic (on the basis of two economic faculties that were in SSAU and SamSU) and social and humanitarian on the basis of psychological, sociological, philological and historical faculties.

- What is the difference between an institute and a faculty?

— The differences are, first of all, functional in nature: the institute is engaged not only in educational, but also in scientific and economic activities. This allows for more effective training of students on the principle of "education through research". Although at the same time we do not completely abandon the faculties.

Institutes are created in the areas of educational and scientific activities. In particular, the Institute of Aviation Technology is currently focused on programs related not only to the creation of aviation technology, but also to its operation.

During the formation of this institute, part of the structures of the faculty of aircraft, which were engaged in the design, construction, production technology of aviation equipment, became part of the new institute. In the same way, it included areas of training for the Faculty of Air Transport Engineers related to the operation of aviation equipment.

The Institute of Rocket and Space Technology, which was actually formed on the basis of the Faculty of Aircraft, now concentrates educational programs and scientific activities related to the rocket and space industry.

- What advantages does an enlarged university provide to applicants?

- Applicants first enter the educational program that interests them. And then many of them have a need for additional knowledge. And this need can be realized by getting a higher education or taking additional education courses.

In this regard, a larger university provides more opportunities - both to its students and outside students. The latter circumstance makes it possible to attract more talented, professionally oriented applicants. This is especially true in today's demographic situation, with a shortage of applicants.

After the publication of the results of monitoring the activities of higher educational institutions by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, talks do not stop about what will happen to students and universities, in whose activities they found signs of inefficient work.

Working groups were created that determined the final decisions on what activities should be carried out in order to improve the position of each university. These events did not help all educational institutions, as a result, the universities that need to be reorganized or liquidated were determined. However, this must be done in such a way that students do not suffer. In this regard, the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation has developed a special document in which all the nuances are taken into account. This draft order is posted on the official website of the department.

Thus, a reorganized or liquidated university, from the moment the founder issues a document on termination of activity, must notify students about the start and procedure for transferring students within 30 days, and also name the host university

According to the document, the translation is provided by the founder of the reorganized educational institution with the written consent of the students. The draft order notes that the forms and conditions of education at the new university should be preserved.

In case of termination of the activity of the university, as well as cancellation of the license, deprivation of state accreditation, expiration of the certificate of state accreditation, the founder independently selects possible host educational institutions and sends requests to them to obtain their consent or refusal to accept students, the document says. The management of the host university must inform about its decision in writing within 10 days. The founder must, before issuing a document on reorganization or liquidation, determine the circle of host universities and bring this information to the educational institution, or reflect this information in the act.

In addition, the ministry notes that from the moment the founder issues the act of termination of activity, the university must, within ten days, post on its website information about the start and procedure for transferring students, indicating the host university and its location.

When transferring, the university sends to the host university a list of students, copies of curricula, academic certificates, personal files, written consents of students, contracts for the provision of paid educational services (if any). The host party issues an enrollment order on the basis of a written consent and an expulsion order of the reorganized university.

“In the event of a student’s refusal to transfer to the proposed host educational institution (which the student indicates in a written application for transfer refusal), an educational institution is not responsible for his transfer. The head of the university or a person authorized by him issues an order to expel the student due to the impossibility of the educational institution to carry out activities in accordance with the procedure established by the legislation of the Russian Federation. The order must indicate that the student refused to be transferred to the host educational institution, ”the document says.

The Ministry of Education and Science is stopping the process of merging universities, head of the department Olga Vasilyeva said on Monday. In fact, this decision cancels the process of reorganization of higher educational institutions launched by the former Minister Dmitry Livanov. As a result of the reorganization, in two years the number of universities and branches in Russia has decreased from 2486 to 1450. According to experts, the minister's statement confirms that "the previous mergers were not voluntary, as stated." Previously, the united universities have already asked the new minister to cancel the reorganization orders and return the autonomy to the institutions.

On Monday, at a meeting of the Federation Council Committee on Science, Education and Culture, Olga Vasilyeva partially revealed the immediate plans for upcoming changes in educational policy. It turned out that one of the main innovations was the suspension of the reorganization of higher educational institutions: "For the time being, we stop all associations, until each specific trial." The process of reorganizing universities by joining weaker universities to stronger ones was launched under the former head of the Ministry of Education and Science Dmitry Livanov: “There are universities that, for one reason or another, turned out to be uninteresting for applicants. In fact, this means a slow death: a reduction in the number of teachers, the closure of departments, and so on. In this case, we offer universities to unite,” Mr. Livanov explained.

He emphasized that all associations take place on a voluntary basis when applying to the Ministry of Education and Science of scientific councils. Nevertheless, scandals regularly erupted around the merger of universities. So, in 2015, the Moscow Aviation Technological Institute (MATI) was recognized as inefficient and attached to the Moscow Aviation Institute (MAI).

The united university was headed by MATI rector Alexander Rozhdestvensky, who was accused of mass layoffs of MAI employees. The petition for his resignation gained 10.5 thousand signatures. In April 2016, the petition of the students of Moscow State Law Academy named after. O. E. Kutafin against the merger with the State University of Management was supported by almost 2 thousand people, but despite this, the merger took place. A petition against the merger of RHTU with MISiS collected 20,000 signatures - as a result, the Ministry of Education and Science reported that "academic councils of universities did not apply to the ministry with such a proposal," and denied information about the impending merger. In 2016, among others, the Russian State Geological Prospecting University named after V.I. Ordzhonikidze (MGRI-RGGRU) and Russian State University of Oil and Gas. Gubkin, Moscow State University of Forestry (MGUL) and MSTU. Bauman, Moscow State University of Printing. Fedorov and Moscow Polytechnic University. The Ministry of Education and Science conducts annual monitoring of effectiveness, failure to meet its criteria threatens universities with the deprivation of a license or suspension of accreditation. In total, from 2014 to March 2016, the number of universities and branches in Russia decreased from 2486 to 1450.

Olga Vasilyeva's statement contains an "obvious contradiction" to previous statements by the ministry, emphasizes an expert familiar with the unification process. "In fact, it confirms that the previous mergers were not voluntary, as stated, but took place at the initiative of the ministry," the source told Kommersant. The Ministry of Education and Science was unable to promptly explain to Kommersant the minister's statement.

The decision of the Ministry of Education and Science to suspend mergers may not affect all universities: at a meeting of the committee of the Federation Council, Olga Vasilyeva noted that "flap universities should play a central role in the region." Thus, the department will continue to support the project to create a network of regional flagship universities. Recall that in January 2016, 11 universities were identified, which, having united with other institutions of higher education in their regions, will become pivotal and receive a subsidy of up to 200 million rubles. in year.

“Now, it really makes sense to pause, study the experience that has appeared, see how the associations that have already taken place, including flagship universities, work,” said Isak Frumin, research director of the HSE Institute of Education, to Kommersant. “The structure of higher education, formed by 90% in the late 1930s, needs to be updated,” says Mr. Frumin, but this process, in his opinion, requires time and maximum involvement of students and professors.

Even before Olga Vasilyeva's statement, previously reorganized universities began to apply to the department with a request to cancel the decisions of the previous leadership. Thus, on September 20, 2016, the chairman of the commission for the merger of the MGRI-RGGRU (merged with the Gubkin Russian State University. - “Kommersant”) Yevgeny Kozlovsky sent a letter to the head of the Ministry of Education and Science, in which he asks to cancel or suspend the order on the reorganization of the university “as inappropriate set goal and caused indignation of the team and geological organizations. The appeal states that the transformations had a negative impact on the training of personnel for geological exploration, and the university that became part of the Russian State University is ready to continue working autonomously.

On Monday, Mrs. Vasilyeva also announced her intention to strengthen control over the costs of universities participating in the state program to increase international competitiveness: “Now we have the 5-100 project. These are universities in which a lot of money has been invested, but the question arises what is their return. The budget must be spent very economically.” The program created by the Ministry of Education and Science to implement the May presidential decrees on the entry of at least five Russian universities into the top 100 world rankings by 2020 involves 21 universities. From 2013 to 2015, 54 billion rubles were allocated from the budget for the project, and another 14.5 billion rubles are planned for 2016–2017. In January 2016, the Accounts Chamber questioned the implementation of presidential decrees, accusing the Ministry of Education and Science of inefficient spending of funds.

The process of merging universities, which began under Dmitry Livanov, will be suspended, Minister of Education and Science Olga Vasilyeva said at a recent meeting in the Federation Council. the site recalls how the university merger project was implemented and what results were obtained.

What happened?

The new Minister of Education and Science did not say why the decision to terminate the unification process was made, but immediately after the statement she added that the department would continue to ensure that budgetary funds in universities were spent rationally. In general, the termination of the merger of educational institutions looks like the cancellation of another initiative of the former Minister of Education and Science Dmitry Livanov, because it was at his suggestion that the program of merging and reorganizing universities was partially implemented. According to the project, unpopular educational institutions are subject to merger, for example, those whose diplomas are less quoted by employers, or which, according to monitoring, do not have the finances necessary for effective work. According to the plan of the reformers, about 20% of Russian universities were to be reorganized. According to the results of monitoring in 2012, 136 universities and 450 branches needed reorganization. To date, in connection with the reorganization, 96 universities have actually ceased their activities, six of which are located in St. Petersburg and 22 in Moscow.

Unite and Conquer

So far, there have been four models of merging institutes and universities in Russia. In the framework of the first model, the absorption of the university takes place on a voluntary basis, which allows it to retain some of its capabilities and increase funding. It is curious that, according to the Ministry, associations were possible only on a voluntary basis, while in most cases the reorganization was accompanied by protests from the teaching staff and the students themselves. The second model of reorganization is the takeover of a smaller university by the parent institute. The third model practically does not differ from the previous one, except that the merger took place primarily with the support of the regional authorities. This often led to conflicts. The fourth reorganization model is a merger, when one new institution with a new name is actually formed from two institutions.

The very idea of ​​uniting educational institutions, oddly enough, came from the West: the University of California is an association of 10 universities, which, in particular, include the University at Berkeley, which gave the world 61 Nobel Prize winners. But how effective the unification of universities in Russia was is a moot point. One of the first Russian universities that emerged as a result of the merger was the Southern Federal University in Rostov-on-Don, which included Rostov State University, Taganrog State Radio Engineering University, Rostov State Pedagogical University and Rostov State Academy of Architecture and Arts. A similar transformation took place in Krasnoyarsk, where the Siberian Federal University operates on the basis of six universities.

One for all and all for one

Not all universities that were on the hit list were satisfied with the state of affairs. So, in 2012, students and teachers of the Tambov State Technical University (TSTU) and Tambov State University named after G.R. Derzhavin held a large-scale protest action against the merger of educational institutions. The desire of the regional authorities to optimize costs and increase the rating of the university could lead to the accession of the technical university to the humanitarian one with the complete deprivation of the material and technical base and the independent status of TSTU. In addition, students and teachers were simply presented with a fact about the unification program. However, the authorities paid attention to the dissatisfaction of the protesters, and Tambov universities avoided reorganization.

Strikes were also carried out by students of Moscow higher schools: at the end of 2012, students of the Russian State University of Trade and Economics protested against their joining the G.V. Plekhanov, but, unlike Tambov, the university could not avoid the fate of reorganization. In 2015, the Moscow State University of Economics, Statistics and Informatics (MESI) also joined the PRUE. Protest events were accompanied by the accession of the Moscow State Mining University (MGGU) to the National Research Technological University "Moscow Institute of Steel and Alloys" (MISiS). Students and teachers of Moscow State University of Humanities, speaking out against integration, called it a kind of "raider takeover", recalling the vocabulary of the 1990s. Another problem was related to the fact that the students of Moscow State University of Science and Technology and Moscow State University of Science and Technology studied in different education systems with different terms of study - bachelors were trained at Moscow State University of Science and Technology, while Moscow State University of Science and Technology graduated specialists.

The controversy also accompanied the merger of the Moscow State Law Academy named after O.E. Kutafin (MGYuA) and the State University of Management (GUU). Both sides opposed it: "lawyers" were afraid of losing prestige, and "managers" - autonomy. The educational institution would have to receive a new name, which could be chosen by the universities themselves. The students sadly joked that as a result of the merger, the “United State Law University (OGPU) named after Com. Livanov". How the academy relates to the accession of the State University of Management, the Moscow State Law Academy does not comment.

Chemistry and tin

At the beginning of 2016, there were reports in the media about the possible merger of the Russian University of Chemical Technology named after D.I. Mendeleev (RCTU) and MISiS. Teachers and students of the RCTU began to protest even before the official confirmation in the Ministry of Education, collecting signatures in a petition against joining. "Mendelevka" was afraid that after joining MISiS it would lose its own scientific school, remembering the situation with the merger of the Moscow Institute of Fine Chemical Technology named after M.V. Lomonosov (MITHT) and the "non-core" Moscow State University of Information Technologies, Radio Engineering and Electronics (MGTU MIREA). Later, the Ministry denied the message about the merger of universities. However, the sediment remained. the site turned to Mendeleevka with a request to comment on the looming prospect of merging with MISiS: “Nobody told us anything. Everything remained at that level. Now everything depends on the minister, what policy she will pursue. As Livanova was replaced, there was not even talk about it. ”

Consolidation of universities in Russia

Rosstat http://www.gks.ru/bgd/regl/b15_13/Main.htm