World Academic Rankings and Competitiveness of Russian Universities

Advance in the world academic rankings remains one of the priorities of development of the Russian higher education determined by the President and the Government of the Russian Federation.As an axiom authors adopted the provision that the academic ratings are the tool of assessment of level of competitiveness of the national universities, and a rating position of the university – a peculiar integrated indicator of its competitiveness. Authors offered hierarchy of levels of competitiveness of subjects of the higher education system. The results of the analysis of dynamics and the current position of the Russian universities in the world academic rankings (on the example of the rating of QS), analysis of participation in the rating of the QS universities of the countries of EEU and also analysis of perception of a rating position of the university by potential customers and consumers of educational services are given in the article. By an empirical way it is proved that ones the interest of target audience in a rating position of the university as to an indicator of its competitiveness and as to criterion for selection of higher education institution grows. Methodological basis of the research conducted by authors of article were the principles of scientific knowledge: logical and historical. Methods of the structural, comparative and statistical analysis are applied.