Does government support of a few leading universities have a broader impact on the higher education system? Evaluation of the Russian University Excellence Initiative

Abstract

Many governments attempt to improve national higher education through the competitive support of universities. These policy approaches raise questions about the impact on the entire system—both in research and educational—of targeted support for a small number of universities. Addressing challenges in the measurement of university excellence initiatives are among the most vital topics in research evaluation due to the central roles they often play in national research and university policy efforts. Using data from the Russian University Excellence Initiative (RUEI), we measure the spillover effects of such focused support and demonstrate that a broader impact does exist. In particular, we examine the performance of higher education institutions that were not part of RUEI and were not directly supported by it. We compare the university performance in regions both with and without RUEI universities. In doing so, we measure the indirect impact of RUEI on the higher education sector at the regional level. We show a positive effect on the level of publication activity that has recently become apparent. However, there has been no effect on the share of young faculty, international collaboration in publications, or the quality of enrollment. Judging from the broader research policy\research evaluation perspective, our study sheds light on the systemic effects of excellence initiatives, which are often neglected. Besides, excellence initiatives could trigger a change in the approach to evaluating research. So government should develop measure properly, taking into account various consequences, some of which are considered in our article.

Game of Brains: Examining Researcher Brain Gain and Brain Drain and Research University Policy

“…What remains underexplored is trends in mobility surrounding non-funded universities after the implementation of excellence initiatives. The same study by Lovakov et al (2021) revealed no significant difference in number of recruited young academics between participating and non-participating universities. Taiwan's own WCUP-propelled universities were left to themselves to strategize about acquiring funding, to level up their recruitment of STEM faculty, and to create interdisciplinary research clusters (Fu, 2017), but we have yet to observe trends on the side of the universities that did not receive funding.…”

“…Meanwhile, the effects on non-funded universities have been mixed. Lovakov et al (2021) find spillover effects of Russia's excellence initiative on the non-benefiting universities. In Germany, Esterhazy (2018) observes that the universities that failed to receive funding during the first two rounds of the excellence initiative had increased pressure to boost their academic reputation, leading to successful funding in the third round.…”

Is Doctoral Education Not for Everyone? How the University Reforms Led to Centralization of Doctoral Programs in the Leading Universities

“…Последствиям получения университетами перечисленных статусов посвящено множество исследований. Проанализированы изменения в вузовской структуре [Меликян, 2014], динамика показателей академической продуктивности в результате проведенных преобразований, в частности рост количества публикаций и межвузовских коллабораций , восприятие происходящих изменений вузовским персоналом и студентами [Романенко, 2018], эффекты реализованных программ для вузов, не получивших специального статуса [Lovakov et al, 2021]. Таким образом, организационные результаты реформирования вузов и произошедшая перестройка межвузовских связей, а также последствия реформ для сотрудников и студентов достаточно хорошо изучены.…”

Mis-Measuring Our Universities: Why Global University Rankings Don’t Add Up

“…The consequence, as critics of India’s Institutions of Eminence point out, is that the rest of that nation’s higher education establishments get left behind ( Mittal and Tiwari, 2020 ). Analyses of government-funded university excellence initiatives in other parts of the world such as China ( Zong and Zang, 2019 ), Russia ( Lovakov et al, 2021 ), and Japan ( Yonezawa and Shimmi, 2015 ) all show considerably larger disparities between funded and unfunded institutions at the end of the exercise. These disparities are evident across a range of indicators such as publications in highly cited journals, international collaborations, and the recruitment of talented students and overseas academics.…”