Comprehensive system for assessing the competitiveness of a regional university

Subject. The article considers the competitiveness of a regional university as an integral characteristic of its system sustainability, and its effectiveness and relevance in the field of higher education. Objectives. The study aims to develop and test a comprehensive authoring system for assessing the competitiveness of regional educational institutions of higher education with direct consideration of external and internal development factors. Methods. The study employs methods of comparative analysis and multi-criteria assessment. The proposed methodology includes several blocks, including the quality of educational and scientific activities, the university's human resources potential, international cooperation, financial and economic activities, and resource and infrastructure security. Results. The authoring methodology was tested using the case of three regional universities in the Sverdlovsk Oblast. The study identified competitive advantages and weaknesses of each of them and built a ranking of positions based on the final integral competitiveness index. Conclusions. The findings enabled to reveal that the university that has stable achievements and results in scientific and educational activities, a high level of human resources, occupies the highest positions and is the most competitive. The developed methodology can be recommended to regional universities for strategic planning and monitoring of their own effectiveness.