Methodological foundations of university development strategy formation: criteria, indicators and effectiveness evaluation mechanisms

Modern universities in the context of globalisation and digital transformation of the educational environment face complex challenges that require updating strategic development concepts. Growing competition in the educational services market, expanding academic mobility and international cooperation, and the penetration of digital technologies into educational processes – all of these necessitate bringing university strategic management to a qualitatively new level. The purpose of the study is to identify the methodological foundations for forming university development strategies and to develop a comprehensive system for evaluating their effectiveness. The main directions of the work include: systematisation of the theoretical foundations of strategic planning from the perspectives of the Resource-Based View, stakeholder theory, and the “Triple Helix” concept; comparative analysis of the criteria of international rating systems QS, THE, and ARWU; development of an integral model for evaluating strategy effectiveness for higher education institutions. The scientific significance of the work lies in proposing a comprehensive model for evaluating strategy effectiveness that integrates academic, organisational, social and innovation dimensions. The proposed Integral Index of Strategic Effectiveness (IISE) is calculated as the weighted average of normalised indicators across four dimensions. Practical significance: the proposed system of criteria and indicators can be directly applied in planning the strategic development of universities. Practical results include a BSC adaptation model tested at 12 Kazakhstani universities and a three-level monitoring system.

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