THE UNIVERSITIES PROJECT OF THE SALZBURG SEMINAR VISITING ADVISORS REPORT MORDOVIAN STATE UNIVERSITY SARANSK, RUSSIAN FEDERATION September 9-14, 2002 Team Members: Dr. Ossi V. Lindqvist (team leader), former Rector, University of Kuopio, Finland; Chairman, Finnish Higher Education Evaluation Council Dr. Helene Kamensky, Russian Program Coordinator, Salzburg Seminar Dr. Tony White, Director for the Republic of Ireland of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA). INTRODUCTION The Mordovian State University named in honor of N.P. Ogarev, is situated in Saransk (population. 348,000), capital of the Republic of Mordovia, some 600 kilometers east of Moscow. The Mordovian Republic lies in the Volga basin, with a territory of 26,000 square kilometers and a population of almost one million. The Mordovian State University (MSU) has a student population of over 14,000 full time and 9,000 part time students. It is the major higher education (HE) institution in the state. MSU started as an agropedagogical institute in 1931. It gradually expanded and received university status in 1957. Currently it is a relatively large HE institution, with activity in other Mordovian towns and a teaching staff of some 1,500. There are 17 faculties and 136 chairs for the training of specialists in 56 different fields. The University also has links with universities and scientific organizations in several countries in Europe, Asia, and the U.S. In the all- Russian rating of universities MSU is at position 22, which indicates a good national standing. MSU is still primarily a teaching institution. The need for expanded research activity and opportunities for lecturing staff is recognized by the University leadership. The great majority (some 75%) of eligible Mordovian students attend MSU. This enhances its pivotal role as a center of education, research and services for the state of Mordovia and its people. Its central role has been further strengthened by the creation of an association called Regional Academic Okrug (RAO), a voluntary and self-governing body of educational institutions of various types and levels in the Republic of Mordovia. The University and its Rector are members of the group of ‘Volga Region Rectors’, which is part of the Russian Rectors’ Union. VAP Report——Saransk, Russia, September, 2002 The state of Mordovia consists mostly of agricultural land, and agricultural production and food processing dominate the economy. In addition to a strong dairy industry, the area produces various grains, potatoes, sugar beet and vegetables. The forests provide materials for wood-related industry. The state has several industrial enterprises involved in the production of lighting sources, electronics, medical supplies and machinery. VISITING ADVISORS - PURPOSE OF VISIT MSU invited the team of Advisors to visit the University under the auspices of the Visiting Advisors Program of the Salzburg Seminar's Universities Project. The visit took place from 9-14 September, 2002. MSU’s leadership proposed a set of four major issues for consideration that were seen as pertinent to the future development of the University. These were: · University administration and finance; revenue planning and management, including fund raising; · Academic structure and governance; · Student needs and the role of students in institutional affairs; systems of academic credit and credit transfer between universities; · Technology in higher education; its impact on curriculum. The Advisors have taken these topics as the framework for its report, but has added the additional topic of Mission and Strategy, which was a major theme of discussions during the visit. The purpose of the Advisors’ visit to MSU was not to make a formal evaluation of the University, but rather to offer the experience of the team members and their observations on the University to the MSU Rector and the University leadership. The Advisors had valuable discussions with the Rector, the Vice-Rectors and Deans, departmental heads and other representatives of the University, including students. It also met with the Prime Minister, the Inspector General and other political and cultural dignitaries. These meetings provided the Advisors with enlightening background insight into the place and role of HE and MSU in the Republic of Mordavia. All the discussions were open, informative and frank, and thus also very fruitful. The four major issues identified by the University were each covered in plenary working groups. The discussions were then summarized and the observations presented to the Rector and his team at the conclusion of the visit. 2 VAP Report——Mordovian State University, Russia, September, 2002 The Rector's office and the staff had provided a rich supply of advance information and data about MSU and the Republic of Mordovia to the team. We noted the great variety of activities that the University was conducting and supporting, not merely in various academic fields but also in many extra- curricular activities and social services. Although the visit was relatively short, the team feels that it was able to gain a satisfactory and coherent view of the overall situation of MSU, and provide worthwhile observations and recommendations on the issues identified by the Rector for discussion. The team takes responsibility for any possible misunderstandings, but these should not undermine the overall validity of its observations. Any action in response to the team’s observations and suggestions is very much at the discretion of the MSU leadership. They alone are in the position to make pertinent conclusions and take proper action on behalf of the University. We noted, however, that the MSU leadership had already recognized the University’s current problems and the direction of the solutions to them. Some of our observations refer to short-term solutions. Others very much require a long-term view. They are similar to the problems facing higher education anywhere in the world, and they have no easy or quick solution. The team feels that the overall program provided by the Rector's team was very useful. It was very tight considering the time limits, but it was always very pleasant and most interesting and informative at the same time. We wish to thank the Rector and the entire MSU staff for a very well organized visit and the excellent hospitality that the team enjoyed throughout each day. The team's thanks must be extended especially for the cultural program. This illustrated the great care that the University, the city of Saransk and the Republic of Mordovia devote to the cultural heritage of the Mordovian peoples, and its preservation and development. We recognized and acknowledge strongly that the support of the local culture by MSU was and is one of the very best assets of the University itself. It has to be recognized as one of the most important contributions that the University makes to Mordovian society. MISSION AND STRATEGY Mission and strategy are areas that the Visiting Advisors identified at the beginning of the visit as being of great importance. Today, universities must exist in a competitive world and in a rapidly changing environment. There is a general change in the way in which universities are administered. In simple terms, there is a shift towards active management and away from a purely administrative approach to the business of running a university. In this new process it is not just a question of following the existing rules; in the new climate a university has to recognize the challenges it is facing. 3 VAP Report——Saransk, Russia, September, 2002 These challenges pose questions for its mission, goals, strategies, plans, management and operations. In all societies increasing demands are put on universities. They are seen as major economic, technical, social and cultural institutions everywhere. There are very high expectations of them. From what the Visiting Advisors heard, not least in conversation with the Prime Minister, MSU is no different, except that perhaps it has an unusually central and important role in its own society. The Advisors see their contribution as attempting to assist the University to identify the major challenges and problems facing it, and to begin to formulate the responses and strategies required to meet them. A major question facing MSU is whether it waits for change to be imposed by an outside force or whether it wishes to exercise leadership and initiate the change process itself. MSU seems to be well aware of this reality. The invitation to the team members under the Visiting Advisors Program of the Salzburg Seminar is certainly one indicator that it recognizes the need to identify and address the issues facing the University. One of the exercises that many universities have undertaken in addressing the challenges facing them has been the formulation of a mission statement. Change and reorganization can be easier to achieve if a university has developed its own strategy and mission statement. The Visiting Advisors strongly recommend to the Rector and senior decision-makers and stakeholders within MSU that this exercise be undertaken. If the University undertakes the exercise of formulating a mission statement and a strategy, it will immediately find itself asking and addressing important questions about its own activities. It will be forced to look at its own strengths and weaknesses and to make choices about priorities for its own future development. The process can be a very valuable learning experience. MSU occupies a unique position with regard to promoting and developing the heritage of Mordovian culture. This has been part of its mission to date, and the Advisors strongly encourage the University leadership to continue its efforts in this area. The University may wish to consider what role, if any, it can play in promoting Mordovian culture and art more widely in Russia and internationally, and to what extent it can thereby help to introduce Mordovia to broader cultural and social interrelationships and transactions. These are some major issues that the Visiting Advisors have identified.