Innovation in education by the eyes of the students of NArFU: problems of the transition period

In the realization of the social policy of our state of considerable importance given to education. The higher education system is not only to conduct the training of highly qualified personnel, but also to raise the moral and cultural rights. How, then, should be based education management? According to G. E. Zborowski and N. B. Kostina, the management structure of education is understood as the interaction of managers and the managed entities in the field of training, education, socialization, training professionals at the federal, regional and municipal levels, in relation to the development, adoption and the implementation solutions to the effective functioning of the social groups in education [2, p. 21].

Based on this approach, management of education is seen as a constant interaction of all categories of the students, faculty, administrators, and parents. The last decade is characterized by a constant desire for the reform and modernization of the existing system of the education at all levels, from the school to university and graduate. The main issue of the concern to many experts in the field is a matter of expediency, reforms, identifying the both positive and negative aspects of the relevant policies. The mass ratio is often opposed positions - from euphoria to complete disappointment.

In the modernization of the contemporary society youth watching a fundamental transformation in the major areas of the society: social, economic, political, cultural, and suffers from the both benefits and the costs of change. One of the priorities of the modernization of the higher education in Russia today is the establishment of federal universities by combining two or more regional universities, as well as the accession of the secondary educational institutions. This kind of the innovation should, according to the government, significantly increase the competitiveness of the newly established universities within the country as well as access to the international arena, to improve quality of produced frames, promote the development of science, as well as contribute to the further positive impact on the economy.

To learn more about the features of the transition to the federal university by the eyes of the students, in May 2012 in the Institute of Management and regionologii conducted a sociological survey of the student’s 2–4 courses1. Sampling was carried out in a way that took part in the survey students enrolled and trained earlier in PSU named after M. V. Lomonosov and in ASTU (3–4 courses), as well as students, once received by the NArFU (2nd year). Goal of the study was to examine the life of the students. Touched on topical issues such as satisfaction studies, interest in their chosen profession, the ratio of the students to the education in NArFU, attempts to identify the problems caused for the students of 3–4 courses in the transition to the federal university.

According to the opinion of G. A. Cherednichenko, such studies are of the obvious prognostic value, provide the necessary basis to promptly address the social processes at the university, in a timely manner to resolve conflicts and contradictions [4]. It should be noted that the further reform of the university, the development and the implementation of its development strategy should be based on the active involvement of an institution of the University, as public opinion. When the passive role of the university community innovative changes in education, reaching only the ‘top’, or rejected, or distorted, or silently sabotaged.

An important element of the expressing public opinion on the reorganization of preexisting PSU and ASTU into one federal university, a student, decided to say, the opinion ‘from below’. Students also have different opinions as it turned out the process. The research found that almost half of the respondents (49.8 %) report the presence of the both positive and negative sides. More negatively related to the reorganization of the students initially enroll in PSU named after M. V. Lomonosov. This is due, firstly, the fact that the basis for the creation of a federal university was selected ASTU. If students ASTU not changed its territorial position, then PSU students were ‘shuffled’ in Institutions and relocated to other, often less successful academic buildings. It is also possible to speak of in the minds of some students' stereotypes imposed on the media, formed through the social networking.

The contradictory nature of the integration process is reflected in the media - some form ideal image of the University, the second – the negative, describing weaknesses of the organization down to the failure of the idea of a federal university. Students, in turn, analyze the state of the educational process and the structure of the university; compare the ideal and the reality. Opinion polls show that the real and the ideal image do not match the majority of the students. Students who participated in the study, based on the prevailing myths in Russian society and bringing his experience, correlate NarFU’s new status with a growing bureaucracy, corruption and administrative formalism (33.2 %). It should be noted that the mood of the students was formed largely under the influence of the media do not always reflect the real processes of restructuring schools.

However, the students have shown that excessive red tape and the administrative formalism are also very real problem, has an impact on the learning process (the sealing of the training time), an organization of the independent work of the students (access to library collections), obtaining various certificates and to address other specific issues of life and training at the Federal University.

On this basis, the new mission of the University is to make the student group as an ally and try to prove and show the real-time status of the new federal university is primarily associated with an increase in the prestige and quality of education, democratic governance and respect for themselves students, their needs and interests.

Some students do not understand the importance of the creating an innovative federal university and do not see its perspectives for the young people (17.6 %). So, former students of PSU claim that their profession will not be useful for the development of the Arctic (45 %), many found it difficult to answer this question because no awareness of the main activities of the university (28.3 %). This is explained by the fact that the number of the budget and commercial places on humanities steadily declining and there is a clear rationale for what the federal university teaching and other social sciences, as University was established, according to the majority of the students, for the development of the Arctic resources (56.4 %).

Views of the students enrolled earlier ASTU, and a group of the students at once admitted to NArFU named after M. V. Lomonosov, were on opposite sides on the question of the usefulness of the profession for the Arctic exploration. Accordingly, 39.1 % of students know exactly what is needed for their profession development of Arctic resources: Oil and Gas Institute – 96.3 %, the Institute of Construction and Architecture – 50 %. However, in this group of respondents, Forestry

Students (60 %) and the Institute for Energy and Transport (50 %) do not see the connection of his profession with the main directions of the development of the university.

These data again confirm that the student community is a low awareness of the importance and the main activities of the Federal University of innovation in education. The reasons are not always in a clear justification of the decision of the university on the various issues and to some extent the removal of the most of the activities of the students and teachers who are not always due to the huge employment can attend important conferences and seminars.

Thus, when designing and implementing development strategies of NArFU named after M. V. Lomonosov should note the importance of the opinion as the experts, analysts, managers, and record the student audience and the mood of the faculty. Integrating public sentiment suggests the authorship, strategic partnerships university administration and faculty, and the students in the design and implementation of the development policies, innovative projects. At the same time, the university community itself, with all its current fragmentation, is critical of the real role of public opinion.

In an interview with the experts noted that today the supreme power in the Russian university has the features characteristic for the government as a whole – without due regard to the reform of the place, role and importance of public opinion. It would seem innovations in education, programs that are being developed by the University, with information on key units, but should discuss the strategy of the University at the department and student organizations. And there must be confidence that the discussion is not in vain that the views of the faculty, staff and students will be heard and accepted [3].

The most important factor affecting the image and the reputation of the educational institution is the idea of the university, which are the students themselves [1]. Students are not the only indicator of the quality of the university education services and reliable source of information about the institution to others. Students carry the features of the corporate culture of the university, its traditions, values, as in the period of his training, and many years after its completion. Depending on how these values are shared by the students formed positive or negative information about the institution in the Russian society, its real image.