Optimization of the University Staff: Obtained Results and Designated Tasks

The article (a case) highlights the experience of the regional university in staff optimization caused by the requirements of federal legislation to improve the quality of higher education and to outline the personnel strategy prospects for the future. The methodological basis of the study is the systematic approach, which made it possible to comprehensively assess the qualitative changes in the university staff; the use of the method of situational analysis largely contributed to an increase in the objectivity of the results obtained. Besides, the researchers used the following methods: the study of legislative documents that determine the activities of a higher educational institution; the analysis of theoretical papers on the management of educational institutions and on human resource management; the method of mathematical modelling and the analysis of statistical data, the method of social forecasting. The study comes to be theoretically significant, as it clarifies the concept of «staff optimization» and introduces the concept of «university staff optimization» as a new scientific term. The research also distinguishes the basic principles of university staff optimization and substantiates the reasons that caused this process, mainly related to the demographic, social and economic situation in our country and the tasks of reforming the higher education system. The article also examines the concept of «university personnel strategy» and highlights its components, focused on preserving academic traditions, on creating conditions for increasing the staff competency and on encouraging the faculty to intensify their activity. On the example of the regional university, there is carried out an analysis of quantitative and qualitative changes in the educational process staffing (in terms of academic degrees and titles, faculty compliance with the profile of the disciplines taught, etc.); the effectiveness of a number of new mechanisms introduced into the universities’ practice in order to update the requirements for the selection of candidates for teaching positions is studied. Thus appearing to be scientifically significant, the paper presents a regional university staff optimization model, which includes several logically related stages, allowing this process to be carried out most effectively: scientific, normative, practical and social. The recommendations to improve the personnel strategy and systematically enhance the quality of personnel in the educational process are formulated. The work is original, as it shows the systemic nature of work with the faculty when optimizing the staff in accordance with the university’s personnel strategy. The article might be of use for university leaders and researchers working on personnel issues and personnel management.