Models for organising national university branch networks: insights from Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan

Introduction. The relevance of this study arises from the profound transformation of university branch networks in post-Soviet countries, which directly impacts the accessibility of higher education, the human resource potential of regions, and their socio-economic development. Despite the critical role of these branches, systematic analysis from a comparative perspective remains underdeveloped. Aim. The present study aims to conduct a comparative analysis of the organisational models and transformation trajectories of national university branch networks in Russia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan. Methodology and research methods. The methodological framework is founded on systemic, spatial, and functional approaches. The study utilises methods of comparative economic-statistical analysis and expert evaluation. Results. The analysis reveals a reduction in the number of branches in Russia from 1,232 to 520 over the period 2014–2024, accompanied by their concentration in large cities, which exacerbates regional inequalities. In Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, growth in the number of branches and a more even distribution have been observed. A distinctive “mixed model” of network organisation has been identified in post-Soviet countries, combining centralised control with selective international expansion. Scientific novelty. The scientific novelty lies in the development of a comprehensive typology of branch network models (comprising five models) and in conducting the first detailed comparative analysis of their spatial transformation across the three largest post-Soviet countries. Practical significance. The findings and recommendations can be utilised by educational authorities to develop strategies for establishing branch networks that balance quality, accessibility, and sustainable regional development. 

1. Zhang X., Dai K. Portraying a growing field of study: a scientometric review of research on international branch campuses. Studies in Higher Education. 2024;50(1):183–199. doi:10.1080/03075079.2024.2332413

2. Molchanova T.V. Development of university education in the 1950–1960s. Sel’skoe khozyaistvo = Agricultural Industry. 2023;5:3–5. (In Russ.)

3. Kuzminov J.I., Semenov D.S., Frumin I.D. University network structure: from the Soviet to the Russian “master plan”. Voprosy obrazovaniya = Educational Studies Moscow. 2013;4:8–69. (In Russ.) doi:10.17323/1814-9545-2013-4-8-69

4. Altbach P.G. The imperial tongue: English as the dominating academic language. International Educator. 2008;17(5):56. doi:10.6017/ihe.2007.49.7986

5. Knight J. The evolution of contemporary education hubs: fad, brand or innovation? International Journal of Educational Development. 2024;104(1):102972. doi:10.1016/j.ijedudev.2023.102972

6. Knight J. Higher education cooperation at the regional level. Journal of International Cooperation in Education. 2024;26(1):101–115. doi:10.1108/JICE-09-2023-0021

7. Shattock M. Simon Marginson: the dream is over. The crisis of Clark Kerr’s California idea of higher eEducation. Higher Education. 2017;74(6). doi:10.1007/s10734-016-0108-7

8. Bleiklie I. New public management or neoliberalism, higher education. The International Encyclopedia of Higher Education Systems and Institutions. 2020;1:2097–2102. doi:10.1007/978-94-017-8905- 9_143

9. Zapesotskii A.S. Obrazovanie: Filosofija, kul’turologija, politika = Education: Philosophy, Cultural Studies, Politics. Saint Petersburg: St. Petersburg University of the Humanities and Social Sciences; 2024. 456 p. (In Russ.) Accessed June 19, 2025. https://e.lanbook.com/book/494336?category=4317

10. Rozov N.S. Institucional’nye modeli universitetov i rol’ gosudarstva = Institutional models of universities and the role of the state. In: Gelman V.Ya., ed. Reformiruemaja nauka: Monografija = Science under Reform: A Monograph. 2018;1:314–335. (In Russ.)

11. Leshukov O.V. Model of federal-regional relations in governance of higher education in the Russian Federation. Ekonomika regiona = Economy of Regions. 2024;1:201–212. (In Russ.) doi:10.17059/2020- 1-15

12. Agranovich M.L. How are the characteristics of national educational systems related to social inequality? Obrazovanie i nauka = The Education and Science Journal. 2021;23(9):81–114. (In Russ.) doi:10.17853/1994-5639-2021-9-81-114

13. Molokova E.L. To a сomparative characteristics of national models of higher education organization. Rossiiskii ekonomicheskii zhurnal = Russian Economic Journal. 2021;1:109–123. (In Russ.) doi:10.33983/0130-9757-2021-1-109-123

14. Krasnova G.A., Baikov A.A., Arapova E.Ya. Education export model: internal internationalization. Akkreditatsiya v obrazovanii = Accreditation in Education. 2017;8(100):30–34. (In Russ.)

15. Altbach P.G. Twinning and branch campuses. The International Imperative in Higher Education. 2013;1:107–109. doi:10.1007/978-94-6209-338-6_23

16. Katrovskii A.P., et al. Prostranstvennaja organizacija vysshej shkoly i regional’noe razvitie = Spatial Organization of Higher Education and Regional Development. Smolensk: Smolensk State University; 2022. 310 p. (In Russ.)

17. Bolgova E.V. University spatial networking in world educational models. Regional’naya ekonomika: teoriya i praktika = Regional Economics: Theory and Practice. 2019;8(467):1412–1430. (In Russ.) doi:10.24891/re.17.8.1412

18. Bolgova E.V. European experience in the economic analysis of university spatial networking. Ekonomicheskii analiz: teoriya i praktika = Economic Analysis: Theory and Practice. 2020;4(499):780–796. (In Russ.) doi:10.24891/ea.19.4.780

19. Selyanskaya G.N. Distributed university: from the university branch network to the electronic network universities. Sovremennye problemy nauki i obrazovaniya = Modern Problems of Science and Education. 2014;5:381. (In Russ.)

20. Garazha N.A., Voblaya I.N. Branches in the ecosystem of Russian universities: problem statement and definition of prospects. Gumanitarnye nauki. Vestnik Finansovogo universiteta = Humanities and Social Sciences. Bulletin of the Financial University. 2024;5:125–133. (In Russ.) doi:10.26794/2226-7867-2024-14-5-125-133

21. Novikov S.V. Current state and trends in the development of the Russian higher education system. Ekonomika, predprinimatel’stvo i parvo = Economics, Entrepreneurship and Law. 2023;13 (9):3589– 3604. (In Russ.) doi:10.18334/epp.13.9.118723

22. Rimskaya T.G. The role of a university branch in the development of the socio-cultural space of a commercial and industrial city (the case of the VSUES Branch in Nakhodka). Territoriya novykh vozmozhnostei. Vestnik Vladivostokskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta ekonomiki i servisa = Territory of New Opportunities. Bulletin of Vladivostok State University of Economics and Service. 2012;3(16):75– 82. (In Russ.)

23. Fominykh E.V. The phenomenon of the university branch in post-Soviet Russia. Vestnik Tyumenskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta = Bulletin of the Tyumen State University. 2005;3:236–239. (In Russ.)

24. Manukyan A.R. University branches: the role, ways, and means of their improvement and functioning. Nauchnye problemy gumanitarnykh issledovanii = Scientific Problems of Humanitarian Research. 2009;5(1):58–61. (In Russ.)

25. Danilchenko S.L. Higher education in the Russian Federation: formation of a new network of educational organizations. Interaktivnaya nauka = Interactive Science. 2022;1(66):17–24. (In Russ.) doi:10.21661/r-555880

26. Vasin S.M. Management specifics in a higher educational establishment branch. Izvestiya Penzenskogo gosudarstvennogo pedagogicheskogo universiteta im. V. G. Belinskogo = Proceedings of the Penza State Pedagogical University named after V. G. Belinsky. 2012;28:275–280. (In Russ.)

27. Gurtov V.A., Parikova N.V., Sigova S.V. Role of high school’s branches in maintenance of personnel need of the Russian economy. Universitetskoe upravlenie: praktika i analiz = University Management: Practice and Analysis. 2011;3:90–94. (In Russ.)

28. Korosteleva L. Universities of Russia’s technopoles in the new modern times. Monitoring pravoprimeneniya = The Monitoring of Law Enforcement Journal. 2025;2(55):106–116. (In Russ.) doi:10.24412/2226-0692-2025-2-00-13

29. Galimov A.M., Bahtieva R.M. The role of the parent university in developing the human resources of a foreign branch. In: Zarubezhnyj opyt v organizacii vysshego obrazovaniya: transformaciya i innovaci = Foreign Experience in the Organization of Higher Education: Transformation and Innovation. 2025:675–678.

30. Kravchenko T.K., Perikov Yu.A., Shcherbinin O.P. Features of using ordinal scales to assign expert preferences in the process of making economic decisions. Aktual’nye voprosy sovremennoi nauki = Current Issues of Modern Science. 2011;20:272–280. (In Russ.)

31. Korneenko V.P. Method for constructing the results scale for objects in ordeal scales taking into account their expert probability. Upravlenie bol’shimi sistemami: sbornik trudov = Management of Large Systems: A Collection of Works. 2021;94:95–115. (In Russ.) doi:10.25728/ubs.2021.94.5

32. Altbach P.G., Wit H.D. Global: internationalization and global tension: lessons from history. Understanding Higher Education Internationalization. 2017;81:21–24. doi:10.1007/978-94-6351-161-2_5

33. Knight J. Transnational education remodeled: toward a common TNE framework and definitions. Journal of Studies in International Education. 2016;20(1):34–47. doi:10.1177/1028315315602927

34. Wilkins S. Higher education in the United Arab Emirates: an analysis of the outcomes of significant increases in supply and competition. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management. 2010;32(4):389–400. doi:10.1080/1360080X.2010.4911

35. Wilkins S. Establishing international branch campuses: a framework for assessing opportunities and risks. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management. 2016;38(2):167–182. doi:10.1080/1360080X.2016.1150547

36. Smolentseva A. Where Soviet and neoliberal discourses meet: the transformation of the purposes of higher education in Soviet and post-Soviet Russia. Higher Education. 2017;74(6):1091–1108. doi:10.1007/s10734-017-0111-7 37. Yonezawa A. Japan’s higher education policies under global challenges. Asian Economic Policy Review. 2023;18(2):220–237. doi:10.1111/aepr.12421

37. Christensen T., Lagreid P., Rykkja L.H. Governance reforms in Scandinavia: Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Comparative Governance Reforms: Assessing the Past and Exploring the Future. 2024;1:57– 74. doi:10.1007/978-3-031-70306-5_4

38. Turgel I.D., Bozhko L.L., Balyberdin M.I. Spatial transformation of the higher education system: threats and challenges to single-industry towns. Vysshee obrazovanie v Rossii = Higher Education in Russia. 2024;33(10):144–165. (In Russ.) doi:10.31992/0869-3617-2024-33-10-144-165

39. Turgel I.D., Bugrov K.D., Oykher A.D. Russian university cities: expectations vs. reality. Vysshee obrazovanie v Rossii = Higher Education in Russia. 2023;32(5):89–111. (In Russ.) doi:10.31992/0869-3617-2023-32-5-89-111