Abstract:

Increasing globalization has changed our societies to knowledge-based societies and confronted higher education systems with new challenges. Russia is an important actor in the international arena and is actively involved in these processes. The integration processes affected Higher education institution. All countries face at least three key challenges in the field of higher education. They include: increasing the value of education (knowledge) and skilled personnel; reforms in the system of higher education and university management, the creation of a unified educational space. The Russian system of higher education is facing two more challenges: the transition to a two-tier model (bachelor's and master's) and a crisis of subjectivity.

The major research objectives were to explore: the key issues of higher education and to clarify the subjectivity crisis of higher education in contemporary Russia.

The research methodology combines qualitative and quantitative methods. The data was obtained using the methods of structural-functional analyses. Methods of collecting primary data were the questionnaire and the in-depth interview. 1500 respondents were questioned at the age of 18 and older engaged in the field of higher education. Interviews with experts (20 experts) are applied with the purpose to identify main issues of higher education in contemporary Russia. Yekaterinburg is a typical Russian city. It has all typical high schools. Therefore, the sample is representative.

Results:
The survey has revealed that in today’s conditions the process of institutionalization of two-tier model of higher education in Russia is incomplete. This is due to the fact that today within the framework of the Master's and Bachelor's degrees there are norms determining the university entrance, the process of training, but there is a lack of standards regarding the employment of graduates - bachelors and graduates - masters. The research has found that the place of Magistracy in modern Russian higher education is the most controversial. This stage of education is not fully understood both by the public and the subjects of the educational process (educators, students, parents, employers). In this regard, a number of issues are urgent, the key one is being the crisis of subjectivity. Overcoming the crisis of subjectivity, according to the author, is possible with the change of subjects that determine the content of education. The subject's activity should shift to the direct participants of the educational process - educators and students who are the most interested in overcoming the uncertainty of their future on the labor market and the future of the higher education system in contemporary Russia.

The survey has elucidated that education reforms in the framework of the Bologna process ignore the traditions of Russian culture, the traditions of Russian former higher education system. This indicates that the Russian system of higher education has the right to develop its own system of education taking into consideration the Bologna Declaration.

Keywords:

Higher education, two-tier model, magistracy, baccalaureate, crisis, subjectivity, Bologna declaration, Russia.