Abstract:

The educational failure of students is an urgent problem of regional universities in Russia. In the last two years, its aggravation has occurred under the influence of the coronavirus pandemic and the transformation of education into an online format. At the same time, various academic deviations that manifest themselves in the educational process remain a traditional factor of students' educational failure. Probably, with online education, they have become more widespread and have increased their negative impact on the quality of higher education.

The purpose of the article is to substantiate the connection between academic deviations and educational failure of students, as well as to determine ways to limit deviations. Objectives of the article:
1) to characterize the types of academic deviations in higher education that determine the educational failure of students;
2) to consider the interpretation of the manifestations of academic deviations;
3) to identify ways to limit the influence of deviations on the quality of students' academic achievements.

The object of the study is university students in the Sverdlovsk region – one of the regions of Russia. The subject of the study is academic deviations as a prerequisite for students' educational failure.

The empirical base of the article is formed by the results of a massive online survey of university students of the Sverdlovsk region, conducted in January-February 2021 under the guidance of the author. The sample size was 953 people (the sampling error did not exceed 2%). The results of focus groups with students in Yekaterinburg universities (n=3, 2021) were used. For the general characteristics of students, statistical data characterizing students of Russia and the Sverdlovsk region were analyzed, as well as the results of secondary analysis of research data close to the topic of the article.

The main results of the study:
1. The author proposes to interpret academic deviations in higher education as violations of its substantive, structural and functional order caused by the mismatch of actions and interactions of students with the fundamental norms governing relations at universities. It is proved that the spectrum of deviations includes various types and forms of academic fraud, ghostwriting, corruption, various imitations, etc. It is argued that deviations have become a characteristic of many institutional processes in higher education that have acquired a systemic character.
2. The study revealed that deviant behavior in the academic environment is most inherent in unsuccessful students. Empirical data show that unsuccessful students are characterized by a low level of readiness for learning, poor academic performance, unformed professional orientation, deformed educational motivation. These characteristics determine their predisposition to academic deviations.
3. On the basis of the typology of academic deviant behavior, the characteristic of the ways of its influence on the educational failure of students is given. The author examines the social technologies of countering academic deviations, the practice of their use in working with unsuccessful students.

Keywords:

Higher education, students, educational failure, academic deviations, Russian region.