THEORETICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES OF MANAGING THE DEVELOPMENT OF A MODERN HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTION

Abstract

The article presents a comprehensive theoretical and methodological study of the management of the development of a modern higher education institution in the context of military challenges, European integration, digital transformation, and increasing requirements for the quality of educational, scientific, and innovative activities. The relevance of the topic is due to the fact that a modern university operates in a multifactorial environment, where strategic decisions can no longer be based solely on administrative inertia, regulatory compliance, or local experience. They must be based on an integrated methodology that combines strategic vision, institutional autonomy, quality culture, results-oriented approach, data management, and internal self-regulation mechanisms. It is proven that the development of a higher education institution is a managed process of institutional changes aimed at balancing the mission, educational portfolio, human resources, research capacity, resource base, and social relevance of the university. The article highlights and characterizes the key approaches that form the theoretical basis of HEI development management: systemic, competency-based, strategic, institutional, and quality management approaches. The systemic approach allows us to consider the university as an open multilevel social and organizational system; competency-based – focuses management on learning outcomes, studentcenteredness, and labor market requirements; strategic – provides the institution’s positioning, prioritization, and resource concentration; institutional – explains the influence of autonomy, regulatory frameworks, academic norms, and external expectations; quality management approach – links development with an internal quality assurance system, regular monitoring, feedback, and a culture of continuous improvement. A special emphasis is placed on applied HEI development tools: SWOT and PESTLE analysis as means of strategic diagnostics; KPI and Balanced Scorecard as mechanisms for translating strategy into a system of measurable results; logical model as a tool for linking resources, actions, products and short-, medium- and long-term results. It is shown that the modern model of effective management of university development is based on a combination of strategic KPIs, regular public reporting, internal review of educational programs, extensive use of student feedback and corrective decisions at the level of programs, departments and management. Practical recommendations for heads of higher education institutions of Ukraine are substantiated: institutionally combine the development strategy with the internal quality assurance system; form a single scorecard for education, science, internationalization, finance and the third mission; build a cycle of "data – decisions – evaluation – correction"; strengthen the participation of the academic community and education seekers in strategy making; use public data and benchmarking to verify the realism of goals and development rates.