Elite and mass higher education: Socio-economic differentiation

Abstract

The article presents the principal results of research carried out by the Independent Institute of Social Policies in co-operation with the Yury Levada Analytical Center into the process of differentiation of higher education into mass and elite components. An approach to separating universities and professions into elite and non-elite on the basis of various ratings is proposed. The data from a 2005 all-Russian representative sample survey was used to elucidate the factors that determine the availability of higher education and of elite higher education.