Shifts in Governance of Universities in Kazakhstan: the Case Study

Abstract

During the last several decades shifts in university governance have affected universities throughout the world. The five dimensions which offer a perspective to provide an analytical description of shifts in governance are state regulation, academic self-governance, competition, managerial self-governance and stakeholder guidance. We used the five dimension model for the analysis of shifts in governance of higher education institutions in the Republic of Kazakhstan as the methodological background of our research. The main method used in the research was a case study of one of the Kazakhstani universities – the Kazakh State Women’s Pedagogical University. In our study we refer to a long-term strategy “Kazakhstan 2050”, Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan on Higher Education, the Development Strategy and SWOT analysis of the financial and economic sustainability of the Kazakh State Women’s Pedagogical University. Results indicate that shifts in governance of Kazakhstani universities follow the global trends observable in contemporary academic world.