Export of services by European Higher Education Area countries: Lessons for Russia

Abstract

The article evaluates the influence of EHEA membership on the export of higher education services. Russia strived for joining the EHEA both for increasing the quality of higher education and its export. Due to the international situation since February 2022 Russian participation in the EHEA was blocked that made discussions about the necessity of remaining in the Area urgent. Thus, it is topical to identify possible consequences of leaving the EHEA for Russian export of higher education services. The article explores the consequences of EHEA membership for the export of higher education services by EHEA members as well as the factors influencing the geographical destinations of such export. The hypothesis is the following one: EHEA creation contributed to strengthening its general role at the world educational market, however, it did not change drastically the roles of its member-states that used to be both exporters and importers of higher education services. The article concludes that EHEA existence ensured the increase in common export of higher education services by the region but did not eliminate the differences of student mobility rates among the member-states. Nevertheless, the absolute numbers and the share of international students grew in most of these states. The research evaluates and forecasts the role of regional initiatives at the world market of higher education services. The research results may also be useful for evaluating projects of integration in higher education sphere as well as for elaborating the support tools for Russian export of higher education.