Dissertation is a comprehensive comparative study of risk management in UK universities. The trends in the risk management development in UK universities are elucidated, and the possibility of using the best practice of UK universities under the issue being studied in Ukraine is identified. The theoretical framework for the study of risk management in higher education is outlined. The leading approaches to the conceptualization of risk in the social sciences in the second half of XX century are analyzed; the features of strategic model of university governance, part of which is risk management, are defined. The socio-political, socio-economic and cultural factors, and tendencies of the development of UK higher education during the study period (the end of XX century - the beginning of XXI century) are identified. It has been revealed that the increase in the number of risks is associated with the neoliberal educational reforms, the transformation of higher education into a productive force in terms of building a knowledge society, the increasing competition between universities in the global and regional markets of educational services. The analysis of regulatory support for the development of risk management in UK higher education enables to define the five periods of the investigated process, namely: 1) preparatory-expository (1999 - 2000) - development of regulatory documents on the implementation of risk management at the national level; 2) primary (2000 - 2002) - development of HEFCE's recommendations to initiate a risk management approach in higher education; 3) standardization of risk management as a compulsory part of corporate management (2002 - 2004) - dissemination of risk management on all aspects of activity, risk management is tightly linked to financial management; 4) professionaliza tion of risk management and application of the systems approach (2005 - 2010) - the involvement of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), a professional auditing company, in the development of practical guidance on risk management in universities; 5) ensuring of the effective implementation of risk management (2011 - 2014) - HEFCE's guarantees regarding the successful functioning of the system of risk management in universities. The analysis of the substantive aspects of risk management is made at two levels: the national level (HEFCE's initiatives) and the university level. At the national level, HEFCE's prompt list of academic risks (reputation, research, learning and teaching, knowledge transfer, strategic partnership, human resources, estate and infrastructure, financial issues) accompanied by 'contributing factors', 'mitigating actions' and 'early warning mechanisms' as relevant features of risk management are investigated. A comprehensive three-tier risk model, in which the main risks are associated with the strategic goals of university, is presented; a profile of the key risk areas, which include strategic risks having the most significant impact on the functioning of the higher education system in the UK as a whole, is developed. The study has revealed that risk management points towards a complex intertwined system of organizational and regulatory structures that determine the risks to be taken. At the university level, it has been investigated that risks are outlined in Corporate and Local Risk Registers. The Corporate Risk Register contains, as a rule, the most serious risks facing the university such as financial, regulatory and reputational risks, and risks associated with the scientific research, learning, teaching and staffing. It has been found that risks of strategic register are ranked according to the strategic plan and associated with the implementation of the university's key strategic objectives. The Local Register contains risks related to the operational activities of the faculty, department and other structural subdivisions of university. Organizational aspects of implementing risk management processes in the UK universities are considered. The features allowed academic risk to be embedded into university governance are investigated. It has been revealed that the identification and management of risks are linked to the achievement of institutional objectives. The main stages of risk management process are distinguished: 1) identification of the risks that would prevent the achievement of objectives; assessing the university's risk appetite; 2) evaluating the significance of each risk; 3) identifying suitable responses to each risk; 4) risk monitoring and regular review. The recommendations for the development of risk management in higher education in Ukraine at the national and institutional levels are formulated. At the national level, there is a need for regulatory support of risk management, taking account of the leading British documents governing the principles of risk management in higher education. At the institutional level, it is practically useful to develop methodological guidelines for the risk management implementation, to determine the acceptable level of risk (risk appetite) with key methods of risk management, to report on the results of risk management. It should be appropriate, in our opinion, to construct risk profiles of Ukrainian universities with the use of risk classification proposed by the British specialists.
