The ratio of pedagogical effectiveness and economic efficiency of paid educational services

in the context of the transformation of the Russian education market, the issue of aligning pedagogical goals with economic results is becoming key to the sustainable development of organizations providing paid educational services. This article examines the relationship between pedagogical performance and economic efficiency based on a pilot study that covered continuing professional education programs, preparatory courses, and short-term online micro-courses in Russian educational organizations. We propose operationalizing pedagogical results through the increase in academic achievement, the proportion of successful program completions, student retention, and student satisfaction. We also propose operationalizing economic efficiency through marginal income, adjusted return on investment, break-even point, and the cost of achieving the result. Based on statistics, correlation and regression analysis, and the cost-utility model, we reveal the links between the quality of the educational process and program cash flows. It is shown that sustained growth in academic achievement and high satisfaction reduce acquisition costs, increase repeat purchases, and enhance marginal revenue per student. The integrated index's management logic is substantiated, allowing for the balancing of pedagogical and economic priorities in pricing, curriculum design, and resource allocation. Practical implications for administrators and faculty are formulated, and the applicability of the results and directions for further research are outlined.

paid educational services, pedagogical effectiveness, economic efficiency, continuing professional education, marginal income, return on investment, break-even point, student satisfaction, pricing, education quality management