The purpose of this study is to develop a new approach to management in higher education based on operations research in the interests of sustainable development. The new approach involves corporate (internal) monitoring of the university's performance based on the hierarchical procedure of Saati (Saati method). To form a scientific and methodological basis for the practical application of the new approach, this study collected and analyzed statistics on the implementation of various areas of university management and sustainable development of higher education on the example of 5 developed and 5 developing countries that hold the best (top) positions in the ARWU university ranking in 2020. The new approach to management in higher education based on operations research allows universities to achieve high management flexibility in the interests of sustainable development. Approbation of the approach showed that the effectiveness of management from the standpoint of sustainable development is 2.28 in the United States and 1.71 in Russia. In both countries, the efficiency is high (due to the fact that it exceeds 1), but it can be increased through the development of the most promising areas, and this is an improvement in the reputation of universities as employers. [For the complete volume, "Digital Education in Russia and Central Asia. Education in the Asia-Pacific Region: Issues, Concerns and Prospects. Volume 65," see ED675848.]