The article deals with the problems of restructuring state"funded higher education institutions. The authors argue for the necessity to take into account the economic potential of a college when changing its status to that of an autonomous institution. To evaluate this characteristic, the authors suggest using both internal indicators such as the condition of the facilities and the educational and financial activities of colleges that answer to the Federal Agency of Education, and external indicators such as the financial capacities of the local population. The results of the analysis are used to order colleges according to their economic potential. This ranking can be used to formulate novel approaches to the autonomization of colleges.