The article is devoted to the discussion of the results of the «round table» devoted to the research project of the Russian Science Foundation «The formation of a nonlinear model of higher education in the region in conditions of social and economic uncertainty». It presents expert opinions on the opportunities, prospects and risks of introducing the elements of the nonlinear model into the practices of the higher school of the macroregion, the main purpose of which is to mitigate and level out the destructive consequences of institutional changes in modern higher education in Russia.