The article examines the economic aspects of forecasting and managing the image of an educational institution as a factor in enhancing its competitiveness and sustainability. It demonstrates that a positive image directly affects student enrollment, financial performance, and institutional rankings, which substantiates the need for applying analytical methods to forecast the effectiveness of image-building activities. The purpose of the research is to develop an approach for forecasting and evaluating the economic effects of managing the image of an educational institution. The study employs systemic and project-based approaches, surveys, analysis and synthesis methods, as well as mathematical modeling using Markov chains; expert evaluation was used to estimate transition probabilities, and the Monte Carlo method was applied to validate the model. A forecasting tool is proposed that enables the justification of the economic feasibility of image-building measures and the integration of modeling results into the strategic management of an educational organization. The research resulted in the development of a Markov model describing the dynamics of changes in image perception and its experimental verification, which confirmed that the implementation of targeted image-building activities significantly increases the probability of forming a positive perception and contributes to strengthening the economic sustainability of the institution.

educational institution image, forecasting, economic sustainability, competitiveness, strategic management, Markov model.