The article is devoted to the sociological vision of the problem of educational failure of Russian students. Based on research materials and higher education practices, the severity of the problem is proved. The thesis about the limitations of the pedagogical measurement of students’ educational failure and the need for its sociological interpretation is argued. The latter is carried out in the article at three levels – community, organizational, and institutional. Within the framework of the author’s sociological research, the characteristic of unsuccessful students is given. It is considered at the organizational level in the system of intra-university interaction of pedagogical and managerial staff. The problem is interpreted in the context of institutional gaps and contradictions that characterize the relationship between higher education and social institutions and determine educational failure. The article reveals the social factors that influence the educational failure of students.