This article presents the results of theoretical analysis of existing approaches to the categories of the "intellectual capital" and "intellectual potential" of an organization. The authors identified the specific peculiarities of developing the intellectual potential of a university and propose their own view of its structure. A comparative analysis of the methodological approaches to the quantification of the intellectual potential of a university was conducted. The study proposes guidelines on monitoring organization, a system of indicators and methods of assessing the effectiveness of the use of the intellectual potential of a university. Moreover, the results of a quantitative assessment of the effectiveness of the use of intellectual potential on the example of the leading Russian universities listed in the QS World University Ranking are presented. The suggested assessment methodology is versatile and can be applied not only to the Russian universities but also on a global scale.