عوامل گسترش كمي آموزش عالي و پيامدهاي آن در ايران از ديدگاه نخبگان و تحصيلكرده ها

The Quantitative Expansion of Higher Education in Iran, the Bases and Consequences

A major change in the Iranian higher education domain in the last two decades is the growth of higher education institutions and universities and the high rate of university enrollments. Indeed the 24 times increase in the number of enrollments at the present decade, compared to three decades ago, shows the bulk of growth and the possible consequences. The aim of the present survey was to figure out the importance of the above-mentioned phenomenon and its consequences from the elite and intelligentsia perspectives. The data collection technique was questionnaire. The population was the experts of the Ministry of Sciences, Research and Technology and the faculty members of universities. The results of the survey showed that such a breakthrough was expanding and reshaping the Iranian middle class. The respondents believed that among others, class mobility and the fair distribution of wealth and power in society could be counted as the positive side of change. However, the study demonstrated the weakness of the Iranian economical system to embrace the mass of graduates.