Country Education Profile, Iran CEP 1. Assessment guidelines, Iran A: Higher education A.1. Section 1 - Leading universities Qualifications are assessed as follows for Section 1 institutions: No. Iran qualification Comparable to the educational level Assessment of the AQF qualification notes 1 Associate Degree Diploma 2 or more years full time 2 Bachelor Degree Bachelor Degree 4 or more years full time 3 [Discontinuous] Bachelor Degree Bachelor Degree 2 or more years full time after a Associate Degree 4 Doctor or [Continuous] Master Degree Bachelor Degree A 5 or more years full time 5 [Discontinuous] Master Degree Master Degree 2 or more years full time after a Bachelor Degree 6 Doctoral Degree Doctoral Degree A 3 years or more full time after a Master Degree 7 Other qualifications Assessed on a case-by-case basis Assessment notes A. There are 2 types of Doctoral Degree in Iran. Professional first degrees in medicine, dentistry, pharmacy and veterinary science can be awarded with the title of Doctor and may be translated as Doctoral Degrees. PhD programs can also be awarded as Doctor or Doctoral Degrees. If you are assessing either one of these qualifications you must clearly identify if it is a first degree or a postgraduate degree. If the qualification is in medicine, dentistry, pharmacy or veterinary science it is almost certainly an undergraduate qualification and is assessed by guideline 4. Postgraduate Doctoral Degrees usually have the title Ph.D. on the original language document and should be supported by Bachelor Degree and Master Degree qualification documents. A.2. Section 2 - Other institutions Qualifications are assessed as follows for Section 2 institutions: No. Iran qualification Comparable to the educational level Assessment of the AQF qualification notes 1 Associate Degree Certificate IV 2 or more years full time 2 Bachelor Degree Associate Degree A 4 years full time 3 [Discontinuous] Bachelor Degree Associate Degree 2 years full time after an Associate Degree 4 Bachelor Degree Bachelor Degree A 5 or more years full time 5 Doctor or [Continuous] Master Degree Bachelor Degree 5 or more years full time 6 [Discontinuous] Master Degree Graduate Diploma 2 or more years full time after a Bachelor Degree 7 Other qualifications Assessed on a case-by-case basis Assessment notes A. The years of study guideline criteria refers to the normal program length. This may differ from the actual time taken to complete the qualification. Most Bachelor Degree programs are 4 years full-time, but many students complete them over at least 5 years. Credits are the best way to determine program length: 4 year programs are 130 credits, 5 year programs are 180 credits, 6 year programs are 210 credits, 7 year programs are 290 credits. A.3. Quality indicators The Iranian higher education system is characterized by high participation rates and significant growth, reflecting the youthful demographics of the country. The rapid rate of expansion has resulted in quality differentiation within the sector due to funding, resourcing and infrastructure issues which impact on the quality of higher education provided. Some institutions are more affected by these issues than others. Those most affected tend to be recently-established, in regional towns rather than large cities and private rather than public. The rapid pace of expansion has raised general concerns about the sustainability of the quality of programs, the quality of teaching, funding and resourcing, employment outcomes, labour market readiness, and maintaining academic standards. This is especially problematic given the lack of formal, independent quality assurance of higher education. All quality assurance is undertaken by the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology. There is very little information about quality assurance processes, standards or outcomes. The Ministry also oversees administration of the higher education system including recruitment for public universities and influences staffing decisions for private institutions. This aims to ensure that academics meet the Ministry’s educational and ideological standards. This has contributed to a shortage of qualified academic staff, which is further compounded by the number of new institutions being established and retention issues related to migration (especially in scientific fields). The Ministry plans to enact reforms that focus on decentralisation and increasing institutional autonomy in making staffing, admissions and funding choices. These reforms are yet to be implemented. The Ministry is also responsible for the development and approval of higher education programs through a common national curriculum. This means all students in a given specialisation study the same program, regardless of the institution they attend. Programs have significant general education content which includes cultural and ideological subjects and specialisation starts later than in Australian undergraduate study. Institutions are not permitted to alter programs or develop new programs without Ministry approval. This lack of autonomy impacts on the quality of educational standards, given that academics cannot be responsive to new academic developments and the capacity for critical thinking is limited. This also affects the quality of research undertaken at Iranian universities. Due to Iran's youthful population, demand for higher education far outweighs available places. All routes to public higher education admission are highly competitive. Options open to those who do not gain a place at a public university include admission to private or non-university institutions, which use a separate entrance examination, admission to a teacher training institution or enrolment in evening classes. Of particular note is Islamic Azad University, which consists of over 400 branch campuses, and enrolls over 50% of all higher education students in Iran. Each branch campus is a degree-granting institution, but does not have the autonomy, size, diversity or research activities of other universities in Iran. Due to the large numbers and rapid expansion of Islamic Azad University branches, there is a great quality differentiation. In the 2000s, Islamic Azad University had annual growth rates of 20%. Our guidelines are based on the awarding campus stated on the documentation. Organisation of assessment guidelines Section 1 - Leading institutions Section 1 institutions are public universities, leading private universities and specialist public institutions. They are well-established, have good staff retention, exhibit better staff-to-student ratios, have comparatively good resources, contribute to original research and offer programs up to Doctoral level. Qualifications from Section 1 institutions are assessed at face-value. Expansion in the public sector does not present concerns about quality as new institutions are normally founded on existing infrastructure. Public institutions are more popular with students. Entry is very competitive and lack of places has driven the expansion of the private sector. The better quality branches of Islamic Azad University are also in this section. While entry to Islamic Azad University is not particularly competitive, these campuses tend to be more developed in terms of programs, resources and staff. Proximity to prestigious public universities increases the likelihood of having appropriately qualified staff, as private universities often employ academic staff from public universities on a part-time basis. Most institutions have been established since the revolution, have better resources than regional institutions and offer programs up to Doctoral level. Section 2 - Other institutions Institutions in this section are public and private non-university institutions in addition to most Islamic Azad University branches. Institutions in this section were established during expansion periods in the Iranian higher education system. As a result, these institutions have limited access to qualified staff, low resources and often lack appropriate infrastructure. At private institutes student fees mostly cover operating costs, rather than capital expenditure, and therefore infrastructure at these private institutions can suffer. Many institutions are in small towns or remote regions. Entry is not as competitive as it is for institutions in Section 1. These factors contribute to concerns about maintaining educational quality. Assessment guidelines are for undergraduate qualifications and Master Degrees only as very few institutions in this section offer postgraduate education or undertake research. B. Technical and vocational education B.1. Section 1 - Institutions supervised by the Ministry of Education Qualifications awarded by institutions under the supervision of the Ministry of Education are assessed as follows: No. Iran qualification Comparable to the educational level of the AQF qualification 1 Associate Degree Certificate IV awarded by a technical school or technical institute 5 years full time after Grade 8 2 Associate Degree Certificate IV awarded by a technical institute 2 or more years full time after Grade 11 3 Other qualifications Assessed on a case-by-case basis B.2. Quality indicators Most technical and vocational education in Iran takes place at the secondary level. Both secondary and postsecondary technical and vocational education is regulated by the Ministry of Education. Regulation and centralized administration results in a certain level of quality standardisation, however, there is minimal