Evaluating the higher education policies in terms of political development indicators in the Islamic Republic of Iran

Iran’s higher education policies in non-profit higher education institutions were evaluated from political development indicators. This study was conducted on 1029 managers and faculty members of non-profit higher education institutions in Tehran, Iran, who were selected by random sampling. Based on Cochran’s formula, 280 managers and faculty members of non-profit higher education institutions were selected as the statistical sample of the research. The results showed that higher education policies have a 33% ability to predict political development in the studied institutions, and the remaining 67% is related to other factors and variables. Communication with industries and financial institutions (beta= -0.23) as the most predictive power, scientific development (beta= 0.22), internationalization of education (beta= 0.21), and university goals and mission in line with development (beta= 0.19) could affect political development. A flexible organizational structure with a beta coefficient of 0.15 could not predict the political development of institutions. Based on the results, the T value of the relationship with industries and financial institutions was higher than other variables and had a more favorable situation.