Collage of ARCHITECTURE URBAN DESIGN

Islamic Azad University is the third-largest university in the world as far as the enrolment numbers display. It is a non-governmental, nonprofit Iranian higher education provider that has been established in 1982 as the first private university in the post-revolutionary Iranian academia and in response to the then growing population of the country and the dire need for higher education. At the juncture of post-revolution times and the imposed war against Iran, the emergence of Azad University was of vital social importance. Much of Iran’s experienced workforce today has been educated and trained by IAU. To date, some 5 million students have graduated from IAU, and currently, 1.7 million students are studying at the university branches.

Over three decades and a half, IAU has ramified into 400+ branches throughout Iran and four branches abroad. All the branches shall comply by the rules, regulations, and bylaws stipulated and mandated by the Central Organization of IAU, headquartered in the capital, Tehran. The university receives no funds from the government and runs merely on the tuition fees and sporadic donations from the philanthropists.

Apart from the then social and cultural aptness for the expansion of IAU throughout the nation, one primary other reason behind IAU’s extensive growth lies in the integrated, centralized system of management launched and run by its first president, Dr. Abdollah Jassbi, who was in office from 1982 to 2012. Over the past six years, IAU has had five different presidents.

The incumbent president of IAU, Dr. Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi, attempts to shift the focus at IAU from increasing the enrolment numbers to enhancing the quality of education and boosting the knowledge-based economy through creating a balance between the centralized and decentralized decision-making.

To facilitate and expedite the academic and administrative activities of the branches across the country, the university has delegated partial authority to 31 provincial secretariats for managing and monitoring the branches in their respective provinces. The international branches abroad are under the direct supervision of the IAU’s Central Organization and communicate through the Directorate for International Affairs. The academic issues, however, are communicated with the Office of Vice-President for Academic Affairs and Graduate Studies and its dependent directorates.