The determination of inequality amount and ranking Tehran`s universities toward sustainable development

Development of higher education in the recent years makes it necessary for evaluation of universities to ensure their quality. The importance of the evaluation is that it can determine the realities about the quality. Education assessment is a formal activity to determine the quality and efficiency of curriculum. To measure the efficiency, we have to consider the criteria and indices. The indices and criteria are numerical values representing qualitative attributes in numbers. The numerical indices were used as a mechanism for efficiency analysis to assess the universities. This is the task of the governments to show and eliminate the inequalities in education. Equal education opportunities in schools mean equal access of all to the efficient education for sustainable development. The equal access of all students to educational opportunities can improve educational system to achieve the sustainable development goals. The education for sustainable development is the learning based on some principles with the aim of sustainability in all levels. Thus, the purpose of this present research is to make a ranking of the universities of Tehran City using document and non-document indices for educational goals. This is an applied research with survey method and literature review for data gathering. The population of this study is all the students of the universities of Tehran City. Using Cochran formula, we have selected 383 individuals by proportional classes and distributed the questionnaires among them. The tool has Cronbach alpha quotient of 0.951 and its reliability and validity have been confirmed. We have used SPSS for data analysis. The Analytic Network Process model has also been used to prioritize the indices. We have also used TOPSIS model to make the ranking of the universities in Tehran City. In the TOPSIS analysis as a multi-criteria decision making, a m*n matrix has been formed. The indices and universities have been assigned in the columns and rows of the matrices. Following the scale changes, the weights of indices have been determined by entropy. After that, we got positive and negative ideal solutions for each index and criterion. The differences of the universities from the ideal indicate their position relative to each other. In this research, the universities of Tehran City have been assessed in terms of the indices of higher education. The results of this research have indicated differences among the universities in the enjoyment in the indices. In the integration of the indices, the results have indicated that the Sharif University of Technology, University of Tehran, and Tarbiat Modares University are ranked first, second, and third, respectively. This ranking is mainly consistent with international reports. In two classes of universities of technology and comprehensive universities, the results of this research have indicated that Sharif, Amierkabir, and Science and industry are in the first, second, and third ranks among the universities of technology, respectively, and University of Tehran, Tarbiat Modares, and Shahid Beheshti are ranked in the first, second, and third ranks among the comprehensive universities. The results have stated that the possibilities have the efficiency of 0.88, process indices of education have efficiency of 0.79, and environment and interaction indices have the efficiency of 0.69 as the most effective indices in the ranking. These have also been detailed in direct and indirect effects.
So far, most of the ranking systems were based on research criteria and education criteria were often neglected for university ranking. The essential ranking is outputs and educational activities. Thus, it is necessary to make more attempts to enhance indices of education quality. In this research, we have considered both the outputs of the universities and the input and process criteria.
The ranking system of Shanghai and QS are merely considering the universities as a whole. These ranking systems do not consider the individual indices, in details. The innovation of this present research is that the universities have been considered in each individual criterion and they have also been investigated in integration of all criteria. Therefore, this research has investigated the universities in two categories of document and non-document indices. We have measured 10 document indices and 9 non-document indices through a questionnaire survey. The universities have been compared with each other by integration of the indices. Most of the wholesale ranking systems do not take into account the differences between the universities in their nature. In this research, we have examined the universities in terms of their activity in two classes of comprehensive universities and technology universities. Education is considered as the most important means to equalize social differences. The equal education only can be achieved by equal access of all to the education. The ranking of the universities can show education and research achievement of the universities. An approach in the ranking of the universities is awareness of their position relative to other universities of the world. As the universities active in a given mission are compared with each other, their position would better be discerned. This study has assessed the inequalities of the universities of Tehran in two separate groups of technology and comprehensive universities. Different activities of universities make them to present a variety of outputs. Some universities have more attempts in educational purposes and some other in research purposes. So, the outcomes of various universities and colleges may be different with each other and this can affect their ranking. The results of this research have also indicated that the ranking system based on all the individual indices rather than a wholesale index can present more real ranking. This study has also made a ranking to eliminate the inequalities in order to achieve the sustainable development goals. For the ranking, we have analyzed more than 500 components in a variety of indices not just research findings indices.