Challenges of Iran's higher education system in the facing of globalizationPhenomenological study

The purpose of this study is to explain and identify the strengths, weaknesses opportunities and threats of Iranian higher education system, to facing with globalization.

A phenomenological, qualitative approach was followed. The research population included all specialists in the field of higher education in the transnational field. A sample of experts’ was sought out using a purpose sampling and selection method were critical case of Iranian experts and and included 19. Inclusion criteria were expertise in higher education, being a faculty member and the academic position were considered. As for data collection instrument, a semi-structured interview was used and the content validity of the questions was verified by 5 experts. Interview analysis was performed at two levels: content analysis and SWOT analysis. The codes were classified into organizing themes 96 and global themes 20 That 3 global themes were extracted in the strengths of the higher education system, 6 themes in the weaknesses, 3 themes in the level of opportunity and 8 themes in the level of threat.

Strengths: Managers' support for active globalization trends, intrinsic motivation of academics to be present on the world stage and the possibility of creating appropriate contexts and standards for a world-class university. Weaknesses: Inadequate response to local, national, regional and global strategic needs, Inadequate standards of educational, laboratory and facilities at the global level, lack of respect for human capital and unemployment of the educated, Inadequacy of rules and regulations in the field of exchanges, Inadequate criteria for attracting faculty members and graduate students and academic promotion, and Loss of cultural values of some faculty members. Opportunities: The impact of higher education systems on the political, economic, cultural and social structures of governments, the possibility of universities earning income from various sources, strengthening and improving higher education systems and interaction with each other and the view of international forums, governments and foreign universities on Iran as a country with a historical and cultural background. Threats: Restricting research on indigenous issues and values, Creating scientific indicators and international and global policies based on institutional theory, extensive recruitment of elites by developed countries and top universities, sanctions on some Iranian universities, damage to indigenous beliefs, culture and language, sanctioning some Iranian universities and ignoring the wise in the structure politic.The results of this research can be used by planners, decision makers and policy makers of the higher education system in order to review the educational, research and university services. Also, the findings of this research were used in compiling the documents of the scientific map of the country, determining the budget and the way of generating income of universities, and the indicators of hiring faculty members. It can also be used in quality indicators and in terms of the number of admissions of graduate students.