Abstract
Universities and higher education institutions (HEIs) aim to provide the maximum support for the community. Hence, to obtain the optimum results, the educational policies must be in alignment with the societies’ needs and prerequisites. The present research investigated the undergraduates’ expectations of studying at university and the fulfillment of those expectations prior and after being accepted into the university. 600 first-year undergraduates were selected based on cluster sampling from 2783 first-year undergraduates at Allameh Tabataba’i University, Iran. The data were gathered through deep interviews and cross-sectional survey. We emphasize that the centralized educational system in Iran works as a speed bump to obtain the goals and ambitions as portrayed in the HEIs’ mottos. The findings remind the educational policy-makers that success does not happen in a vacuum; rather, it is a collaborative joint practice among all members of the HE sector. The novelty of the research is its applicability to those centralized systems of policy-making worldwide specifically with engagement of students which adds to the literature and can urge the authorities of the HE sector to modify their earlier policies in the short run; and work toward decentralized system of educational leadership as the main panacea in the long run.
Highlights
Universities and higher education institutions (HEIs) aim to provide the maximum support for the community
As it is evident in these research practices, the rates of employment after graduation, as well as the prestige which students receive within social community as students of higher education are prevalent ideals among respondents in almost all research as their expectations from universities
These are the ideals that almost all students aim to acquire during their academic life in the universities for success in their career as soon as they are graduated from the university
Summary
Universities and higher education institutions (HEIs) aim to provide the maximum support for the community. As it is evident in these research practices, the rates of employment after graduation, as well as the prestige which students receive within social community as students of higher education are prevalent ideals among respondents in almost all research as their expectations from universities All these findings are again in alignment with Dole’s (1970) earlier study on “seventy-eight reasons for going to college” and found “Degree necessary for work was the most popular reason” Universities must have the opportunity to grow knowledge (in terms of truths, laws, theories and concepts), develop basic academic success skills, nurture intellectual skills, facilitate the learning of new thinking skills, promote learning how to learn, improve communication skills, aid individuals to understand how to apply what has been learned, provide students with the development of the attitudes necessary for effective thinking, and transform students into a learner of the leader (Jones, 2001) Others such as Laguía et al, (2019) believe that the above-mentioned cases, but entrepreneurship skills and creativity must be at the core of university training plan
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