Components of Institutionalizing the Fourth Generation of Universities in Agricultural Higher Education in Iran

Universities are usually made subject to many complex, and sometimes contradictory, changes in the provision of job opportunities, missions, technological advancements, budgets and national/international competitions. These changes can pose threats to the traditional mode of education, research and services. They have prompted the need to perform activities better, faster and with less cost. While universities must protect the ideals and values of society and strive to convey virtuous culture from one generation to another, they are also expected to be agile and flexible in policies. The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify the components of institutionalization of the fourth generation of universities in Iranian organizations of higher education. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with specialists in agriculture of higher education and experts who also had managerial experience in starred academic positions. The research involved 20 individual interviews via line-by-line analysis. The interviews were processed in the form of conventional content analysis using MAXQDA software. Based on the findings, the components of institutionalization of the fourth generation of universities in Iranian agricultural higher education included the competence of the agricultural university, the speed and flexibility of the university in dealing with changes and transformations, responsiveness, knowledge-based learning and innovative capacity of the university, all of which summarily comprised the 6 components