"After the Islamic revolution in 1979, Iran’s population saw a great increase in the birthrate. Actually, the population was one of the fastest growing populations in the world and the country was going to witness a large crowd of students asking for higher education in just a decade or so. This made authorities think in advance of ways to address the issue before it gets too late, especially with respect to the fact that Iranian families put a premium on higher education. It was evident that the then state university system did not have the potential to accommodate for the needs of the would-be students. At the same time, providing millions of students with free higher education could put the country’s budget under stress. This state of affairs convinced all decision makers that a private university system that could be managed by charging tuition on students was the only solution. In the meantime, it would be much better for the students to study in their hometowns to minimize the costs of accommodation and transportation. This meant that, there was a pressing necessity for a university with branches spread all over the country and accessible to all walks of life. Islamic Azad University (IAU) was the outcome of such a line of thinking."