In 1975, with the increasing number of students and the expansion of universities within Iran, the “Deputy for University Affairs Supervision in the National Organization of Educational Testing” was established with the aim of overseeing higher education activities. This structure continued its work until 1981.
Simultaneously, with the formation of the Council for Supervision and Assessment of Education in universities and higher education institutions in the late 1980s, the “Office of Supervision and Assessment of Education” was established in 1982 within the Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology. From 1988, this office endeavored to create supervision and assessment units in universities.
In 1991, this structure was renamed the “Office of Higher Education Supervision and Evaluation,” and the Higher Education Supervision and Evaluation Council was established to oversee and assess universities and higher education institutions, and to determine the extent to which quantitative and qualitative goals in the country’s higher education system were being achieved.
In line with the policy of decentralizing supervision and evaluation activities, in 2008, the Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology approved guidelines and established provincial boards. Each province selected a state university affiliated with the Ministry to lead and guide the supervision and evaluation process of institutions in that province. Accordingly, the University of Isfahan, as the selected university of Isfahan province, began overseeing universities and higher education institutions from 2008. Initially, it compiled comprehensive information on higher education institutions in the province and developed the “Higher Education Profile of the Province” booklet. To implement its supervisory goals, it formed six supervision and evaluation working groups: 1) Supervision and Evaluation of State Universities and Higher Education Institutions, 2) Supervision and Evaluation of the Comprehensive Applied Science University, 3) Supervision and Evaluation of Payame Noor University units and centers, 4) Supervision and Evaluation of Non-Governmental – Non-Profit Higher Education Institutions, 5) Supervision and Evaluation of Islamic Azad University, and 6) Supervision and Evaluation of Open Higher Education Institutions.
In June 2011, based on Article 23 of the Fifth Economic Development Plan and Clause 110 of the Single Article of the 2011 Budget Law of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, the Technical and Vocational University was separated from the Ministry of Education and began its activities as an independent subsystem under the Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology. Consequently, the Isfahan Provincial Supervision Board established a working group for the supervision and evaluation of the Technical and Vocational University and included the supervision of its affiliated colleges in its agenda.
In 2012, the supervision and evaluation offices of various deputy ministries were consolidated under the title “Center for Higher Education Supervision and Evaluation,” operating independently under the direct supervision of the Minister. Following the approval of the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution to consolidate all teacher training centers across Iran into an independent subsystem called “Farhangian University” and obtaining permission from the Higher Education Development Council, the Isfahan Provincial Supervision Board began the supervision and evaluation process of this subsystem in 2015 under the working group “Supervision and Evaluation of State Universities and Universities Affiliated with Executive Bodies (Farhangian University).”
In 2016, with the revision of supervision and evaluation regulations, all supervision and evaluation activities were targeted with a “quality assurance” approach. Consequently, the title “Center for Higher Education Supervision and Evaluation” was changed to “Center for Supervision, Evaluation, and Quality Assurance of Science, Research, and Technology,” and accordingly, the title of this board was also changed to the “Board of Supervision, Evaluation, and Quality Assurance of Science, Research, and Technology of Isfahan.”
In 2018, the “Provincial Higher Education Crime Prevention and Supervision Working Group” was formed to prevent and reduce crimes and violations in the educational domain of Isfahan province.
Additionally, in 2020, with the COVID-19 pandemic and the shift to electronic teaching and learning activities, the specialized working group “Supervision, Evaluation, and Quality Assurance of Electronic Teaching and Learning” was established to formulate policies and evaluate the performance of electronic teaching and learning activities in universities and higher education institutions in Isfahan province.