Predicting the Growth Trend of Demand for Distance Education in Iran: A Case Study of Payame Noor University

Abstract

Awareness of the strategic role of higher education has led many countries to pursue long-term goals. The aim of this study is to identify the factors affecting the growth trend of the student in higher education by 2029. The statistical population of the whole is Payame Noor University. The method of this research is documentary-analytical. First, the factors influencing the demand for higher education, especially in open and distance education, were examined and analyzed using a regression model. Research data evaluated using the ordinary least squares regression method. The results show that economic factors have the most critical impact on increasing the demand for distance education. The forecast results show that the growth trend of the student population until 2029, between the two groups of men and women, is equally slightly decreasing.