Internal evaluation of the Physical therapy Department, Rehabilitation Faculty, Tehran University of Medical Sciences]

Academic evaluation is a systematic process for collecting, analyzing and interpretation of the obtained educational information. The purpose is that how many educational objectives can be achieved. The goal of education is creating effective & efficient changes in the outcome of this system (i.e. students), and finally, promotion of the quality of educational process. In the following study, internal evaluation in 8 educational domains of the Physical therapy Department of the Rehabilitation Faculty (TUMS) was performed. Physical therapy Department of the Rehabilitation Faculty (TUMS) was evaluated using the opinion of the faculties, students and graduates in the academic year 2003-2005. The aim was to adjust the system according to the golden standard and community needs by using a cross sectional and descriptive method. This was done on the basis of 10 procedural steps, within 8 domains such as faculties, management, student's opinion, staff and logistic affairs, classes, library, clinics, equipments, laboratory, satisfaction of graduates and curriculum.It is worthwhile to mention that there was no golden standard available in Iran for Physical Therapy Department. Therefore, by using the standards of prestigious universities of the world & opinion of Iranian experts, for the first time in Iran, a native golden standard was defined by the principal investigators. The results of the research were compared with the golden standard. The results of study showed that the mean of 8 domains based on SWOTs model was 76/2% which may be interpreted as a positive model. Among the 8 domains, the clinics, classes & library were rated the best (95%) and student's satisfaction was 65.3%. The results of the current study showed that academic evaluation is the best indicator for representing the strength, weakness, opportunity & threats of the educational system. These results could be used for promotion, adjusting & remodeling of the academic system.