Evaluation of Effectiveness of the B.A. Graduates of Urban Planning, Department of the University of Arts (1999-2005)

Globalization, development of sciences and technology, and an increasing in public expectations from the conditions of societies are changing every day. Increasing awareness and information dissemination through the media and internet have paved the way for increasing public knowledge, and has caused technical and academic training to face with new conditions. In other words, the duties of expert and academic training have become more difficult and sensitive. At present, educational planning shall continuously trace the internal and external threats, opportunities, goals, and strategies that have emerged recently. Since a decade ago the Urban Development discipline was introduced into the universities of the country. The initial goal of this course was to foster consistency in all levels of urban development as an academic discipline, and respond to the changing needs and developments in urban society. During previous years, a great number of university students graduated in the mentioned discipline and were whether absorbed in the labour market or started studying at higher levels. Since evaluating the effectiveness of the graduates of an educational department illustrates the quantitative and qualitative conditions of the training programs as well as training and research methods in the past and at the present time, this study tries to closely review and analyse the extent of effectiveness of the graduates of urban development at B.A. level in the University of Arts. Regarding the scope and description of research techniques, this review includes an evaluation of a seven-year period ()students who entered university from 1999 to 2005 and graduated from 2003 to 2009)(. In this connection, the indicators for measuring the effectiveness of the training system used in Urban development faculty, such as the extent of absorption in labour market, and the extent they fulfill professional and general needs, and ultimately, promotion to higher levels will be studied and analyzed. Generally, this research is an applied one that draws on descriptive, survey based, and analytical methods. In order to reach to a theoretical framework and compile evaluation indicators, this research has adopted a method that is based on documents and library works. The tools of the research that have been used for data gathering were mainly questionnaires that were compiled based on research questions and hypothesis. The information gathered was analyzed through SPSS software and statistical models ()especially Chi-square test)(. The outcomes of these researches suggest that largely, this group had been successful in realization of its research objectives. However, the existing conditions are far from desirable and require accurate educational planning and reviewing the course book contents and training methods.