THE NECESSITY OF ESTABLISHING THE QUALITY EVALUATION SYSTEM IN ISLAMIC AZAD UNIVERSITY AND PRESENTING AN APPROPRIATE MODEL

Higher education system in Iran and consequently Islamic Azad University as one part of this system is considered to be the main moving force contributing to realization of sustainable development policies of the State. Training specialists, producing and disseminating knowledge and providing specialized services are the main functions of the system in this area. To succeed in achieving the aims, the system is required to be efficient or in other words it is required to meet the necessary quality. The first step in this regard is recognizing about the current situation, informing how far it is from the desired condition, and planning to reach the ideal (probable) status. The most strategic tool for representing and promoting the quality is the use of evaluation mechanism. Thus in order to represent the quality of Islamic Azad University as a significant part of higher education system, the comprehensive evaluation mechanism needs to be studied, designed and implemented. This research was planned and carried out to fulfill this goal. The method used in this research was an analyticaldescriptive one. The population under survey has been constituted of all higher education systems which are experienced in this field, and the sample was selected out by the purposeful sampling method of desired type. Accordingly, three basic questions have been posed and on the basis of the achievements and results of the research have been answered. According to the research findings, the comprehensive quality evaluation structure of the Islamic Azad University in the levels of line and staff, factors (7 factors), criteria (75 criteria) and indicators (525 indicators) of quality evaluation, the appropriate quality evaluation approach and the way of its establishment have been proposed. At the end, the 12 components of comprehensive quality evaluation system of Islamic Azad University have been presented and the necessary proceeding steps concerning each component are introduced.