Designing and presenting an accreditation model at the department level(Case study: Departments of Higher Education Management and Educational Management of Islamic Azad University)

The aim of this study was to design and present an appropriate validation model at the level of the Department of Islamic Azad University.

The research method is a combination of consecutive explanatory design and in terms of purpose is among the applied research. The statistical population in the quantitative part included the heads of departments and faculty members of the Islamic Azad University and in the qualitative part included experts and faculty members. Quantitative sample size of 36 department heads and 97 faculty members was determined by random stratified sampling method and in qualitative section 66 expert faculty members and field specialists were determined by non-random snowball sampling method. Researcher-made questionnaire, interview and checklist were used. The face and content validity of the questionnaires and research tools were determined using the opinions of experts, supervisors and consultants and the reliability of the questionnaires was estimated with Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.97. Descriptive and inferential statistical methods and structural equation modeling were used to analyze the data

Findings showed that from the perspective of the sample, the quality of the dimensions and the process of implementing the internal and external evaluation plan of the university is above average.

The results showed that five steps are necessary for validation at the departmental level and the number of 8 factors, 42 criteria and 214 validation indicators were identified and the validation model has a good fit