Developing an educational audit model for evaluating educational departments

Abstract

Abstract: Introduction: To achieve the goals and expectations of education, universities, colleges and educational departments, have to measure and improve the quality of education through specific mechanisms in the form of audit and evaluation. The purpose of this study was to develop a comprehensive educational audit model for evaluating an educational department. Methods: A two-step process was used to develop the audit model. First, based on a literature review, evaluation and audit models were studied and features of an educational audit model were derived. Then a primary audit model was developed based on the synthesized data. In the phase two, a panel of relevant experts and professionals reviewed and assessed the developed audit framework at three consensus meetings. Results: Areas of the CIPP model including context, input, process and products, have been addressed in the proposed model and also strengths of different models and necessary features have been taken into account. These features were improving culture of quality in the organization, improving intraorganizational relationships and increasing the knowledge, creativity and accountability of the staff and faculty members. The model which named Audit and quality improvement cycle consists of six stages: 1) Developing audit plan 2) Performing educational audit 3) Analyzing the results and preparing audit report 4) Developing improvement plans 5) Performing interventions and 6) Analyzing the results after interventions. Conclusion: Educational audit, determines description of the current situation and the distance to the desirable conditions. Different interpretations of evaluation lead to the development of several models in this field. The proposed model which is based on an organizational approach, involves the cycle of comparing the current situation with the pre-defined standards and the complementary cycle of quality improvement for ensuring continues improvement and provides a comprehensive and applicable framework which can help the future researchers to evaluate educational departments . Key words: educational evaluation, educational Audit, educational departments, evaluation models, audit model, higher education institution