Comparative Study of Evaluation Criteria for Humanities Faculty Members of Universities in Iran and the World

Purpose: Universities at the highest level of society's education system use various strategies to increase quality and respond to existing issues, among which the role of faculty members is essential. The continuous personal development of faculty members and the evaluation of their duties is one of the characteristics of a successful university. The system of assessment and promotion of faculty members is one of the tools for regulating the overall performance of higher education, and updating and revising its indicators is necessary. In Iran, despite many revisions, this system is still subject to various criticisms, one of the most important of which is the need for more attention to the differences, such as the fields of the humanities becoming more prominent and needing to formulate strategic policies. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the evaluation policies of humanities in selected universities of the world with a policy-research approach, extract evaluation indicators, and compare them with the indicators of the evaluation system in Iran.
Method: The research is a qualitative study with a comparative approach, and by using the documentary study method, the performance evaluation policies of the faculty members in the subgroups of the humanities in the selected universities were extracted and compared with the internal standards. The research population was the relevant documents in the universities of the world, which were chosen purposefully, and they are also the regulations for the promotion of faculty members in Iran. To review foreign documents, first, universities were selected that are considered excellent according to the Times 2022 university ranking system in the field of humanities and arts; And then universities that are similar to our country in terms of the higher education system and cultural, social and economic conditions; For this purpose, the countries of the region and the Islamic world, and beyond that, Asian countries were selected, which finally included 25 universities based on the availability of relevant documents.
Findings: The evaluation system of the humanities of the world includes the three dimensions of education (with nine indicators and 59 measures), research (with eight indicators and 83 measures), and service (with three indicators and 30 measures). The comparison with the internal regulations showed that education is of great importance. The measures related to each index are much more detailed and comprehensive. The professors in the world's universities who participate in various professional activities receive educational points. The variety of indicators in the research for world universities is much more than the internal regulations that emphasize the outputs in the study, while the output index with nearly 30 metrics is only one of the research indicators in the world universities. Next, the services of the selected universities are multifaceted according to the internal regulations and include promotion activities in society to fulfill responsibilities in the government and professional associations. Things like appearing in the media, giving speeches, participating in civil institutions, consulting services to students and peers, etc., are among the services that are not included in the internal regulations.
Conclusion: Considering the differences in humanities and the inefficiency of Iran's research in this field in recent years, the necessity of revising the regulations for the promotion and specific rules to the field of humanities is increasingly felt. Updating the current regulations based on the findings of this research for humanities faculty members can be more prosperous, more appropriate, and more consistent with the educational, research, and executive missions expected from this field.