عنوان مقاله [English]

A study of the role of departmental heads in university development planning

چکیده [English]

Azam Ghaderi (MA.), Iran University of Medical Sciences

This article analyzes the potential functions of heads of departments in university development planning, explains the practical content of their functions in the Five- Year Plans, and indicates their inadequacies in carrying out this intrinsically difficult task. There is an overall agreement that a large measure of central direction has been required for the development planning of state universities in the Five-Year Plans. There was no explicit mechanism for coordinating activities of heads of departments, planning offices of the universities, and planning commission of the Ministry of Culture and Higher Education. However, to some extent coordination was achieved through committees and working groups which met with the planning commission. Departmental heads play an important role in determining optimal allocation of resources, specifying dynamic interrelations among departments, and identifying aggregative targets. The data resulted from a random sample of 89 faculties of 12 state universities of Tehran in the areas of medical sciences, basic sciences and engineering, and social sciences indicates that 47% of the departmental heads are in favour of decentralized planning of higher  education. 97% have interests in involvement of faculty members in the planning process. Furthermore, senior members of teaching staff and frequently full professors are found to be more committed to the idea of developmental planning. For various reasons including inadequate skills, limited time, and limited significance given to their role, significant segments of departmental heads do not share fully in the function of development planning. Therefore, it is regarded as inevitable as well as particularly necessary to encourage the participation of heads of departments in the development planning through offering specialized training courses. Finally, the author comments on other modifications necessary to enhance their future effectiveness.