Characteristics of the Internal Evaluations of the Educational Groups in Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Iran

Background: Intragroup evaluation is a process through which faculty members, students, and university officials examine the strengths and weaknesses of their department by assessing the educational unit to clarify the status of the department. Objectives: The present study aimed to investigate the internal evaluations (IEs) of the departments conducted at Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences (KUMS), Iran. Methods: In this descriptive study, IEs were performed at KUMS during 2012-2018. A summary of the documented information was collected by a checklist, and 22 IEs of the university departments during this period were reviewed. Data analysis was performed in SPSS version 21. Results: Most of the IEs were evaluated within six months. In 100% of the cases, the educational goals of a specific department, cases of the evaluation areas, and assessment criteria were determined and scored, and the lesson plans for the existing theory units were delivered to the students. In addition, documents of faculty members’ research activities, along with specific and codified programs for conferences, were reported. However, only 27.3% of the educational experts and 54.5% of the student representatives were involved in the group evaluation committee, and in 68.2% of the cases, there were lesson plans for skill units and clinical wards. On the other hand, 40% of the cases had a specific documentary program to assess the students’ academic decline/achievement in the groups. Conclusions: Formally, the IEs were performed correctly, and the obtained results briefly showed that they could achieve multiple academic goals. Due to the differences between the results and the observed state of the university, external evaluations are recommended as well.