The Development Model of Higher Education Management in Iranian Universities of Medical Sciences during the COVID-19 Pandemic

This study aimed to develop a model for developing higher education management in educational centers affiliated with Iranian universities of medical sciences during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is an applied-descriptive survey with a mixed-method approach. Two hundred forty-two people were selected with cluster random sampling. The data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire with two parts: the personal characteristics and the examination of the importance of higher education management indicators according to the indicators, dimensions, and components identified in the qualitative section and literature review. This questionnaire consists of 60 items, demonstrating a reliability coefficient 0.79, as assessed by Cronbach’s alpha. In terms of content validity, it achieved a score of 0.49. After determining the dimensions and components with SPSS MAXQDA 2023 and LISREL 2022, qualitative data were analyzed with factor analysis. The qualitative part includes the technology development, the expansion of virtual education, increasing the learning quality, the efficiency of the educational system, the expansion of research and access to scientific resources, the expansion of international relations, capital optimization, the flexibility of education, monitoring, and evaluation. The KMO (Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of sampling) measure yielded a value greater than 0.7, indicating that the dataset is suitable for exploratory factor analysis. The most influential dimensions were the scientific development of educational content (β=0.770), the use of technology in empowerment (β=0.560), the explanation of the educational system (β=0.550), and educational monitoring and evaluation (β = 0.330). Explaining the educational system, monitoring, and evaluating higher education management were necessary to empower students.