The competency pattern of faculty deans with emphasis on Academic governance

This study was conducted with the aim of designing a competency model for faculty deans based on academic governance. Using an exploratory research approach, the components and subcomponents of the model were identified based on the opinions of higher education experts and scholars. The method of this study is qualitative in terms of data collection, exploratory in terms of purpose, and developmental in terms of results. A data-driven strategy and semi-structured interview tool were used to collect data and information in the qualitative section. The participants in the field study were faculty deans in specialized universities and higher education experts in the country. Twelve participants were interviewed using purposive and snowball sampling methods and with a theoretical saturation criterion. Data and information analysis in the qualitative section was conducted through three-stage coding: "open", "axial", and "selective" using the systematic approach of Strauss and Corbin (1997) for theory building. By studying the extracted data and information, 462 open codes (initial concepts), 267 concepts, and 30 categories were identified, and these categories and concepts were schematically designed in the form of six main dimensions. The findings of this study showed that, given the centralized policy-making structure of higher education in Iran and the lack of organizational independence of specialized universities, the scientific governance of faculties faces a special situation. As a result, to facilitate the scientific governance of faculties, it is necessary to assign responsibility to faculty deans based on the competencies extracted from this study, such as "policy-making skills", "political skills", "improving educational quality indicators", "soft skills", "system thinking", "responsibility and accountability", "awareness of global governance", "decision-making skills", "interaction with stakeholders", "ethical governance", "academic knowledge and expertise", and "commitment to academic values".