Identifying the dimensions and components for promoting students’ participation in the Iranian university management system

The university management system is the executive arm of university governance and organizes, coordinates and oversees the processes of the functional areas of the university. Part of the social development of the university depends on the comprehensive and interactive presence of the constituencies of the university in this system. The purpose of this study was to identify the components and dimensions of promoting students' participation in university management system in Iran. This research was conducted in the form of a case study and a mixed exploratory research method in two parts: qualitative and quantitative. In the qualitative section, in order to identify the dimensions and components of students' participation purposive judgmental method, a sample of 63 studies in the field of research was selected and by systematically reviewing them, 70 components were identified. Then, through a semi-structured interview tool with a group of experts consisting of 17 academic experts, 61 components were finally determined and prioritized by Fuzzy Delphi Method and classified in five dimensions. In the quantitative part, the current situation of students' participation in the form of descriptive-survey method was assessed through a researcher-made questionnaire from the perspective of 909 individuals. Findings showed that students' participation in the university management system in Iran are not favorable. One of the important obstacles is the unwillingness to work in a team along with the centralism of universities and the weakness of participatory structures. The results showed that 61 components are effective in promoting students' participation in university management system in Iran. These components are in 5 dimensions: structural and managerial (11 components), institutional (7 components), cultural and social (7 components), individual (25 components) and valuable (11 components). Strengthening these components can lead to the upgrading of the university management system to a "council system".