Development Strategies in Medical Education

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Pourbairamian G, Norouzi A, Ramazani G, Hashemi A. Comparative analysis of faculty promotion systems in Iranian medical universities and published promotion systems at ten selected top-ranked universities based on the 2018 Times Higher Education ranking. DSME 2026; 13 (1) :99-112
URL: http://dsme.hums.ac.ir/article-1-493-en.html

Introduction: Faculty promotion systems are important mechanisms for performance evaluation and professional development in universities. This study compared the main features of the faculty promotion system used in Iranian medical universities with publicly available promotion systems from ten selected universities ranked highly in medicine and dentistry according to the 2018 Times Higher Education ranking.
Methods: This comparative document-based study used publicly available university webpages and promotion handbooks, together with the 2014 (1393) Iranian faculty promotion regulation. Data were organized using Bereday’s four-stage model of description, interpretation, juxtaposition, and comparison. The comparison focused on evaluation domains, evaluation approach and levels, scope, criteria, and timing.
Results:  Across the reviewed documents, teaching, research, and service or professional activities were recurrent promotion domains. Many of the selected universities described qualitative judgments alongside quantitative evidence and multi-level committee review, whereas the reviewed Iranian regulation used a nationally standardized framework with greater emphasis on point-based criteria. The amount and detail of publicly available information varied across institutions.
Discussion: The comparison identifies structural differences in documented promotion approaches but does not establish the superiority, effectiveness, or actual implementation quality of any system. The findings may inform future review of the Iranian promotion framework when combined with updated documents, disciplinary and institutional context, and stakeholder input.