Performance Appraisal of Islamic Azad University Branches of Mazandaran Province Using Data Envelopment Analysis

Universities, like all other organizations, need their performance to be evaluated in order to play a more effective role and also be able to make the optimum use of their limited resources. The objective of this present research is to evaluate the performance of each branch of the Azad Islamic University (IAU) in Mazandaran province, determining the role model and reference branches to define the inefficient branches by applying envelopment analysis and ranking the efficient branches of AIU in Mazandaran province by applying Anderson Peterson method. So, the performance of 12 university branches each with two input variables(educational and services) and two outcome variables(educational and research productivity) have been studied. Findings of the research show that Behshahr, Savadkouh, Mahmoud-Abad, Nour, Chalous and Tonekabon branches are efficient branches and Ghaemshahr, Neka, Amol, Babol, Noshahr,and Ramsar branches are inefficient ones. Reference branches have been identified for inefficient branches. From technical point of view all of the efficient branches have operated efficiently in both input and outcome variables and inefficient braches of Neka and Noshahr, despite their total deficiency, have relatively efficient performance in the second outcome variable(research productivity). From scale point of view, Ghaemshahr, Babol, Amol, Tonekabon and Ramsar branches have outputs with a descending scale; Savadkouh Mahmoud-Abad’ Nour and Chalous branches with a fixed scale and Behshahr, Neka and Noshahr with an ascending scale. Among the efficient branches, Nour branch has a strong and Chalous a weak efficiency but the other branches are placed between these two. At the end of the research, some results, suggestions and also some points for the further possible similar researches in the future are made.

Islamic Azad University, Mazandaran, Data envelopments analysis