Objective: To identify the key components and variables in the performance evaluation of universities and military educational institutions of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Methodology: This study employed a meta-analysis approach. The statistical population consisted of articles and theses related to the performance evaluation of universities and military educational institutions of the Islamic Republic of Iran conducted between 2001 and 2024. Out of 182 studies, 24 articles were selected for meta-analysis, and among these, 18 studies were chosen to calculate the effect size. The effect size was estimated using Cohen's d formula with the CMA software.
Findings: Through effect size analysis, 13 essential performance evaluation components for universities and military educational institutions, along with 169 variables for assessing these components, were identified. Among these variables, based on their effect size, the ranking is as follows: Knowledge Management (3.67), Research (3.38), Financial (3.19), Student Affairs (2.30), Infrastructure (2.21), Technological Collaboration Development (2.20), Educational Performance (1.93), Alumni (1.89), Faculty Members (1.86), University Management and Leadership (1.35), Organizational Development (1.29), Cultural-Educational (1.1)—all classified with a high effect size, while Human Resources (0.74) falls within the medium effect size category.
Conclusion: The research results indicate that enhancing the performance of military universities requires the smartization of education through artificial intelligence and simulators, strengthening knowledge management through documentation and comprehensive research, expanding technological collaborations with knowledge-based companies, reforming the evaluation system with multidimensional models using data mining techniques, and developing military research through a research roadmap and support for interdisciplinary studies.