Improving Residential Satisfaction of University Dormitories through Post-Occupancy Evaluation in China: A Socio-Technical System Approach

Yan Ning,Jiaojiao Chen

doi:10.3390/su8101050

Abstract

Residential satisfaction of university dormitories serves as one of the significant aspects in the framework of sustainability in higher education. This study aims to develop a framework for post-occupancy evaluation (POE) of university dormitories in China grounded on the socio-technical systems approach and to identify factors contributing to students’ residential satisfaction. Two focus groups were carried out to build the socio-technical framework. A case study was undertaken to evaluate the post-occupancy status of university dormitories, and structured-questionnaire was used to collect the data. The results show that university dormitories are equipped with quality physical facilities. However, they failed to provide satisfied services and supporting infrastructure. This indicates that “hardware” could generally meet students’ requirements, while the “software” is still less competent. It is also found that the socio-technical systems approach has the feature of being embedded into the social, regulatory and geographic contexts. In order to enhance post-occupancy satisfaction, occupants’ participation would be helpful. This study contributes to the body of knowledge by presenting a socio-technical framework of POE and its embeddedness feature. Implications for research and practices are also provided.

Highlights

It is increasingly recognized that achieving sustainability in higher education should be placed as a prioritized agenda globally [1,2,3,4]
Zou et al carried out a comparative case study between Indiana University in US and Tsinghua University in China and found that the former emphasizes the environmental, economic, and social aspects of university sustainability while the latter focuses more on the environmental aspect [5]
This study aims to develop a post-occupancy evaluation (POE) tool for evaluating university dormitories grounded on the socio-technical systems approach; and identify factors contributing to students’ residential satisfaction

Summary

Introduction

It is increasingly recognized that achieving sustainability in higher education should be placed as a prioritized agenda globally [1,2,3,4]. Wals investigated the learning and institutionalization processes of sustainability in higher education in the context of the UN’s Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (UN DESD) [2]. A local standard titled Evaluation Standard for Green Campus (ESGC) (CSUS/GBC 04-2013) as a voluntary scheme was launched in 2013 This standard comprises seven sections: plan and sustainable site, energy conservation, water saving, material saving, indoor environmental quality, operation management and promotion. Green campus is featured by resource reduction (i.e., energy saving, water conservation, material saving and land saving), environmental protection and pollutant minimization It aims to provide a healthy, user-friendly, effective teaching and living environment. This standard provides an effective guideline for achieving green campuses in China

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion