Quality assessment of on-campus student housing facilities through a holistic post-occupancy evaluation (A case study of Iran)

Abstract

ABSTRACT According to studies, students’ living features significantly influence the quality of their education. This paper takes a holistic approach to the post-occupancy evaluation (POE) of on-campus student housing in Iran. The framework was developed following a thorough review of the literature, and the identification of a comprehensive set of performance indicators were categorized into twelve elements and three dimensions technical, functional, and behavioral. Using several complementary techniques resulted in higher qualitative feedback during the evaluation process, leading to more reliable results. The importance-satisfaction matrix was used to determine the quality of improvement priorities. Residents expressed satisfaction with their living environment. They were mainly satisfied with technical and behavioral dimensions; nonetheless, they experienced dissatisfaction with the functional dimension. The study suggests improvements by several facilities such as air conditioning systems, sound insulation, fire detection systems, hygiene, internet speeds and house rules. It also allows for a more comprehensive and realistic prioritization of improvements. This study bridges the research gap and contributes to the need for a more holistic POE framework and several complementary techniques. Furthermore, it extends the limited research on female student housing in Iran by considering a typical and reputable case study. The provided recommendations in this study can act as feedback and feedforward for improving and developing student housing facilities. Abbreviation: POE: post occupancy evaluation; SD: strongly dissatisfied; N: neutral; SS: strongly satisfied; SI: satisfaction index; RII: relative importance index; D: dissatisfied; S: satisfied; MSI: mean satisfaction index