Importance level of post graduate student housing facility services: perceptions of students

Abstract

This paper investigates students’ perceptions about the level of importance of the services required in an on-campus student housing facility (SHF), with the aim of providing empirical information that can guide the provision and management of on-campus university SHF services. The paper adopted a survey research strategy. The study is exploratory in nature; a postgraduate residence was selected, and a closed-ended questionnaire was administered to students who are registered residents of the housing facility. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data. The study found that security personnel, waste disposal, electricity, internet, fire safety, access control, cleaning, water, fumigation, CCTV, first aid, and room heater were perceived to be more important than services such as; gym equipment, indoor sports equipment, DSTV decoder, phone, receptionist, tuck shop, ATM service, vending machine and lift service. No statistically significant differences of the gender groups and the level of study categories regarding perception of services available and the importance level of services in the SHF were found. Although, several studies have been conducted on SHFs, studies that primarily focuses on the services requirements and prioritisation of the services is lacking. Therefore, the study provides empirical information that could serve as a guide for the provision and management of SHF services for both property investors and university facility and hostel managers. The study further contributes to the knowledge in the area of SHF services requirements by providing empirical information that could serve as a precursor for further studies.