Gisle Solvoll

The importance of university facilities for student satisfaction at a Norwegian University

Purpose – This paper aims to explore the influence of higher education institution (HEI) facilities on overall student satisfaction, and to identify the distinct facilities that most strongly influence student overall satisfaction with HEI facilities. Design/methodology/approach – A tailor-made questionnaire is developed to measure student perception about student life, including their perceptions about the facilities at the HEI they attend. Two econometric models are estimated using OLS regression analysis. Findings – The factor that most strongly influences student satisfaction with university facilities is the quality of its social areas, auditoriums and libraries. Conversely, it is determined that computer access on campus does not influence student satisfaction. Research limitations/implications – The sample includes data only from a single university. Moreover, only Norwegian students at the university participated in the survey. Practical implications – Based on our findings, the most effective strategy to improve student overall satisfaction with the facilities at an HEI is to improve the quality of social areas, auditoriums and libraries. Such a strategy will result in students who are more satisfied with the HEI they are attending and, thereby, increase the HEI’s chances of long-term success. Originality/value – To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to identify the facilities that most strongly influence the overall satisfaction of students with the facilities at HEIs.