by Brianna Crandall — April 14, 2014—A new report highlights the importance of the role that educational facilities management professionals play in keeping college and university facilities clean, comfortable, well-maintained and safe, both for attracting and retaining the student population.
Nearly eight out ten (77%) students in the United Kingdom say that the facilities available at their prospective university played a role in their choice to attend the school, reveals the new report commissioned by the U.K.’s Association of University Directors of Estates. The only factor marginally more important for students was the academic program itself. The report, conducted online in February by One Poll, surveyed two thousand students on their university choice and the facilities that are most important to them.
A full 90% of students said that they felt their institution of higher education was being well looked after, and cited the library and information technology (IT) facilities as the top university resources that they used the most. Sports facilities and the student union also factored highly, with nearly 30% of students saying that they used those facilities the most.
Regionally, the student experience varies greatly. Students in the North Eeast are most likely to think that their universities are well looked after (95%), while Welsh students are the most likely to pay more for accommodation with additional facilities (61%). The students who feel security is an imperative are in the East Midlands, where nearly one in five (18%) voted “security features” as their number one priority. Students in East Anglia feel the safest (7% for security).
The “look” of a university is more important to female students than their male counterparts, whereas the facilities available (such as sports or student societies) are more important to male students.
Female students are more interested in bringing their home comforts to university, such as having a bathroom attached to their dormitory room (“en suite”), than are male students, and when asked what “luxury items” they would like to bring along with them, taking a parent (19%) and a chef (21%) were among the top choices made by female students.
Despite increased student fees, over half (54%) of those surveyed say that they would be happy for more money to be available to be spent on university facilities or the estate.
Andrew Burgess, chairman elect of the Association of University Directors of Estates (AUDE) and deputy chief operating officer at Loughborough University, comments, “These statistics show that on the whole, students are happy with the facilities that their universities offer and that directors of estates are continuing to do an excellent job—which is great to hear. The university estate is core to enabling the delivery of the academic mission, so it’s a key factor for students in choosing university to be sure they get this right.
“There is a clear link between the buildings and accommodation on offer at a university and the desirability of that establishment to potential students. With the HE sector becoming increasingly a buyer’s market—more choice for students who are paying increasing tuition fees—directors of estates always have to keep students at the forefront of their decision-making. However this is only one side of the coin; in light of government spending cuts and slowing growth, development projects have to be both value for money and state-of-the-art to attract students and enable universities to compete on an international level.
“University facilities are so much more than just a university’s buildings. Estates are one of the university’s largest assets—from strategic management, capital planning, cleaning, security and maintenance services through to space planning and management, legislative compliance, car parking, traffic management and asset management, university facilities really do play a big role in all aspects of a student’s time at university.”
