RESIDENTIAL SATISFACTION OF

STUDENT HOUSING FACILITIES IN

MALAYSIAN PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES

NURUL „ULYANI BINTI MOHD NAJIB

UNIVERSITI SAINS MALAYSIA

2011
RESIDENTIAL SATISFACTION OF STUDENT HOUSING
FACILITIES IN MALAYSIAN PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES

by

NURUL „ULYANI BINTI MOHD NAJIB

Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements

for the Degree of
Master of Science

July 2011
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

‫ﺒﺴﻢﷲﺃﻟﺮﺤﻤﻦﺃﻠﺮﺤﻴﻢ‬

Firstly, I would like to make a special thanks to my supervisor, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nor‟

Aini Yusof, for her critical and challenging comments, consistent assistance, support,

advice, encouragement and patience throughout the process of completing my

Master‟s degree. I would also like to record my appreciation to Dr. Nordin Abd.

Razak for his kindly assistance in doing the data analysis and convey my sincere

thanks to the USM Fellowship for the financial support which enabled me to

undertake this study.

This acknowledgement is also forwarded to all individuals who participated in this

research both directly and indirectly especially respondents from USM, UM and

UKM who made this research possible.

Special thanks to my parents, Mohd Najib and Meryam, who have always been there

and contributed to the person and character that I am today. Without them I may not

have made it to this stage of my life. I also wish to express my gratitude and thanks

to Nur „Izzah, Nur „Atiyah, Muhammad Ikram, „Afifah and Che Kamariah for their

understanding of my commitment to conduct this research, encouragement and

inspiration throughout the entire research process.

Lastly, I would also like to offer my special thanks to my friends, Zahirah, Maziah,

Zaim and others who helped me by giving constructive ideas for the thesis. Again, to

everyone who has helped me complete this thesis, thank you.

ii
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acknowledgement.............................................................................................. ii

Table of Contents.............................................................................................. iii

List of Tables..................................................................................................... ix

List of Figures................................................................................................... xii

List of Appendices............................................................................................. xiii

List of Abbreviations......................................................................................... xiv

Abstrak (Bahasa Malaysia)............................................................................... xvi

Abstract (English)............................................................................................. xviii

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Introduction............................................................................................. 2

1.2 Background of the Study......................................................................... 2

1.3 Problem Statement................................................................................... 6

1.4 Research Questions.................................................................................. 16

1.5 Research Objectives................................................................................ 16

1.6 Scope of the Study................................................................................... 16

1.7 Significance of the Study......................................................................... 17

1.8 Organization of the Chapter.................................................................... 19

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Introduction............................................................................................. 21

2.2 Student Housing...................................................................................... 21

2.2.1 Definition of Student Housing.................................................... 21

iii
 2.2.2 Student Housing as a Home........................................................ 22

2.2.3 The Speciality and Functionality of Student Housing................ 24

2.3 Student Housing Facilities....................................................................... 25

2.3.1 Definition of Housing Facilities.................................................. 25

2.3.2 Types of Facilities in Student Housing....................................... 27

2.3.2(a) Room Accommodation.............................................. 29

2.3.2(b) Washroom................................................................. 32

2.3.2(c) Pantry......................................................................... 34

2.3.2(d) Common and Recreation Room................................ 35

2.3.2(e) Support Services........................................................ 37

2.3.3 Historical Development of Student Housing Facilities............... 38

2.3.4 Student Housing Facilities End Concept..................................... 40

2.4 Exploring Student Residential Satisfaction............................................. 44

2.4.1 The Commencement of Student Residential Satisfaction

Meaning....................................................................................... 44

2.4.2 Definition of Student Residential Satisfaction............................ 47

2.4.3 Factors Affecting Student Residential Satisfaction..................... 48

2.4.4 Physical Attributes of Student Housing as the Satisfaction

Predictor...................................................................................... 50

2.4.5 Social Attributes of the Students as the Satisfaction Predictor... 54

2.4.5(a) Gender....................................................................... 54

2.4.5(b) Ethnicity.................................................................... 55

2.4.5(c) Income Level or Economic Status............................. 56

2.4.5(d) Home Experiences..................................................... 57

2.5 Assessment of Student Residential Satisfaction...................................... 59

2.5.1 Model Used to Assess Student Residential Satisfaction............. 59

iv
 2.5.2 Benefits of Residential Satisfaction Assessment........................ 64

2.6 Student Residential Satisfaction Index (SRS Index)…………………... 65

2.6.1 Loyalty Behaviour in Residential Satisfaction Concern............. 65

2.6.1(a) Overall Residential Satisfaction................................ 67

2.6.1(b) Duration of Staying................................................... 68

2.6.1(c) Migration or Mobility……………………………… 68

2.6.1(d) Recommendation or Word-of-mouth……………… 69

2.6.2 Conceptualization of SRS Index................................................. 70

2.6.2(a) How satisfied are you with living here?.................... 71

2.6.2(b) How long do you want to live in this residence?...... 72

2.6.2(c) If you move again, would you like to live in another

place like this?........................................................... 72

2.6.2(d) Would you recommend this place to one of your

friend?........................................................................ 73

2.7 Theoretical Framework………………………………………………… 74

2.8 Summary of the Chapter.......................................................................... 74

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHOD

3.1 Introduction............................................................................................. 77

3.2 Research Methodology............................................................................ 77

3.3 Phase 1: Research Design........................................................................ 80

3.4 Phase 2: Review of Literature................................................................. 82

3.5 Phase 3: Implementation of Theoretical Framework.............................. 83

3.5.1 Questionnaire Design and Construction...................................... 84

3.5.2 Questionnaire Measure................................................................ 90

3.5.3 Piloting........................................................................................ 90

v
3.6 Phase 4: Survey....................................................................................... 93

3.6.1 Sampling...................................................................................... 93

3.6.2 Data Collection............................................................................ 96

3.6.3 Survey Incentive.......................................................................... 98

3.7 Phase 5: Data Analysis............................................................................ 99

3.7.1 Screening and Cleaning the Data................................................ 100

3.7.2 Reliability Test............................................................................ 100

3.7.3 Descriptive Analysis................................................................... 101

3.7.4 Logistic Regression Analysis...................................................... 102

3.7.5 T-Test and One-way ANOVA.................................................... 102

3.8 Phase 6: Reporting the Findings.............................................................. 103

3.9 Summary of the Chapter.......................................................................... 104

CHAPTER 4: RESULTS

4.1 Introduction............................................................................................. 107

4.2 Students‟ Demographic Profile………………………………………... 107

4.2.1 Respondents‟ Age……………………………………………... 107

4.2.2 Gender of the Respondents......................................................... 108

4.2.3 Student Status.............................................................................. 109

4.2.4 Nationality of the Students.......................................................... 110

4.2.5 Ethnicity of the Students............................................................. 110

4.3 Cronbach‟s Alpha Reliability Test for SHFs........................................... 111

4.4 Student Residential Satisfaction Index (SRS Index)............................... 112

4.5 Logistic Regression Test......................................................................... 118

4.5.1 Satisfaction Evaluation for Room Accommodatiom.................. 119

vi
 4.5.2 Satisfaction Evaluation for Washroom....................................... 121

4.5.2(a) Bathroom................................................................... 122

4.5.2(b) Laundry Room........................................................... 123

4.5.3 Satisfaction Evaluation for Pantry............................................... 124

4.5.4 Satisfaction Evaluation for Common and Recreation Rooms..... 125

4.5.4(a) Study Room............................................................... 126

4.5.4(b) Computer Room........................................................ 126

4.5.4(c) Television Room....................................................... 127

4.5.4(d) Meeting Room........................................................... 128

4.5.4(e) Lobby......................................................................... 128

4.5.4(f) Musolla...................................................................... 129

4.5.5 Satisfaction Evaluation for Support Services.............................. 131

4.5.6 Factors Affecting Housing Satisfaction and Loyalty

Behaviours................................................................................... 133

4.5.6(a) Overall Housing Satisfaction..................................... 134

4.5.6(b) Duration of Staying................................................... 137

4.5.6(c) Retention with the Same House Choice.................... 139

4.5.6(d) Recommendation or Word-of-mouth........................ 142

4.5.7 Overall Evaluation of Factors Affecting SRS............................. 145

4.6 T-Test and One-Way ANOVA Test........................................................ 146

4.6.1 T-test Analysis............................................................................. 146

4.6.1(a) Students‟ Gender....................................................... 146

4.6.1(b) Economic Status........................................................ 149

4.6.1(c) Students‟ Friendship.................................................. 152

4.6.2 One-way ANOVA Analysis........................................................ 154

vii
 4.6.2(a) Students‟ Ethnicity.................................................... 155

4.6.2(b) Duration of Staying in Hostel.................................... 157

4.6.2(c) Sharing a Room at Hostel.......................................... 160

4.6.2(d) Ethnicity of Roommates............................................ 164

4.6.2(e) Duration of Staying With Roommates...................... 166

4.6.2(f) Sharing a Room at Home.......................................... 168

4.6.3 Overall Evaluation of Satisfaction Mean Differences in SHFs... 171

4.7 Summary of the Chapter.......................................................................... 172

CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

5.1 Introduction............................................................................................. 176

5.2 Recapitulation of Study........................................................................... 176

5.3 Discussions of Main Findings................................................................. 178

5.4 The Implications of the Results............................................................... 182

5.5 Contributions of Study............................................................................. 183

5.6 Limitations of Study and Suggestions for Future Study.......................... 184

5.7 Conclusion of the Study.......................................................................... 186

References......................................................................................................... 188

Appendices

List of Publications

viii
 LIST OF TABLES

Page

Table 3.1 Questionnaire Sections 85

Table 3.2 Student‟ Profile 85

Table 3.3 Socio-Economic Profile 86

Table 3.4 Satisfaction Evaluation on the Hostel Facilities 87

Table 3.5 Residential Satisfaction Evaluation (SRS index) 89

Table 3.6 Changes done in the questionnaire form 91

Table 3.7 Sampling with Probability-proportional-to-size (USM sample) 95

Table 3.8 Sampling with Probability-proportional-to-size (UKM sample) 96

Table 3.9 Sampling with Probability-proportional-to-size (UM sample) 96

Table 3.10 Rating scale 101

Table 4.1 Overall reliability results 111

Table 4.2 SRS Index means score 113

Table 4.3 Chi-Square Test for overall satisfaction and staying duration 114

Table 4.4 Crosstab between overall satisfaction and staying duration 115

Table 4.5 Chi-Square Test for overall satisfaction and retention behaviour 115

Table 4.6 Crosstab between overall satisfaction and retention behaviour 116

Table 4.7 Chi-Square Test for overall satisfaction and recommendation 117
behaviour

Table 4.8 Crosstab between overall satisfaction and recommendation 117

behaviour

Table 4.9 Satisfaction level of room accommodation facility 121

Table 4.10 Satisfaction level of washroom facility 123

Table 4.11 Satisfaction level of pantry facility 125

ix
Table 4.12 Satisfaction level of common and recreation rooms facility 130

Table 4.13 Satisfaction level of support services facility 132

Table 4.14 Summary of overall satisfaction level for SHFs 133

Table 4.15 Omnibus Tests of Model Coefficients (1) 135

Table 4.16 Factors affecting overall housing satisfaction in student housing 135

Table 4.17 Hosmer and Lemeshow Test 137

Table 4.18 Factors affecting duration of staying in student housing 138

Table 4.19 Omnibus Tests of Model Coefficients (2) 140

Table 4.20 Factors affecting retention with the same student housing 140

Table 4.21 Omnibus Tests of Model Coefficients (3) 143

Table 4.22 Factors affecting recommendation of student housing 143

Table 4.23 Factors Affecting SRS (Housing Satisfaction and Loyalty 145
Behaviours)

Table 4.24 Differences of satisfactions in SHFs between genders 147

Table 4.25 Differences of satisfactions in SHFs between economic statuses 150

Table 4.26 Differences of satisfactions in SHFs between students‟ 153

friendship

Table 4.27 Differences of satisfactions in SHFs by ethnicity 155

Table 4.28 Differences of satisfactions in SHFs by duration of staying in 157

hostel

Table 4.29 Differences of satisfactions in SHFs by persons share a hostel‟s 161

room

Table 4.30 Differences of satisfactions in SHFs by roommate‟s ethnicity 164

Table 4.31 Differences of satisfactions in SHFs by duration of staying with 167

roommate

Table 4.32 Differences of satisfactions in SHFs by persons share a home‟s 169

room

Table 4.33 Overall significant differences of perceiving satisfaction in 171

SHFs

x
Table 4.34 Satisfaction level for SHFs 173

Table 4.35 Statistically significant differences of perceiving satisfaction in 173

SHFs

xi
 LIST OF FIGURES

Page

Figure 1.1 Total Number of Students Attending HEIs 4

Figure 1.2 Total Enrolment of International Students at Malaysian HEIs 5

Figure 2.1 Types of Facilities in the Student Housing (Amenities and 27

Services)

Figure 2.2 Typical Single Study-bedroom 29

Figure 2.3 Typical Double Study-bedroom 29

Figure 2.4 Sets of room (Study-relax, sleeping-storage) 29

Figure 2.5 Sets of room (Double room opening onto common sitting 29
room)

Figure 2.6 Sets of room (Study-dressing, sleeping-social) 30

Figure 2.7 Historical Development of Student Housing Facilities 39

Figure 2.8 Research Theoretical Framework 74

Figure 3.1 Four ordinal measures of satisfaction by Likert Scale 90

Figure 3.2 Two-stage Cluster Sampling Method 94

Figure 3.3 Research Process Flowchart 105

Figure 4.1 Age of the respondents 108

Figure 4.2 Respondents‟ genders 109

Figure 4.3 Student status 110

Figure 4.4 Nationality of the students 110

Figure 4.5 Students‟ ethnic 111

xii
 LIST OF APPENDICES

Appendix A Questionnaire Form

Appendix B Picture of Survey Incentive (Ballpoint Pen)

Appendix C Official Letter for Survey Permission (for Deputy Vice-Chancellor)

Appendix D Official Letter for Survey Permission (for House Master)

xiii
 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

Acronym Detail

ATMs Automated Teller Machines

CCTV Closed-Circuit Television

HEI/s Higher Education Institution/s

HOMBSAT Home-Buyer Satisfaction

HSI Household Satisfaction Index

KKP Kepuasan Kediaman Pelajar

MOE Ministry of Education Malaysia

MOHE Ministry of Higher Education

PMR Penilaian Menengah Rendah

POE Post-Occupancy Evaluation

RESS Residential Environmental Satisfaction Scale

RS Residential Satisfaction

RSAT Relative Satisfaction

RU/s Research University/ies

SATIS Satisfaction Neural Network Model

SERVQUAL Service Quality

SHF/s Student Housing Facility/ies

SPM Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia

SRS Student Residential Satisfaction

SRS Index Student Residential Satisfaction Index

STPM Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysia

UK United Kingdom

xiv
UM Universiti Malaya

US United States

UKM Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia

UPM Universiti Putra Malaysia

UPSR Ujian Penilaian Sekolah Rendah

USM Universiti Sains Malaysia

UTM Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

i.e. in example

e.g. example given

etc. etcetera

xv
 KEPUASAN KEDIAMAN TERHADAP KEMUDAHAN PERUMAHAN
PELAJAR DI UNIVERSITI-UNIVERSITI AWAM DI MALAYSIA

ABSTRAK

Pada masa kini, kebanyakan daripada pelajar di institusi-institusi pengajian tinggi di

Malaysia seperti tidak berpuas hati terhadap kemudahan perumahan pelajar yang disediakan

oleh pihak universiti terutama sekali keluhan dibuat terhadap aspek-aspek keselamatan,

kesejahteraan, kebersihan, dan rekabentuk rumah. Perumahan pelajar didefinisikan sebagai

sebuah bangunan asrama yang disediakan dan diseliakan oleh pihak universiti, dibina sama

ada di dalam atau di luar kawasan kampus, menyediakan penginapan dengan yuran yang

murah serta disediakan untuk memenuhi keperluan prasarana penginapan kepada pelajar

ijazah pertama atau ijazah lanjutan. Dalam perbahasan mengenai bagaimana untuk

memastikan perkhidmatan perumahan pelajar yang berkualiti dan berjaya, kajian kepuasan

kediaman telah dikenalpasti sebagai indikator terpenting bagi menilai kedua-dua kriteria

tersebut. Tujuan kajian ini dijalankan adalah untuk mengenalpasti tahap kepuasan kediaman

pelajar terhadap kemudahan asrama yang disediakan di dalam kawasan kampus khasnya di

Universiti-universiti Penyelidikan di Malaysia. Kajian ini menggunakan model kepuasan

kediaman pelajar (KKP) untuk menilai tahap kepuasan kediaman pelajar terhadap

kemudahan asrama yang disediakan serta mengkaji faktor-faktor yang menentukan kepuasan

perumahan dan kesetiaan para pelajar terhadap asrama mereka dengan mengambil kira faktor

pengaruh pemboleh ubah fizikal dan sosial. Kaedah persampelan berkelompok dua tahap

secara rawak mudah telah digunakan untuk memilih kelompok sasaran responden; selain itu

juga, kajian telah dijalankan secara bertemu atau bersemuka dengan responden. Seterusnya,

data yang telah dikumpul dianalisa dengan menggunakan statistik diskriptif, regresi logistik,

ujian T, dan ujian ANOVA. Secara umumnya, hasil kajian ini menunjukkan bahawa rata-rata

pelajar di Universiti-universiti Penyelidikan di Malaysia berpuas hati dengan kemudahan

asrama mereka apabila Indeks KKP mencapai 2.96 atau 74% tahap kepuasan. Para pelajar

xvi
juga dilihat terdorong untuk melaksanakan kelakuan-kelakuan kesetiaan yang positif

(menginap lebih lama, memilih untuk mendiami rumah yang sama seperti asrama mereka

pada masa hadapan, dan mengesyorkan asrama tersebut kepada orang lain untuk didiami).

Selain daripada itu, kajian ini juga mendapati bahawa bilik tidur, bilik televisyen, bilik

mesyuarat serta lain-lain perkhidmatan sokongan merupakan faktor-faktor utama yang

mempengaruhi tahap kepuasan kediaman pelajar. Sehubungan dengan itu, kepelbagaian latar

belakang sosio-fizikal pelajar-pelajar juga didapati mempengaruhi perbezaan tahap kepuasan

mereka terhadap kemudahan asrama yang disediakan. Hasil kajian ini juga merumuskan

bahawa kemudahan asrama yang berkualiti adalah penting sebagai salah satu medium yang

amat berkesan dalam usaha untuk menarik minat lebih ramai pelajar tempatan dan

antarabangsa untuk belajar di universiti-universiti yang terdapat di Malaysia.

xvii
RESIDENTIAL SATISFACTION OF STUDENT HOUSING FACILITIES IN
MALAYSIAN PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES

ABSTRACT

Nowadays, a number of tertiary students in Malaysia were complaining about their

dissatisfaction with the university-owned student housing, mostly regarding to the issues of

safety, security, cleanliness, and house design aspects. Student housing is defined as a

supervised shelter, built either on-campus or off-campus, to provide inexpensive lodging,

and accommodate the undergraduate or postgraduate students. In a debate on how to ensure

quality and successful services of student housing, residential satisfaction has been identified

as the most important indicator to evaluate these criteria. This study aimed to investigate the

residential satisfaction in housing facilities provided on-campus at Malaysian Research

Universities (RUs). It utilised a student residential satisfaction (SRS) model to examine how

satisfied students were with their living accommodation and to investigate the factors which

could predict housing satisfaction and students‟ loyalty behaviours, taken into consideration

the affect of physical and social variables. Simple random two-stage cluster sampling

method was adopted to select the respondents and the survey was conducted face-to-face.

The data were analysed using descriptive statistics, logistic regression, T-test, and One-way

ANOVA. The results show that generally RUs students were satisfied with their student

housing facilities with the SRS Index of 2.96 or 74% of satisfaction level. The students

tended to execute positive loyalty behaviours (longer staying, retention, and

recommendation). Study-bedroom, television room, meeting room and support services were

revealed to strongly influence the student residential satisfaction. Moreover, different

students‟ socio-physical backgrounds were found to influence difference satisfactions level

perceived in student housing facilities. The results imply the importance of quality in student

housing facilities as an effective medium to attract more local and international students to

enrol in Malaysian universities.

xviii
 CHAPTER 1:

INTRODUCTION
 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Introduction

The focus of this study is to discover the level of student residential satisfaction

(SRS) in Malaysian Public Research Universities (RUs) rated by the students who

stay in the on-campus student housing. This study also aims to introduce and

establish an effective and more comprehensive model, namely, Student Residential

Satisfaction Index (SRS Index), as a measuring instrument to evaluate SRS. This

chapter presents the reasons for choosing this research topic. The first few sections of

the chapter elaborate the discussions on the study background, research problems and

research questions. Then, the following sections are on the explanations of the

research objectives, research scope and finally the significance of the study.

1.2 Background of the Study

These days, knowledge plays an important and major role to everyone in ensuring

that he or she can live a comfortable and luxurious life in the future. According to

Said (2001), education will always be an important catalyst in developing talented,

pertinent, skilful and sufficient manpower to a nation in order to materialize the

country‟s Vision 2020. Academic qualification in the highest level of education is no

longer considered as an option but it is now a necessity to be employed.

Accordingly, the government aims to have 50 percent of the population aged

between 17-23 years old to enrol in tertiary education by the year 2020 (Tham,

2010). From the Ministry of Education Malaysia (MOE), the education statistics

show that the numbers of students who passed the Malaysian major exams (Ujian

2
Penilaian Sekolah Rendah, UPSR; Penilaian Menengah Rendah, PMR; Sijil

Pelajaran Malaysia, SPM; and Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysia, STPM) have been

increasing over the years (Jelas and Dahan, 2010). Obtaining good results in those

exams can ensure that these prospective students will become part of the university

communities soon. Universities or Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are the place

where academic degrees in various fields are awarded.

Formerly, in typical British manner, Lord Robbins (chairman of Special Committee

on Higher Education 1961) stated that the number of places in HEI had increased

from 216,000 in 1963 to 390,000 by 1973 and to 560,000 by 1980 (Dober, 1966). At

the end of 2007, Hubbard (2009) testified that the number of students in United

Kingdom (UK) rose to 1,678,904 from 520,000 in 1997. There is a worldwide trend

in increasing the opportunities for students to attend universities. The same trend also

happens in Malaysia. Malaysia is now one of the countries that experience an

encouraging trend where the number of students attending universities and colleges

is on the increase year by year. As reported by Malaysia Ministry of Higher

Education (MOHE) (2010), the number of students attending HEIs in 2007 was

358,053 while it was only 262,626 in 2002 (refer to Figure 1.1) and this figure

continued increasing when it reached to 390,535 in 2010.

3
 NUMBER OF STUDENTS TOTAL NUMBER OF STUDENTS ENTERING HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS,
YEAR 2002 - 2007

YEAR

Figure 1.1: Total Number of Students Attending HEIs

Source: MOHE, (2010)

This scenario is due to the awareness of the students of the importance of education

that has encouraged them to further their studies to a higher level. In addition,

Malaysia targets to become a fully developed and industrialized country by the year

2020, so 40 percent of her population should enrol to tertiary education institutions to

achieve her objective of having a competent workforce with knowledge and skills

(Said, 2001; Mansur et al., 2004; Keating, 2010). Statistics have also shown that the

number of students either local or international attending HEIs in Malaysia is on the

increase nowadays. This scenario is evidenced by the currently existence of 20 public

HEIs (which include international universities), 33 private universities, 4 reputable

foreign branch campus universities, more than 500 private colleges as well as various

other HEIs from the UK, United States (US), Australia, Canada, French, Germany

and New Zealand (Ahmed, 2007). Many of them offer twinning and franchised

degree programmes through partnership with Malaysian colleges and universities

(Huang, 2007; MOHE, 2010; Tham, 2010). As reported by MOHE (2010), at the end

of the year 2009, stated that Malaysia had about 80,750 international students from

4
more than 100 countries (refer to Figure 1.2) and the number increased to 86,923

students by 2010.

Figure 1.2: Total Enrolment of International Students at Malaysian HEIs

Source: MOHE, (2010)

The increase in the number of students enrolling in universities and colleges has

triggered the increase in demands for on-campus student housing. Melnikas (1998:

p.326) noted that “A house is a concrete and relatively limited and close physical,

biological and social space where individuals and groups can live their biosocial life

taking on certain production, services, housekeeping and other biosocial activities”.

Proper housing is considered to be the basic requirement of modern day living.

Moreover, Klis and Karsten (2008) asserted that our daily lives usually begin at

home which is considered the base of all human needs. Hence, for HEI students, they

experience their home living by staying in student housing or dormitories (buildings

which consist of numbers of small unit of rooms) as well as reflecting the idea of

encouraging a sense of belonging to the larger institutions (Dober, 1966). Student

housing is also called hostel building. Bear in mind that student housing can be

structured in dual-nature, either being built in the campus area which is more familiar

5
as on-campus student housing; or being built outside the campus area which is

known as off-campus student housing (Cleave, 1996; Thomsen, 2007; Amole, 2009a;

Hubbard, 2009). Thus, university housing administrations as well as government

especially policy officials are responsible in ensuring good management to support

the student need for comfortable and modern on-campus accommodation.

However, in much of the developing world, equipping student housing with most

sophisticated facilities is believed would be prohibitively expensive which will incur

higher expenditure or allocation from the government (Hubbard, 2009). This obstacle

has prompted some researchers in the developing world to investigate the actual

housing needs of the students. Malaysia is the perfect site for such study, given the

Malaysian government‟s goal of providing world-class facilities. As reported by

Bernama (2010), the government sought to attract 120,000 international students in

2015 to enrol at Malaysian HEIs and promote Malaysia as a regional centre of

educational excellence. Edsir (2008) noted, however, that Malaysia has been

maintaining an annual increase in the number of enrolling international students by

30 percent since 2006, as part of its strategy to become a new contender in global

HEI. Providing high-quality living environments for these international students is an

important inducement for them to live and study in Malaysia (Salleh, 2007).

1.3 Problem Statement

Student housing (also known as hostel in Malaysian term) is considered a central

feature of Malaysian collegiate life. Successful student housing provision does not

only depend on the number of buildings or hostels built or how much money spent

on the facilities and services, but more importantly on how the facilities and services

6
can fulfil the student‟s housing needs and meet certain basic requirements which are

practical and convenient for student daily life (Chi and Griffin, 1980; Torbica and

Stroh, 2001). In today HEIs housing scenario, we can see the growth of demand for

modern on-campus house is in line with the universities attendance trends (Pace,

2007; Martin and Allen, 2009; Radder and Han, 2009; Roche et al., 2010). In depth,

a contemporary on-campus student housing is a hostel accommodation which

provides modern facilities and services to cater for students‟ housing needs in

accomplishing academic, living and social goals (Devlin et al., 2007; Hassanain,

2008).

With the expansion and globalisation of higher education in Malaysia, universities

have faced the increasingly difficult problem of providing adequate and urbane

residential accommodation for students living away from family home. University-

owned housing supply has sometimes failed to keep pace with this demand growth

(Hughes and Davis, 2001; Pace, 2007; Hubbard, 2009). This problem has been

recognized as worldwide issues and is not a new one encountered in the higher

education concern. Hubbard (2009) claimed that most students in UK moved to off-

campus houses because of the desirability to fulfil new housing demands and

lifestyles rather than living in a traditional shared on-campus style. In US, Tooley

(1996) reported that Washington University at St. Louis likewise Brooks (2010)

declared that University of Pitssburgh at Pitssburgh had urged their former students

to move and reside in the off-campus house because their on-campus houses are only

available for freshmen. Similarly in Thailand, Luckanavanich (2011) proclaimed that

due to the limited dormitories provided by the universities, the students were forced

to reside off-campus particularly in private residences. Otherwise in Malaysia, to

7
deal with the increasing housing demands, universities had established an initiative

such as building ubiquitous on-campus high-rise residences (Dahlan et al., 2011).

To add in other issues regarding university student housing, much of the existing on-

campus student housing stock is old and the provided housing facilities and

amenities are obsolete (i.e., lack of advanced or upgraded amenities with the latest

technology including low-speed Wi-Fi, no air-conditioned rooms and unit design

does not meet standards that satisfy student preferences) (Pace, 2007; Roche et al.,

2010). Students complained about the quality and the terrible conditions of the

houses in which they stayed such as overcrowding in undersized rooms and

bathroom-sharing for a big group of them (Jackson, 2007). For example, students at

the Bangalore University in India have staged a protest complaining to their

university administration that their rooms were too small and the basic amenities

provided were inadequate (New Indian Express, 2009). Another example is at the

Boston College in Massachusetts, US where their freshmen needed to share a double

room with three persons at a time (Tooley, 1996). Alike in France, Shaikh and

Deschamps (2006) reported that students did complain on the room size and

impropriety of the furniture inside the room. Contrary in Malaysia, Mahmud et al.

(2010) declared that students were dissatisfied about the cleanliness of the houses

and poor conditions of the provided toilets.

There are also a few problems of inappropriate building designs. For instance in

France, student housing was designed without having common rooms, restaurants,

and sport equipments in the residential halls which supposedly can cater for students

socializing and recreational needs (Shaikh and Deschamps, 2006). In Kuwait,

8
students demanded to have a computer lab equipped with enough computers and a

good internet service for their academic and amusement purposes in their residential

halls (Alkandari, 2007). In US, Brandon et al. (2008) encountered that suite-style

house design could not promote social interactions vigorously as if in the traditional

hall design because the chances to meet other people rather than faculty mates were

higher in a traditional hall house style. Moreover in UK, Crook and Barrowcliff

(2001) reported that study-bedroom should be designed in a notion of sedentary

workplace (which will require less mobility to other places) equipped with personal

computer applications suitable for academic activities (e.g., writing or research

purposes) and recreational activities (e.g., games or chatting) used during their

leisure time, so that the students would engage to more private academic and

comprehensive living conditions. Nevertheless, a problem occurred at Universiti

Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) in Malaysia involving a female student found dead at

her college car park. Mokhtar (2009) reported that this student is believed to have

fallen down through the window (casement type) from her room at the fourth floor of

her student housing block. This case in Malaysia also triggered the questions on the

safety and security at student housing. Besides that, Dahlan et al. (2011) criticized

the room designs especially the designs of balconies, roofs and windows in

Malaysian student housing in dealing with the indoor thermal comfort. Most of the

aforementioned problems occurring in student housing implicate the incompatibility

of the design criteria.

In addition, there were cases where conventional student housing buildings were

converted to a contemporary housing style to satisfy the modern housing needs and

transform the housing area to a more commercial neighbourhood (Devlin et al.,

9
2007). The problem of substandard student housing is compounded by the fact that

most universities either in developed or developing countries received limited

financial back-up from the government. For example, in the UK, the process of

rebuilding and enhancing the current student accommodation building stocks, has

involved developers from private sector (Hughes and Davis, 2001; Hubbard, 2009).

However in the US, even though the majority of the cost to build new student

housing is taken care of by the university, the cost still partially lies on private sector

because the project always requires higher budget (Agron, 2006).

From the few mentioned cases, it can be concluded that appropriate amenities as well

as suitable room conditions provided in student housing can ensure that the students

perceive good quality of student life during their study periods. Foth (2004) proved

the importance of having a high-tech housing facilities and amenities especially the

wider internet access would act as the medium of social networking among the

students in enhancing a sustainable neighbourhood in student housing areas.

Otherwise, other alternative such as converting the existing student housing building

to conventional apartments, the layout is not ideal and will incur expensive costs.

Moreover, providing new student housing with most up-to-date facilities has been

limited by strained university budgets because houses are expensive to build and

funding capacity and subsidies from the public fund to the university have declined.

Furthermore, previous studies showed that the student academic performance is

sensibly associated with SRS (Cleave, 1996; Amole, 2007; Sirgy et al., 2007;

Khozaei et al., 2010b; Riley et al., 2010). It is believed that students can perform

well in their studies if they have good and comfortable living conditions in their

10
student housing (Amole, 2005; Hassanain, 2008; Radder and Han, 2009; Willoughby

et al., 2009). Additionally, past studies have also highlighted that there is a need to

create a home-like environment in student housing because only in this environment

students can enjoy more meanings in their daily lives (Pace, 2007; Thomsen, 2007;

Schenke, 2008; Torres-Antonini and Park, 2008). This close relationship between

student academic performance and housing satisfaction has prompted scholars to

propose that residential satisfaction (RS) is the most important indicator when

evaluating student housing to ensure that quality and satisfactory services are

provided in this type of housing (Hassanain, 2008; Amole, 2009a; Riley et al., 2010).

However, there is a very little research on factors that influence SRS. Among a few

studies conducted, the one by Kaya and Erkip (2001) analysed the effects of floor

height and room size in Turkey. They found that residents occupying the higher

floors perceived their room as larger and less crowded. As such their satisfaction

level is better. Akalin et al. (2009) also evaluated the student preferences in Turkey

but they focused more on perceptions of house façades. They revealed that the most

preferred house façades was the one with intermediate complexity which meant that

the actual design of the façades had been slightly altered. Amole (2005; 2007; 2009a;

2009b) conducted a series of studies regarding student housing provided in Nigeria.

In 2005, she analysed the adapting strategies taken by the students in defining their

privacy and territories, and found that students had rearranged their room furniture

and decorated their personal places to fulfil their territorial needs. In 2007, she

evaluated the quality scores of the facilities provided in student housing, and

discovered that socio-physical and bedroom attributes were the main factors that

influenced the overall low quality scores in her study. In 2009, she analysed factors

11
to predict RS in student housing. She revealed that physical, social and management

attributes of the student housing were significant in predicting SRS. Further in 2009,

Amole studied the RS and levels of environment in student residences. The findings

showed that students responded to RS through four levels of environment which

were bedroom, floor, block and the whole hall of residence. Another study is

undertaken in Saudi Arabia by Hassanain (2008). He studied the degree of

satisfaction in terms of technical performance (i.e., thermal comfort) and functional

performance (i.e., room layout and furniture quality) in sustainable student housing

facilities (SHFs) and observed that both technical and functional performances

involved sufficiently in interpreting student satisfaction in student housing.

In addition, there were studies in the housing literature emphasizing that social

attributes were also important determinants of SRS and should not be neglected. For

example, Frank and Enkawa (2009) revealed that the tenants‟ economic backgrounds

would lead to overall housing satisfaction where a good economic status could lead

someone to make the best and affordable choice of a house. The national culture is

also as an important factor to predict RS. This was pointed out by Parkes et al.

(2002) and Potter and Cantarero (2006) when they said that a socially mixed

environments have both positive and negative effects to RS. There is also a different

perception in conveying the SRS between genders which female students are mostly

like to live in shared facilities while male students usually prefer to live in more

private spaces (Amole, 2005). Consequently, Kaya and Erkip (2001) testified that

SRS is also correlated with every individual‟s family home experience. Moreover,

Foubert et al. (1998) conducted a study which examined the social factors that

predicted SRS and they exemplified that the presence of positive relationships with

12
roommates and the floor communities had an influence on overall SRS.

Nevertheless, it is still unclear as to what factors will significantly influence the SRS

most.

Most studies on SRS has been conducted in the West and other developing countries,

such as Turkey, Arab Saudi and Nigeria where the locations are distinct with respect

to the cultures and climates found in developing countries in Southeast Asia; hence

this study hopes to fill the research gap in this area in Malaysia. In Malaysian

research, most studies related to students and university are more likely to be surveys

on the reasons for students enrolment and teaching qualities (Sohail et al., 2003);

satisfaction on academic programs and other university facilities (Sapri et al., 2009);

the ideal instrument to measure service quality in HEI (Abdullah, 2005; 2006a;

2006b); the preferences of online products and services among students (Yeow et

al., 2008); the association between adjustment behaviour with students‟ achievement

motivation and self-efficacy (Elias et al., 2010); and the effectiveness of campus

portal (Masrek, 2007). Works from these aforesaid researchers were too general on

higher educational students and services; they did not underline much on the student

housing RS survey.

In addition, the closest study related to Malaysian student housing RS survey was

undertaken by Dahlan et al. (2008; 2009a; 2009b; 2011) who conducted a chain of

studies on indoor comfort perceptions among the students living in non air-

conditioned rooms. In 2008, they measured the indoor microclimate condition during

the rainy and clear days and found that during rainy day students felt cool while in

clear day students felt warm. In the early 2009, they studied the perceived visual

13
condition through daylight ratio and luminance level. They encountered that students

responded to modify the visual comfort level through the use of curtains and artificial

lighting. More in 2009, they analysed students‟ perception of indoor comfort by the

assessment of thermal, visual, and noise conditions in the room and established that

students cared more about thermal condition compared to acoustic and visual

conditions. More recently in 2011, they examined the differences of indoor thermal

condition in the rooms by switching on and off the ceiling fan and found that

students adjusted the thermal discomfort by increasing the fan air speed. In overall,

Dahlan et al. (2008; 2009a; 2009b; 2011) concluded that the ventilation and visual

needs by students could be met by switching on fans, opening windows, having

projected balconies, long roof overhang, and additional shading on the windows; and

acoustics comfort could be achieved by providing a balcony outside the room which

could screen the traffic noise from entering the room. However, their studies were

narrow in their scopes because they only covered indoor thermal, visual, and noise

comfort in students‟ room. Besides, Khozaei et al. (2010a; 2010b) conducted a

sequence of studies regarding student housing provided in Universiti Sains Malaysia

(USM). In the early 2010, they analyzed the factors that predict student housing

satisfaction. As well in 2010, they scrutinized the association between student

satisfaction and sense of attachment to particular student housing. Khozaei‟s et al.

studies seemed to focus on student housing as a whole because they also included

housing management, campus transport facilities and distance from student housing

to the other university‟s facilites as their predictors (independant variables to

measure SRS). Yet, in this present study, the unification of the physical attributes

(rather than architectural design) of the SHFs with the social attributes of the students

has been submitted as the most important factors that influence the SRS. This study

14
has distinguished the total SRS expressed by the students based on their degrees of

satisfaction perceived in the whole hall or area of the student housing alone and

thereafter execute a few loyalty behaviours. Besides that, this study also examined

how satisfied students were with their environments (needs, wants, requirements and

experiences); the output of factors that accounted for residential satisfaction or

dissatisfaction; and also introduced the new model, namely, SRS Index which could

constructively explain SRS.

The awareness of physical and social factors perhaps would help the university

housing administrators to overcome their shortcomings. Since that, this study also

tried closing the gap between students‟ expectations of facilities quality and their

actually perceived experiences. The results would also help policy makers to develop

more strategic policies in ensuring that Malaysian universities can provide world-

class on-campus student housing, in keeping with the aforementioned HEI goals of

the Malaysian government. Likewise, to achieve the vision and mission of

globalising the higher education in Malaysia, the affective gap between the units

(housing) preferred and those actually supplied should continuosly be explored.

Student enrollment continues to increase, thus proper and modern on-campus student

housing scheme is very important to retain students from moving out to off-campus

house.

15
1.4 Research Questions

Along these lines, this study is undertaken to obtain answers for the following

research questions, which are:

i. To what extent the students are satisfied with the provided SHFs in the

universities?

ii. Which one of the SHFs significantly influences the students‟ overall housing

satisfaction and their loyalty behaviours?

iii. Will the differences in the student‟s socio-physical background influence

student satisfaction in SHFs?

1.5 Research Objectives

The main aim of this study is to determine whether the students are satisfied or not

with their living conditions in SHFs provided on-campus by the university‟s housing

administration. To accomplish this main aim, three vital objectives have been

structured out which are:

i. To examine the level of SRS among the students in the universities.

ii. To identify the factors influencing students‟ overall housing satisfaction and

their loyalty behaviours.

iii. To investigate whether differences in the student‟s socio-physical background

will influence student satisfaction in SHFs.

1.6 Scope of the Study

In order to answer the research questions and achieve the targeted research

objectives, the study area has been set up to focus on the Malaysian public

universities which have been awarded with the RU title. Under the 9th and 10th

16
Malaysia Plan, there are five universities designated as the RUs, namely, USM,

UKM, Universiti Malaya (UM), Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) and Universiti

Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) (Su-Ann, 2006; MOHE, 2010; UTM News, 2010). RUs

are the country‟s pledge university, expected to represent the country as the world-

class leaders in innovation, design and research (Beerkens, 2010). These RUs were

chosen as the study areas because of several reasons including that these universities‟

were well-established and among the pioneer universities in Malaysia (Balakrishnan,

2009; Zahrawi and Yahya, 2009); these universities were also highly ranked in

Malaysian HEI lists (Balakrishnan, 2009; Evers et al., 2010); and last but not least,

these universities would be the centres of attention for youth and nation either local

or international to decide on pursuing their studies (Ming, 2010).

Since Malaysia government has promoted Malaysia as a global education hub

worldwide, there is a need to conduct this SRS evaluation study thoroughly. In

complying with the country‟s vision, government has emphasised much on these

Malaysian RUs especially in maintaining the RU title and upgrading the undertaken

research (Beerkens, 2010). As few researchers have declared that students

performance in academics is associated with SRS, so it is very imperative to ensure

that those Malaysian RUs have provided the most sophisticated and well-equipped

on-campus SHFs to the students compared to the other universities existing in

Malaysia.

1.7 Significance of the Study

Studies on RS which examined the level of RS and factors affecting it tended to

focus on either public or private housing estates. For example, Salleh (2008)

17
analyzed the impact of neighbourhood factors in private housing estates and more

recently Mohit et al. (2010) assessed the RS in public low-cost housing. So far, the

investigation on SRS is still rare. There seems to be very little research known about

what predicts satisfaction in SHFs. This study is undertaken as intensification of the

previous studies to investigate the experiences of the students living in their offered

on-campus house and understand their well-defined housing needs.

The findings of this study would benefit the government in terms of policy

recommendation to the existing guidelines for future development of student

housing. This recommendation includes the proposal of building the most ideal

rooms‟ occupancy and preferred design of high-rise student housing buildings.

Furthermore, the findings would also help the universities‟ housing administration to

improve their SHFs that should be provided in every student housing building.

Modern and most up-to-date facilities and amenities should be taken into

consideration, so that the students would be contented enough to stay again in the

same rooms in their next semesters. Additionally, providing and serving the students

with an acceptable standard of living condition, sequentially, would promote a good

public image to the university as well. Finally, as mentioned earlier, the findings also

would benefit the students where they will get the advantages from the

improvements made by the university. In these circumstances, students deserve to

have a good housing environment to ensure that they can happily study and enjoy

their whole student or collegiate lives in the university.

18
1.8 Organisation of the Chapter

This thesis is organised in five chapters. Chapter 1 gives the introduction and

overview of the study. The research questions, scope, and objectives are also

explained in details in this chapter. Chapter 2 provides the literature review of

student housing, SHFs, SRS and formation or establishment of SRS Index. This

chapter also extensively discusses the factors affecting satisfaction. For this, research

theoretical framework is presented in it. Then, Chapter 3 outlines the research

methodology, research design and method of analyses used in this study. Chapter 4

presents the findings and discusses the results in alignment to answer the research

questions and harmonize to research objectives. Finally Chapter 5 highlights the core

findings and concludes the thesis with some limitations and suggestions for future

and further research.

19
 CHAPTER 2:

LITERATURE REVIEW
 CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Introduction

The purpose of this chapter is to conceptually and theoretically clarify the literature

reviews of SHFs, RS, SRS and formation of SRS Index. This chapter starts with an

explanation on the student housing and SHFs before it discusses the satisfaction of

students with the provided accommodation. This chapter also reviews the factors that

affect SRS and rationalize the conceptualization of SRS Index. Thereafter the

research theoretical framework will be presented.

2.2 Student Housing

2.2.1 Definition of Student Housing

Student housing is defined as a building built with many rooms and each room

consists of one or two beds providing sleeping and living quarters for large numbers

of people, usually with or without private baths, furnished and rented by the bed

(Susilawati, 2001; Khozaei et al. 2010a). Martin and Allen (2009) professed that

student housing was a living-learning apartment structured in double-loaded corridor

with the double rooms fixed to private or semi-private bathrooms. Like so, in

explaining the meaning of student housing, Thomsen and Eikemo (2010) posited that

student housing was a temporary home for students (young-adults) living away from

their parental homes which connoted the expressions of identity. By modifying

Huang and Clark (2002) housing concept, student housing could also be said as the

university-owned accommodation, built for students to reside in an on-campus

environment with some rental fees standardized by the university‟s housing

21