Students’ Housing in Private Universities in Nigeria: Influencing Factors and Effect on Academic Performance

Abstract

Student housing plays an essential role in the attainment of quality education. However, there has been significant evidence as regards the inadequacy of this essential facility among public universities in Nigeria. It was further observed that there is a paucity of information as regards this situation within the private institutions in the country. Based on this background this research was conducted to assess the students’ housing in private institutions, by determining the factors influencing students’ choice of residence and its effect on their academic performance. The study adopted a survey approach, with 216 students sampled through a structured questionnaire. Data gathered were analyzed using frequency, mean item score, and Mann-Whitney U-Test. Results revealed that although gender has no relationship with students’ choice of residence, age and academic level does. The major factors influencing students’ choice of residence are: accommodation fee, quality of the environment, need for privacy, influence of friends/desire to be close to friends, and number of students within the building. The study also revealed that students’ on-campus rarely miss classes due to distance of their residence from their lecture halls, unlike their mates staying off-campus. However, they tend to miss classes as a result of inadequacy of needed facilities; a situation that is uncommon among those staying off-campus. As regards students Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) as a measure of their performance, the residence of students does not have any statistical relationship with their academic grades.