Indoor Environment, Student Satisfaction and Performance in Higher Education

Stefan Flagner (), Piet Eichholtz (), Nils Kok (), Rick Kramer (), Künn, Steffen (), Wouter van Marken Lichtenbelt (), Guy Plasqui () and Xudong Sun ()
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Stefan Flagner: Maastricht University
Piet Eichholtz: Maastricht University
Nils Kok: Maastricht University
Rick Kramer: Eindhoven University of Technology
Künn, Steffen: Maastricht University
Wouter van Marken Lichtenbelt: Maastricht University
Guy Plasqui: Maastricht University
Xudong Sun: Maastricht University

No 18697, IZA Discussion Papers from IZA Network @ LISER

Abstract: This study examines how improvements in indoor environmental quality affect student satisfaction and academic performance in higher education. We conducted a randomized field experiment involving 1,258 first-year undergraduate students at Maastricht University, who were randomly assigned to tutorial groups located either in a recently renovated building with improved indoor environmental quality or in a conventional control building. We find that students in the treatment building report significantly higher satisfaction with indoor environmental quality and the overall learning environment. However, these improvements do not translate into measurable effects on academic performance, study effort, or tutor evaluations.

Keywords: indoor environmental quality; higher education; human capital accumulation; satisfaction; field experiment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I21 I23 I31 J24 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-05
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