EFFECTS OF STUDENT’S HOUSING ON ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN THE FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY AKURE, NIGERIA

Abstract

The thesis examined the effects of students housing on academic performance in the Federal University of Technology, Akure. It assessed the significant factors influencing student choice of accommodation; ascertained the differences in academic performance of students in on-campus and off-campus hostels, and evaluated the effects of students’ choice of accommodation on their performance with a view to providing information that could improve the student study environment and living conditions. A close-ended questionnaire was administered on the four hundred and seventy (470) students selected from the two thousand six hundred and seventy-six (2,676) target population for the study. Data were collected on the factors influencing student choice of accommodation and academic performance of students in both on and off campus hostels and were analyzed using descriptive statistics, student t-test, and discriminant function analysis. Findings also revealed that greater proportion of the students resided off-campus as a result of the inadequate supply of bedspace provision on-campus. Type of dwelling and access to transport were significant factors that influences student’s choice on accommodation preference. The overall average mean C.G.P.A which measures the performance of off-campus respondent’s is (3.05) while that of the on-campus is (2.63), and the t-value is 2.070 with a p-value of 0.072 (two-tailed). The results revealed that there is no significant difference between the academic performance of on-campus and off-campus students. The effect of the choice of student’s accommodation on academic performance revealed that a higher proportion of both on and off-campus students in the Federal University of Technology, Akure falls within the category of the class of grade of 2.403.49 and 4.50-5.00. The study therefore implied that students’ choice of accommodation invariably does not single-handedly predict student’s eventual outcomes of good academic performance in the Federal University of Technology, Akure.