Abstract:

Objective To understand the current intangible environment of Shanghai higher education institutions from students’ perspective and to analyze its influential factors. Methods The 1 600 undergraduate students from five higher education institutions, including two “985” universities and three ordinary universities, were surveyed by questionnaires. The questionnaires covered their perceptions towards the intangible environment of universities, which consisted of five aspects: education concept, academic atmosphere, learning atmosphere, campus life, and social practice. Then 1 246 valid questionnaires were returned. Results The results demonstrated that the average score of the intangible environment of Shanghai higher education institutions was above the average level (3.43±0.71). Among all aspects, the social practice gained the highest score (3.72±0.82), while the education concept got the lowest score (3.21±0.84). The evaluation scores of the intangible environment varied among students with different personal characteristics. The average score of academic atmosphere rated by junior students was higher than that rated by sophomores (P<0.01). Compared to male students, the female students rated higher scores on social practice and academic atmosphere of their universities (P<0.05). The total average score and all aspects’ scores of the university environment that rated by student cadres were significant higher than those rated by the rest students (P<0.05). Moreover, the intangible environment scores of “985” higher education institutions were significant higher than other institutions' scores. Conclusion The students gave positive feedbacks for the intangible environment of Shanghai universities. But higher education institutions should further improve their environments.

Key words: intangible environment, higher education institution, questionnaire survey