A classroom at Tapijnkazerne 11

Good air quality does not lead to higher grades

A researcher compared tutorial groups in old and renovated SBE buildings

22-01-2025 · News

MAASTRICHT. Pupils who are taught in well-ventilated, comfortable classrooms perform better, research has shown. Does the same apply to students? No, PhD candidate Stefan Flagner discovered. Whether first years at the School of Business and Economics are taught in the building at Tongersestraat 53 or the renovated, well-ventilated building at Tapijnkazerne 11, their final grades are the same.

Flagner – who hopes to obtain his doctoral degree on 19 March research – randomly divided over 1200 first-year SBE students into two groups, each attending two classes for two periods in different buildings: one mostly in Tongersestraat, the other in Tapijn. He measured the air quality and temperature in the classrooms, asked students and tutors for their experiences, and compared the final grades of the subjects.

Time

What are the results? The air quality in Tapijn 11 (which opened in 2020) is better, thanks to its modern ventilation system and set-up, students and tutors feel more comfortable there, and think they perform better there than on Tongersestraat. However, that last isn’t the case, although earlier research done in primary schools would suggest otherwise. Why is that? A question of time, Flagner suspects: students have a total of eight hours of classes a week, pupils spend much longer in their classrooms. It isn’t actually all that surprising to him. “It would be a lot more concerning if those eight hours a week would already have a negative effect.” With a smile: “Imagine the complaints from students with classes on Tongersestraat if they were to discover that the building had an influence on their grades...”

Speaking of complaints, what about the ethical side of this research? After all, the first years were subjected to it without their prior knowledge. Flagner and his team were given the green light by the city centre ethics committee. “The students would have had to take part in these tutorial groups either way,” he says. “And there was no intervention, such as actively altering the air quality of a space.”

Worth the money?

Was the renovation of Tapijn worth the money? That question from the Executive Board was part of the reason for this research. “It depends what you are hoping to improve,” says Flagner. “If your goal is higher grades, then it might be better to improve the air quality of the study places, where students spend more time. If your goal is their wellbeing, then it would appear to be worth it.”