Assessing post occupancy evaluation in higher education facilities Mike Riley, Noora Kokkarinen and Michael Pitt School of Built Environment, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to summarise the main post occupancy evaluation (POE) techniques currently available and illustrate which method would be the most appropriate as a performance enhancement tool within higher education (HE) facilities. Design/methodology/approach – The history of, and barriers to using POE as a performance enhancement tool are analysed through an extensive literature review. Findings – Despite a historic resistance to POE by construction professionals, interest has emerged in recent years, particularly with government clients and public funded projects, with a focus on the outputs of a project as opposed to the inputs. While plenty of methods exist, only a few are specifically suited to evaluate the building performance of educational facilities to maximise student success and productivity. Research limitations/implications – Practitioners and academics who are interested in the various POE methods will find this review relevant in order to choose which method is most appropriate for the assessment needs of HE facilities. Originality/value – Research on POE has been emerging in the field of facilities management for commercial and domestic buildings, but little attention has been drawn to HE buildings; although they are a great contributor to individual success and society. This paper provides an historic overview of POE while also assessing its scope, identifying drivers and barriers to it, and outlining the various methods by which it can be conducted. Keywords Higher education, Facilities, Performance levels, Buildings, User studies Paper type Literature review Introduction Studies of post occupancy evaluation (POE) methodologies have tended to focus on commercial and residential buildings, whilst the performance of higher education (HE) buildings has received less attention. Educational facilities host a large number of users with various needs (Hassanain and Mudhei, 2006); therefore understanding how to make the most of this particular work environment would not only benefit the users but also the institutions themselves. This paper provides an extensive literature review on the uses of POE; its history; and an assessment of its current state within the UK. Drivers and barriers to the POE process are discussed and seven methods which can be applied to HE buildings are summarised. POE is used to consider the extent to which a building meets the needs of its end-users while also recognising ways in which design, performance and fitness for purpose can be enhanced (Turpin-Brooks and Viccars, 2006). It is therefore a systematic process guided by research covering human needs, building performance and facilities management (FM). The rationale for conducting a POE is to reflect on the extent to The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/1472-5967.htm JFM 8,3 202 Received March 2010 Revised March 2010 Accepted March 2010 Journal of Facilities Management Vol. 8 No. 3, 2010 pp. 202-213 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 1472-5967 DOI 10.1108/14725961011058839