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Visual aesthetics are a vital aspect of environmental quality. The objective of this study is to demonstrate the implementation of visibility analysis and visual quality standards on a campus to enhance productivity and effectiveness.

This study has identified the most crucial and valuable metrics for evaluating the visual quality of open spaces through an analysis of theoretical foundations and relevant background information. To achieve research goal, a multi-method approach was employed, incorporating a survey, user satisfaction ratings and ISOVIST simulation techniques. Specifically, this study focused on assessing the quality of open spaces in three open areas located on the campus of the Iran University of Science and Technology.

Based on the study’s findings, the most significant factors that students considered when evaluating the visual quality of open spaces on the Iran University of Science and Technology campus were green areas, gathering spaces and architectural elements such as furniture, color and texture. Among the three open areas examined, “Open Space One” was identified as the most satisfactory location for students. According to the study, “sensory richness,” “complexity” and “mystery” were significant indicators of students' satisfaction in this area. This area also had the widest radius and field of view feasible, which gave it a feeling of openness and spaciousness.

This study explores the influence of students' experiences, behavioral patterns and visual analyses on their use of open spaces on university campuses, with a focus on the Iran University of Science and Technology. By assessing students' satisfaction levels with these spaces, this research provides valuable insights that can guide the initial analysis stage before the design process and facilitate design optimization during the development stages. The results highlight the importance of considering user experiences and visual analysis when planning and creating open spaces on university campuses.

Highlights

1. Conducting an initial analysis before developing a design plan can be very helpful in understanding how users think and behave.

2. The three criteria of visual quality that have the strongest correlation with students' satisfaction with “open space” are “mystery,” “sensory richness” and “complexity.”

3. Two factors, namely the “radius of vision” and the “area” index, significantly influence students' satisfaction with open spaces.

4. Outdoor designers should incorporate “green space” and “gathering spaces” into their designs since the presence of these is effective in attracting and satisfying students.

5. The number of people using an open space has little to do with how satisfied students are with it.

6. Half of the students use open areas between 11:00 and 14:00, so the provision of “canopy” and “shelter” in these spaces is essential.

Conducting an initial analysis before developing a design plan can be very helpful in understanding how users think and behave.

The three criteria of visual quality that have the strongest correlation with students' satisfaction with “open space” are “mystery,” “sensory richness” and “complexity.”

Two factors, namely the “radius of vision” and the “area” index, significantly influence students' satisfaction with open spaces.

Outdoor designers should incorporate “green space” and “gathering spaces” into their designs since the presence of these is effective in attracting and satisfying students.

The number of people using an open space has little to do with how satisfied students are with it.

Half of the students use open areas between 11:00 and 14:00, so the provision of “canopy” and “shelter” in these spaces is essential.

The level of deterioration of educational facilities, such as leaking classroom roofs, inadequate good seats, obsolete offices, broken shutters and doors, outdated school buildings, power plants and office equipment like ICT media, laboratories, offices and workshops, despite the involvement of Alumni association in the maintenance of educational facilities for the effective actualization of school objectives was a worrisome nightmare in Kogi state. This, therefore, prompted the researchers to explore the Alumni’s participation in plant maintenance for effective implementation of the universal basic education (UBE) programme in public junior secondary schools in Kogi state. The purpose of this study was guided by the research question which stated that to what extent does the Alumni Association participate in plant maintenance for effective implementation of the UBE programme in public junior secondary schools in Kogi state?

A quantitative research approach using a descriptive survey was adopted for the study. The sample was drawn using a proportionate stratified sampling technique comprising 387 participants which consisted of 191 (49%) urban junior secondary school principals and 196 (51%) rural principals in selected UBE junior secondary schools. Alumni’s Participation in Plant Maintenance Questionnaire was used as an instrument for data collection. The data were analysed with the aid of mean and standard deviation for the research question and z-test statistics at 0.05 level of significance and the value of z-crit. of 1.96 was used to determine the rejection or otherwise of the hypotheses.

The descriptive analysis revealed that the average mean set of 2.64 pointed to the fact that the respondents averagely agreed that there was a high extent to which Alumni participate in plant maintenance in urban than rural areas for effective implementation of the UBE programme in public junior secondary schools in Kogi state. This indicates that Alumni contribute to the management of UBE schools in Kogi state, especially in the areas of funding, infrastructural facilities, discipline, politics and quality control. This finding also shows that the contributions of the alumni to educational institutions are still unclear if they have made contributions to education in some areas and none in other areas making their relevance to plant maintenance unclear.

In terms of practical implications, the study has contributed to knowledge in that it is the first of this form of a study carried out in Kogi state, and as such the findings of the research will make contributions to the physique of information on plant maintenance for the profitable implementation of the UBE programme in Kogi state. Besides, the degree of plant preservation for the implementation of the UBE programme among applicable stakeholders in Kogi state is nevertheless at a low extent.

Researchers have conducted studies that show how non-state Alumni members contribute to the administration of education across different states. Some of these studies revealed that Alumni members have assisted schools in the provision of teaching and learning materials at the senior secondary or tertiary education level. There are no sufficient studies to show how these Alumni members have contributed to the implementation of the free education programme, especially in public junior secondary schools in Kogi state and this is the gap this study intends to fill.