C044 -- Classroom Conditions in Higher Education: Thermal Comfort and Effect on Student Success

We want to understand how the classroom environment–specifically thermal comfort—affects a student’s ability to perform to the best of their ability. The effect of temperature on student final grades in calculus was modeled using 15 years of data from classes in one building on the Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo campus. In addition, a thermal comfort survey was given to 744 students while they were in class to have a better understanding of their perceived thermal comfort in measured environments. The results show that student prefer cooler classrooms, CO2 concentration levels are possibly influenced by stress levels, and students’ perception of thermal comfort do not fit the commonly used PMV/PPD model. Most importantly, it was found that having a cooler testing environment finals week slightly increases the probability that people will pass Calculus.