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Have you ever noticed that Residence Life programs often think about numbers on a large scale: dozens of meetings each week, hundreds of processes to track, thousands of students to serve throughout the years, millions of dollars to manage? The breadth of scope can make it easy to dismiss smaller scale numbers. In a field that values connecting and engaging with each and every student, how can we give voice to the value of one? 

One person with a better customer experience

Customer service experiences across various industries can usually be described somewhere on the spectrum ranging from clunky, outdated processes that make it easy to fall through the cracks to technology-centered processes that treat customers more like computers than real human beings. Higher Education is no exception to this dichotomy, working to balance “the way things have always been done” with a recent transition to remote or hybrid work. Ultimately, we want to combine the efficiencies of technology with the individualization of an in-person interaction to optimize the customer experience. 

Brian Jaworski, Dean of Students at Huntington University, said “prior to using eRezLife, I was still operating with spreadsheets for rosters and a CRM which was not designed to be used for housing management. In attempting to onboard new students I found that somehow students who had submitted the housing application were being lost… It was not a good first foot forward for us as a university.” Since transitioning housing assignments to eRezLife, Brian no longer fears losing student housing applications, scrambling to make last-minute assignments, or apologizing for not being able to honor preferences. 

One staff member’s time

Time has always been a valuable resource, but seemingly even more so during current trends of high staff turnover and increased productivity demands. Residence Life and Housing staff can spend up to 40% of their time on unnecessary administrative work. Especially at smaller institutions balancing many competing priorities, time is always at a premium. At Huntington University, Brian says that since implementing eRezLife software “the Business Office, Admissions, Dining Services, Information Technology, and Accommodations Office have all seen an increase in efficiency.” 

He continues to emphasize “I just need things to work so that I can lead well in the areas that I have oversight… Having eRezLife enables me to more fully concentrate on other important matters rather than some of the nuts and bolts of housing management.” In addition to over $15K of poorly allocated staff salaries, the excess administrative tasks are also contributing to burnout in the field. Student Affairs professionals often enter the field to work with students, and while administrative responsibilities are a key component of that work, we want to enhance the efficiency of administrative processes to free up time for staff to spend connecting with students.

One student retained

Astin’s (1984) Student Involvement Theory explains how students develop a sense of belonging through their connection to campus. The reality is that many students are feeling disconnected from the campus community due to factors like untracked mental health issues. Residence Life and Housing professionals want to make students’ residence on campus a safe home that nurtures learning and development. 

Brian added, “having the tools through eRezLife enables me to leverage my time, and the time of others, on areas of greater impact on student success. We no longer lose students through the onboarding process, our communication to students has greatly improved, and everything housing/meal plan related is now readily accessible for students. eRezLife has allowed us to serve our students in significant ways that have increased their satisfaction with their housing and dining experience.”

One software

eRezLife offers the one complete, effortless, integrated system for Residence Life and Housing departments that unlocks savings and revenues for schools. This software was developed by Residence Life professionals for Residence Life professionals, so we act as an extension of your team. Our software offers a solution to enhance the customer experience with your department, increase your staff satisfaction with time allocation, and manage engagement with each student in your community. We’re passionate about empowering Residence Life and Housing staff to serve their communities more efficiently. 

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Tags: housing software