Overview
A resident is a student with an active housing assignment. This article teaches you what residents are, how students become residents, what the different residency statuses mean, and how resident records connect to profiles and applications.
What you'll learn: What resident records contain, the resident lifecycle, what each residency status means, how to view resident detail tabs, and how to access complete housing history.
Prerequisites: This article assumes you understand basic table navigation, filtering, and searching covered in PLS-1E: General UI Patterns and the list-to-detail pattern covered in PLS-1F.
What is a Resident?
A resident is a student who has been assigned housing—they have a specific building, room, and bed assignment for a specific housing cycle.
Think of the progression:
- Profile = The person: John Smith exists in your system
- Application = Their request: John Smith applies for Fall 2024 housing (approved)
- Resident = Their active assignment: John Smith is assigned to East Hall, Room 201A, Bed 1 for Fall 2024
One profile can have multiple resident records over time (Fall 2024, Spring 2025, Summer 2025). Each residency is tied to a specific housing cycle and bed assignment.
What Resident Records Contain
Each resident record includes:
- Student information: Name, email, student ID (pulled from profile)
- Housing assignment: Building, suite, room, bed
- Residency dates: Move-in date, move-out date, cycle start and end
- Residency status: Where they are in the housing lifecycle (Assigned, Checked In, Checked Out, etc.)
- Roommates: Other students assigned to the same room
- Meal plan: Selected meal plan (if applicable)
- Keys: Which keys have been issued and returned
- Documents: Housing contract, condition reports, signed agreements
- Payment status: Fees, deposits, outstanding balances
- Move-in/out slots: Scheduled time slots for moving
Resident Lifecycle
Residents move through several stages from assignment to move-out:
- Assigned: Student has been given a room assignment but hasn't moved in yet
- Checked In: Student physically moved in and completed check-in process
- Occupying: Student is actively living in housing (checked in and within residency dates)
- Checked Out: Student completed check-out process and returned keys
- Cancelled: Housing assignment was cancelled before move-in
- Transferred: Student moved from one room to another (room swap or reassignment)
- Early Terminated: Student moved out before the scheduled end date
Residency Statuses Explained
Assigned
The student has a confirmed room assignment but hasn't moved in yet.
What you'll see: Building, room, bed assignment visible. No check-in date recorded yet.
What happens next: Student completes check-in process (either self-check-in via QR code or staff-assisted check-in), status changes to "Checked In."
Checked In
The student physically arrived, completed check-in procedures, and received their keys.
What you'll see: Check-in date and time recorded. Keys issued. Room condition report (if required) completed.
What happens next: Student lives in housing until move-out date. Status may change to "Occupying" depending on your system configuration.
Checked Out
The student completed check-out procedures and returned their keys.
What you'll see: Check-out date and time recorded. Keys returned. Move-out condition report completed. Bed is now available for reassignment.
What happens next: This residency is complete and becomes part of the student's housing history.
Cancelled
The housing assignment was cancelled before the student moved in. Common reasons: student withdrew from school, cancelled housing contract, changed plans.
What you'll see: No check-in date. Bed is released and becomes available for reassignment.
What you can do: If cancelled by mistake, you can reassign the student to the same or different bed.
Transferred
The student moved from one room to another during the housing cycle (room swap, emergency reassignment, etc.).
What you'll see: Original residency marked as "Transferred" with end date. New residency created for the new room with start date.
Historical record: Both residencies remain in the system so you have a complete record of the student's housing history.
Early Terminated
The student moved out before the scheduled end date of the housing cycle.
What you'll see: Check-out date earlier than expected end date. Bed becomes available for reassignment.
Billing implication: Depending on your policies, early termination may trigger prorated refunds or fees.
Accessing Residents
Navigate to Residents from the main navigation sidebar. You'll see a table with columns for name, email, student ID, cycle, building, room, bed, status, check-in date, and any other columns you choose to include.
Use standard table features to manage residents:
- Search: Find residents by name, email, student ID, room number, or building
- Filter: Narrow by cycle, status, building, room type, check-in date, tags, meal plan, or move-in slot (save useful filters as views like "Fall 2024 - Not Checked In")
- Export: Download filtered resident lists for reporting and occupancy tracking
- Bulk actions: Check in/out multiple residents, send messages, manage tags, or create bulk transactions
Common filters: "Fall 2024 + Status: Assigned" shows students who have room assignments but haven't checked in yet. "Fall 2024 + Building: East Hall + Status: Checked In" shows all current occupants of East Hall.
Viewing Resident Details
Click a student's name to open their resident detail page with these tabs:
Overview Tab
Shows summary information:
- Student name, email, student ID
- Current housing assignment (building, room, bed)
- Residency status and dates
- Roommates list with contact info
- Meal plan assignment
- Quick actions: Edit Assignment, Check In, Check Out, Cancel Residency
Assignment Tab (Room Status & Suite Status)
Shows detailed assignment information:
- Full inventory path (Building → Suite → Room → Bed)
- Bed features and amenities
- Room type and capacity
- Assignment history (if student was transferred)
Roommates/Housemate Tab
Shows all roommates in the same room:
- Roommate names and contact information
- Each roommate's bed assignment
- Roommate match score (if using AI matching)
- Roommate request status (if they requested each other)
Keys Tab
Shows key assignment and return information:
- Which keys were issued (room key, building key, mailbox key)
- When keys were issued and who issued them
- When keys were returned
- Key replacement requests or lost key reports
Documents Tab
Shows all housing-related documents:
- Housing contract (signed or pending)
- Room condition reports (check-in and check-out)
- Signed agreements and policies
- Uploaded attachments
Payments Tab
Shows financial information:
- Housing fees and charges
- Meal plan charges
- Deposit status
- Outstanding balances
- Payment history
Activity Tab
Shows audit log of all changes to this residency:
- When assigned
- Status changes (Assigned → Checked In → Checked Out)
- Who made changes and when
- Room transfers or swaps
Viewing Complete Housing History
By default, the Residents section shows current and recent residencies. To see a student's complete housing history across all cycles:
- Navigate to Profiles
- Click the student's name
- Click the Residencies tab on their profile
- You'll see all residencies (current and historical) for this student
Example: Sarah Johnson's profile shows three residencies: Fall 2023 (Checked Out), Spring 2024 (Checked Out), and Fall 2024 (Currently Checked In). This complete history helps you verify on-campus residency requirements or understand housing preferences and patterns.
How Profiles, Applications, and Residents Connect
Understanding the relationship between these three data types is key:
- Profile = The permanent record of the student (John Smith, ID #12345, jsmith@university.edu)
- Application = A cycle-specific housing request (John Smith's Fall 2024 application, submitted Sept 1, approved Sept 5)
- Resident = An active housing assignment (John Smith assigned to East Hall 201A for Fall 2024, checked in Aug 20)
Each profile can have many applications (one per cycle). Each approved application can become one resident record. One profile can have multiple resident records over time.
Navigation tip: From any resident detail page, click the student's name to jump to their profile. From the profile, you can see all their applications and residencies. From an application, you can see if it converted to a resident. These records are all interconnected for complete context.
Real-World Scenarios
Scenario 1: Finding Who Lives in a Specific Room
A resident calls the desk asking about their roommate in Room 201A.
Solution: Search "201A" in the Residents table → Click the resident name → View the Roommates tab → See all occupants with contact info → Provide roommate details to caller.
Scenario 2: Following Up with Students Who Haven't Checked In
Move-in week is ending and you need to follow up with students who haven't checked in.
Solution: Filter by Cycle: "Fall 2024" + Status: "Assigned" (not "Checked In") → Export the list → Call or email these students to confirm arrival plans or address issues.
Scenario 3: Generating an Occupancy Report by Building
Your director needs current occupancy counts for each building.
Solution: Filter by Status: "Checked In" → Export to Excel → Use pivot tables to count residents by building → Share report showing East Hall: 234 residents, West Hall: 198 residents, etc.
Scenario 4: Verifying On-Campus Residency History
A student applying for senior housing claims they lived on campus for three years.
Solution: Search for the student → Click their name → View the Residents tab on their profile → Review all past residencies (Fall 2021, Spring 2022, Fall 2022, Spring 2023, Fall 2023, Spring 2024) → Confirm they meet the three-year requirement.
What's Next
Continue your Product Learning Session 2 journey:
- PLS-2D: Managing Inventory—Learn operational inventory tasks like blocking rooms, updating bed statuses, and managing furniture
- PLS-2E: Introduction to Tags—Learn what tags are, how they organize data, and how to use tags effectively
- Complete PLS-2: Product Learning Session 2: Managing Your Housing Data