Reimagining Room Selection at Bucknell University with StarRez

With over 3,600 beds and a four-year housing guarantee, Bucknell University’s residential operations require both precision and adaptability. Since going live with StarRez in 2016, the University has steadily expanded its use of the platform to transform housing selection, streamline specialized assignments, and enhance support of students through every stage of the residential experience.

From Manual Marathons to Minutes: Room Selection Reinvented

Bucknell’s room selection process was physically demanding for students and operationally intense for staff. Students used to receive paper lottery numbers in their mailboxes and lined up for hours, sometimes late into the night, to select a room with a staff member in real time. The manual, in-person system spanned nine days each spring, requiring staff to work extended evening shifts to meet demand. Waitlists were long, housing guarantees added pressure, and some students still left without a confirmed room after several hours of waiting.

Since adopting the StarRez Room & Roommate solution, the process has undergone a complete transformation. Now, students access their self-service portal to view their housing selection time slot, browse available rooms, and make their selection, often in just 30 seconds. Time slots are distributed across a two-week window, grouped by class year, and structured to allow self-service flexibility from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. each day.

Instead of spending nights managing queues and entering assignments manually, housing staff are now focused on proactive student engagement. The process is more inclusive for all student groups, more student-led, and far less resource-intensive, resulting in an estimated 50% reduction in time spent managing the process.

“From where we were before StarRez and the steps we’ve taken, it’s been leaps to get us here. Moving from an hours-long, manual room selection process to a dynamic, student-centered experience has transformed how we operate, reducing staff workload, improving student satisfaction, and giving our team time back to focus on building community.”

- Stephen Apanel, Director of Housing Services, Bucknell University

Supporting Communities Through Group Housing and Custom Portals

Beyond general room selection, Bucknell also uses StarRez to manage housing for a variety of specialized communities including Greek Life, Affinity Houses, and its unique ResCollege program. These groups require specific spaces and have designated student leaders responsible for placing peers into rooms. Previously managed manually through spreadsheets and email threads, these assignments often took up to an hour per group and were prone to error if incorrect names or ID numbers were submitted.

Now, these same leaders have housing placement options, that include logging directly into StarRez to complete housing assignments for their groups using purpose-built profiles and permissions. Staff pre-load rooms and provide each group leader with access, streamlining the process down to just 5–10 minutes. The outcome is more accurate, empowering for student leaders, and far easier for housing staff to oversee. The result? A 100% digital assignment process for these student-led communities.

This shift to a student-led model is further supported by Bucknell’s use of StarRez PortalX, which allows for dynamic, personalized portals based on student type. Whether someone is a first-year student, going abroad, or returning to campus, they see tailored housing information and workflows. The portal also adapts to differentiated acceptance fees and rent structures, enabling the University to add financial complexity without creating confusion.

“With PortalX, we could customize it ourselves. It was important to cater the experience to the student—not just put them all through the same process.”

-Stephen Apanel, Director of Housing Services, Bucknell University

What was once a flat, legacy system has become a dynamic, adaptable experience, reducing student queries, improving accuracy, and giving staff creative control over the design of their processes.

Waitlists, Room Changes, and Summer Adjustments Made Simpler

Beyond the room selection journey, Bucknell continues to support students through room changes and a waitlist process that can involve up to 300 students in peak years. Previously handled through forms and manual tracking, these processes are now fully integrated into StarRez.

Students seeking room adjustments can submit requests directly from their booking, noting preferences or roommate groups. Those on the waitlist complete a similar form with additional context, allowing housing staff to review, filter, and prioritise based on real-time needs and building availability.

Communication with students is centralized in the platform, ensuring a consistent and transparent process. Staff can monitor occupancy graphs and room inventory over the summer, respond to requests promptly, and manage expectations with clarity and confidence. Utilizing StarRez has led to improved and smoother waitlist management, fewer escalations, and more intentional placements, especially as students take greater ownership of the process.

“We read every preference and comment. It helps us find solutions, and we communicate directly through StarRez.”

-Stephen Apanel, Director of Housing Services, Bucknell University

While Bucknell has not reached full automation with their summer processes, the time saved and the quality of service provided far surpass what was possible with previous methods of operations. Staff now spend less time fixing errors and more time helping students make thoughtful, informed decisions about their living environment.

Looking to reimagine your housing operations and create more student-centered processes? Request a demo and start the conversation with our team today.