Rider University leverages PortalX forms
Key Highlights
STREAMLINE
Processes internally, improving the student UX
AGILE
Collecting and collating multiple data points
COMMUNITY
Learn and share ideas with other system users
FLEXIBILITY
Providing residents with preference choice
Region
Industry
Beds
Active Since
Product Highlights
Integrations
Originally founded in 1865 as Trenton Business College, Rider University (RU) merged with Westminster Choir College in 1992. RU is located about an hour outside of New York City, and has five academic units, more than 100 academic majors and minors, and 11 fifth year graduate options. RU’s enrollment is a mix of approximately 5,200 undergraduate and graduate students. Together, RU hosts a grand total of 2400 beds consisting of a mix of traditional doubles, suites and apartments. Rider houses students on their Lawrenceville campus, consisting of 14 residence halls and five Greek affiliated houses.
A form is a process that we use to collect student data to then store in various database tables, such as the Entry Application, Booking, Entry/Application Custom Fields or Time Slot. Forms can be used to collect all kinds of student data/requirements or preferences.
The first step of using forms would be to identify what type of process you are going to use. If you wanted to track information on a specific term, you would use the form on the application table (i.e., contract cancellation request). Likewise, if the information needs to be stored against the booking, you will store the form on the booking table.
On average, 68% of our current customers use forms throughout their Portal X platform to capture resident data.
“Reporting is significantly easier and more streamlined, no more google forms and no more pen & paper processes!”
Roberta Butler, Rider University – Associate Dean of Resident Life
RU is currently using six unique forms on their process, including an Express Check Out form, Express Check In form, Meal Plan Changes, Early Arrival and a Late Stay form.
“We have access to an amazing community throughout StarRez via the Facebook group, as well as StarCare Online, and we have been able to borrow lots of content from other customers. There is no need to recreate the wheel!”
Roberta Butler, Rider University – Associate Dean of Resident Life
Borrowing content and layouts is something that our community are happy to provide. Likewise, we provide our customers with various StarRez best practice guides to follow. RU use magic link pages to restrict forms being available at specific times throughout the year. Understanding your full end to end business process is key for implementing forms. Deciding whether you are going to use a term selector or booking selector is key to your unique business processes. For example, RU used both a term selector and a booking selector, as their business process allows their students to input a future request for a room change. This allows students the ability to plan where they may want to move rooms to ahead of time.
“We try to use drop down menus as much as possible throughout our forms to enable us to streamline the information that we are collecting.”
Roberta Butler, Rider University – Associate Dean of Resident Life
Confirming your form selections
This is an important step in the form process, as StarRez allows you to email students a copy of their selections. This means that the collected information is stored, as well as being confirmed back with the student to ensure there is no confusion ahead of time, and all their preferences are being captured and reported on.
System Information and Reports
Once a student has completed a form, the system enables you to send that information directly back to the resident life staff via report in the system. This enables staff to add details, make additional changes and actions requests off a student’s preferences. You can also use data subscriptions to notify students once changes have been made from their form requests.
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