University of Central Arkansas Goes Digital: 1,500 Paper Forms Gone, 30 Second Resident Check-In, and More

Keeping Up with a Growing Student Population  

The University of Central Arkansas (“UCA”) has experienced remarkable growth in recent years, driven in part by a highly competitive scholarship program that covers four years of tuition and fees. This initiative has accelerated student enrollment, bringing exciting momentum to the University but also putting significant pressure on housing operations. With more students choosing to live on-campus, the Housing and Residence Life team faced the challenge of scaling its services efficiently while maintaining a seamless student experience.

As demand grew, it became clear that manual processes were no longer sustainable. The team was spending countless hours on administrative tasks – from processing paper-based exemption requests to manually updating housing assignments and access permissions. Without automation, these workflows required significant staff effort, slowing down operations and increasing frustration for both students and employees.

One of the biggest operational challenges for the UCA team was checking-in students during move-in. Housing staff struggled with bottlenecks and inefficiencies when completing this process at the front desk of each residential building.  

Beyond check-in, other manual processes further complicated daily operations:

• Paper-based exemption forms created processing delays, making it difficult for students to receive timely approvals.

• Manually updating door access for students required extensive coordination, leading to potential security risks and access delays.

• Spreadsheet-based tracking of no-shows and assignment updates added extra layers of work for staff.

To keep up with UCA’s growing student population and evolving housing needs, the University recognized the urgent need to modernize and automate its housing operations. By utilizing support from StarRez, UCA set out to streamline check-in, digitize approvals, enhance security, and ultimately improve the residential experience for students and staff alike.

"When we first started using StarRez, it was really just a place to store and manage data. But as our housing needs grew, we realized it could be more than just a system— a true operational tool that now supports us in managing everything more efficiently. StarRez has helped us move beyond just getting by day-to-day to truly transforming how we manage housing."

-Heather Romine, Director of Housing Operations and BearCard Office, University of Central Arkansas

Digitization, Automation, and a Seamless Student Experience

To overcome these challenges, UCA enhanced use of StarRez’s housing management platform, focusing on four key areas of transformation:

1. Mobile Check-In with Barcode Scanning: Faster, Simpler, and More Efficient

With StarRez’s barcode scanning technology, UCA has completely transformed the check-in experience from what was once a slow, manual, and complex multi-step process. The impact:

• Check-in time dropped from 5 minutes to just 30 seconds per student.

• A new centralized check-in model allows students to be checked in while still in their vehicles.

• Student staff has more bandwidth to focus on welcoming students rather than managing paperwork.

• No-show tracking is now partially automated, eliminating the need for manual Google Sheets.

By leveraging mobile barcode scanning, UCA streamlined move-in day while enhancing the student experience. Instead of long lines and frustrating delays, students arrive at their hall already checked in, allowing for a more personal and welcoming introduction to campus life.

2. Digitizing Forms & Eliminating Paper with DocuSign Integration

Housing operations traditionally involve a significant amount of paperwork, from housing applications to exemption forms. Before integrating DocuSign with StarRez, UCA’s staff processed everything manually, which created long wait times for students, efficient tracking and approval workflows, and large volumes of paper-based requests.

By digitizing forms through StarRez and DocuSign, UCA eliminated 1,500+ paper forms in just six months, significantly speeding up approvals and simplifying the student experience.

Key improvements seen from this digital transformation include:

• Freshmen exemption form processing time has been cut by 50%, allowing for quicker decisions.

• Lease buyout exemption requests are now automated, reducing administrative overhead.

• Housing applications now open in October instead of April, helping students plan ahead and enabling faster timelines for exemptions.

Leveraging the StarRez DocuSign integration has not only benefited students but also empowered staff to focus on enhancing housing services rather than handling paperwork.

3. Real-Time Automated Door Access for Greater Security

Ensuring secure and reliable access to residence halls is a top priority for UCA. Previously, updating student access permissions required a manual, time-consuming process that could take a full day. This meant that, during move-in, some students would go hours without access to their building or room and that Housing and Residence Life staff needed to be at the front doors of each building rather than at other move-in events.

With StarRez, UCA automated access control, integrating it seamlessly with Transact and S2, resulting in impact:

• Automated updates every hour – student access is now granted or revoked in real-time.

• Processing time reduced from 8 hours to just 1 hour, increasing security and efficiency.

• Reduced reliance on plastic cards, as BearCard Mobile adoption supports a mobile-first approach with real-time automated door access in place, UCA now ensures that students can enter their housing smoothly, securely, and efficiently.

A Best-in-Class Student Housing Experience

With StarRez now deeply integrated into UCA’s operations, the University is taking the next step in modernizing its housing processes. By optimizing housing structures within StarRez, UCA now continues to increase efficiency, provide a seamless experience for students, and ensure its housing operations are future-ready. UCA has prioritized its housing processes, making them faster, more secure, and less reliant on manual effort.

"StarRez has completely changed how we manage housing. Processes that used to take hours or even days are now seamless, allowing us to focus more on our students rather than paperwork."

-Heather Romine, Director of Housing Operations and BearCard Office, University of Central Arkansas

Up next for the team is a full-scale rebuild of UCA’s housing structure in StarRez to ensure that all room configurations and assignments align with operational needs. Initially built in 2019, the system was set up with sporadic configurations that UCA is now working to refine.

By embracing automation, digitization, and smart integrations, UCA is ensuring that its housing operations not only meet today’s needs but are also prepared for the future.  

To learn more about how you can elevate your residential housing operations, connect with our team.