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		Automating Your Housing Operation: In-House versus Outside Systems By Randi Schweriner Vice President, Adirondack Solutions, Inc. So, you're thinking about automating your housing office? It makes sense. Everyone else is doing it. It takes a long time to hand match 4,000 first-year students. It's taking you a week to get your occupancy statistics right. Your assignment letters are a mess. These are great reasons to think about automating your housing office. But, there are even more. Eliminating the time it takes you to hand match your assignments and sweat over your occupancy stats gives you more time for the other parts of your job. It allows the time for more creative programming, better customer service, and anything else you have not had the time to do because of time constraints. So you're convinced. Now what? Do you buy an off-the-shelf package? Do you utilize the basic housing component of your campus-wide system? Do you just build a small database in your office? Do you go to your computer department and build something more comprehensive in-house? The questions that go swimming through your head regarding this issue can be overwhelming. But, they need to be answered before you commit to any solution that will be costly and with you for many years to come. Once you've determined that yes, you are ready to automate, you need to figure out how to best meet the needs of your institution. What should the software do? As a starting point, you need to consider the political climate of your university, and whether you have the option of pursuing an outside system. Some institutions are not open to the possibility of 2 unique systems interfacing together, and if this is the case, then your main option is to determine what you need that the University system does not provide. Prioritizing your needs will be critical here. Since the University computer department may not be able to manage all of your needs due to time constraints, prioritizing will at least allow you to perhaps get your high priority needs met. After assessing institutional policy and procedures, if you get the go ahead to pursue either an outside system, or an in-house system or modifications, your next step is to determine your needs. That may sound basic and obvious, but it's not. Start with a wish list. If we could have EVERYTHING we wanted in an operations package what would that be? Then break your wish list into categories. Separate them by what is absolutely critical (i.e. what must this product have to make it a step up from the way you are doing things now?), what is really important and should be part of a package (like occupancy statistics), and what is just a nice extra feature (like maintenance tracking). Also consider if you are willing to change some of your current procedures to use a package or whether you need to find one that works within your current assignment methods. Once you know what it is you're looking for, you can start looking for it. There are 2 places to look for it: In-house and outside. The In-House Scenario You have a computer department. You know what you want. You know you don't want to change your current routine or your forms. "Let's build it ourselves!" you say, and there are many positive reasons to build something in-house. You can get exactly what you want and know for sure that it will tie in with your other campus systems, because it's being built to do just that by the people who run those other systems. You know for sure that it will tie in with your current procedures, forms, etc, because it's being built to do just that. You will have control as it's being built for you, and you get to test it to assure it will really work the way you foresee it working. The developer is on site to fix any bugs that arise. The Outside Scenario Another option is to purchase an "off-the-shelf" housing assignment system. The benefits of this scenario are as follows: Time. If you buy something already designed, you can have it immediately. It will take your computer department some time to develop and test a final version of your package. In evaluating time, you need to consider whether the development of your package is a high priority for the university or not. Also, try to assess whether the individual designing your package is working on multiple projects in addition to your package. The programmer who designs your system could leave the institution. Although the code for your system will be left behind, it may be hard for someone else to understand the code and modify it in the future. An outside contractor is only successful if his/her clients are happy. If a problem arises, your leverage may be greater with someone who depends on you for a reference. Extra features. Many outside systems have a wide range of features built into the product, such as maintenance and judicial tracking. Evaluating Outside Systems What if you decide that your computer department just can't get you what you want/need in the time frame you need it and you decide to look for an outside vendor? How do you start evaluating packages? Ask colleagues. Ask as many people as you can what they use. Then ask what they like, what they don't and what they would change. Call the technology committee members of professional organizations, like ACUHO-I, and ask if they can recommend anyone. List-serves are great for this purpose. Make a list of the companies that come recommended and call them or visit their web sites. Get information on features, ease-of-use, flexibility and cost. Use the product. See if the company will let you try out a demonstration version of the software so you can enter your own data and "play" with it. If they do not offer a demo, ask them to come to campus to show you the product in detail. If you can't get a demo to use yourself, but you like what you see at a demonstration, visit a school that has the product running and ask them to show you how it works. It's one thing for a computer programmer who designed the system to show you how it works, but it's another thing to determine how it will be for you to use on a daily basis. Check prices. Watch out for hidden costs. Once you pay the initial costs, do you also have to pay per student or bed space? Are there extra charges for customization? How much of the product can be customized by the user without additional fees? How much will maintenance cost per year? Who designed the package? Is it someone who knows the field of college housing? Was it designed for this purpose or is it an adaptation or extra module of a hotel or registrar package? How much control do you have in tailoring the product to your needs? Do you have to change the language you use on your forms or can you change the program to use your campus jargon? Hardware requirements. Are you Mac based and looking at PC-only packages or vice versa? How significant are the hardware purchases from what you currently have and know how to use? Support. Can you support the system with your current staff (or someone else on campus) or do you need a database administrator? The system is supposed to eliminate work, not create more! Although many of us in the field of Housing and Residence Life find computers more than a little overwhelming, a fear of converting your system shouldn't prevent you from doing so. By breaking the task down into steps and seeking the right help, automating your operation can be virtually painless! Remember, there are many people on your own campuses and among your colleagues who have been down this road and who have the expertise needed to help you build or find a system that is the right fit for your department. About the Author Randi Schweriner has spent the last 12 years immersed in college housing assignments. Her campus positions include Resident Director at Cabrini College, Coordinator for Undergraduate Housing at Princeton University and Assistant Director of Housing and Residence Life at Rutgers University-Newark Campus. Throughout her career, Randi has been very active with ACUHO-I and MACUHO in various capacities. Randi earned her Bachelors degree from Muhlenberg College and her Masters degree from Villanova University. Randi is currently the Vice President of Adirondack Solutions, Inc.