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Edustream’s Hostel Management module brings your entire boarding operation into a single structured system. Whether your school has one dormitory block or a sprawling campus with multiple wings, you can model the full physical hierarchy, allocate individual bed spaces to students, collect hostel fees through the finance module, and give each warden a focused view of the wing they supervise. This guide covers everything from initial setup to day-to-day boarder management.
Hostel Management is available on the Operations plan and above. Wardens are granted a scoped portal role and do not require a full admin licence.

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Understanding the Dormitory Hierarchy

Edustream organises boarding accommodation in a four-level hierarchy. You must set up each level before you can allocate beds to students. 
Dormitory Building
└── Wing
    └── Room
        └── Bed Space
  • Dormitory Building — the top-level physical structure (e.g., Boys’ Hostel Block A).
  • Wing — a sub-division of a building (e.g., North Wing, Senior Wing). Each wing is assigned one warden.
  • Room — an individual room within a wing, with a defined type and capacity.
  • Bed Space — a named or numbered sleeping position within a room, the lowest assignable unit.

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Setting Up Your Dormitory Structure

Navigate to Operations → Hostel Management to begin.

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Step 1 — Add a Dormitory Building

1

Open the Buildings tab

Click the Buildings tab at the top of the Hostel Management page, then click Add Building.
2

Enter building details

Provide a building name (e.g., Girls’ Hostel Block B), a short code for internal reference, and the total capacity you intend to configure. The capacity field is informational — actual capacity is determined by the beds you create.
3

Save the building

Click Save Building. The building now appears in your dormitory list and is ready for wings to be added.

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Step 2 — Create Wings

1

Select the building

Click the building name to open its detail view, then click Add Wing.
2

Name the wing and assign a warden

Enter the wing name (e.g., Senior Girls Wing) and select a warden from the staff directory. Only staff members with the Warden role appear in this list. If the warden has not yet been assigned the role, go to Administration → Staff → Roles first.
3

Save the wing

Click Save Wing. The warden immediately gains access to this wing in their Hostel Manager Portal.

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Step 3 — Add Rooms

1

Open the wing and click Add Room

Inside the wing detail view, click Add Room.
2

Configure room details

Fill in the room number or name, select the Room Type from the dropdown, and set the maximum occupancy.Available room types include:
Room TypeDescription
DormitoryOpen-plan shared sleeping space with multiple beds.
Private RoomSingle-occupancy or limited-occupancy room.
Semi-PrivateTwo to four occupants, typically used for senior students.
3

Save the room

Click Save Room. The room is added to the wing and is ready for bed spaces to be created.

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Step 4 — Create Bed Spaces

1

Open the room and click Add Beds

From the room detail view, click Add Beds.
2

Set bed count and naming

Enter the number of beds to create. Edustream automatically names them sequentially (e.g., Bed 1, Bed 2) but you can rename each one after creation to match physical labels in the room.
3

Save beds

Click Create Beds. Each bed space now appears in the room with an Unoccupied status, ready for student assignment.

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Assigning Students to Bed Spaces

Once your dormitory hierarchy is in place, you can allocate individual students to specific beds.
1

Navigate to the bed space

Go to Operations → Hostel Management, drill down to the correct Building → Wing → Room, and click the bed you want to assign.
2

Click Assign Student

Click Assign Student on the bed space detail panel.
3

Search for the student

Type the student’s name or ID in the search field. The search returns only active students who are not already assigned to another bed.
4

Set the residency period

Enter the start date for the allocation. Optionally set an end date if the allocation is for a fixed term. Leaving the end date blank marks the allocation as ongoing.
5

Confirm the assignment

Click Assign. The bed status changes to Occupied, and the student’s profile is updated with their hostel allocation details.
To reassign a student mid-term — for example, due to a room transfer — open the current bed space, click Release Student, then follow the assignment steps above on the new bed. The previous allocation is archived with its dates for record-keeping.

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Linking Hostel Fees

Hostel fees are managed separately from tuition. To attach a hostel fee to a student’s allocation:
  1. Go to Finance → Fee Templates and confirm a hostel fee template exists for the relevant term.
  2. When assigning the student to a bed, toggle Apply Hostel Fee to on.
  3. Select the applicable fee template from the dropdown. Edustream generates a hostel fee invoice in the student’s finance ledger automatically.
Releasing a student from a bed does not automatically cancel an outstanding hostel fee invoice. Navigate to Finance → Invoices and void or adjust the invoice manually if the student will not be charged for the full period.

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Viewing the Active Boarder Directory

The boarder directory gives you a live list of every student currently allocated to a bed, filterable by building, wing, and room. Navigate to Operations → Hostel Management → Boarder Directory. Use the filters at the top to narrow by:
  • Building — view all boarders in a specific dormitory block.
  • Wing — view all boarders under a specific warden.
  • Room — view the exact occupants of a single room.
  • Status — filter by Occupied, Unoccupied, or Reserved bed spaces.
Export the directory to CSV or PDF using the Export button in the top-right corner — useful for housekeeping rolls, fire assembly lists, and term-end reports.

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Warden Portal Access

Each warden sees a scoped version of the hostel dashboard containing only the wing or wings assigned to them. They do not have access to any other area of Edustream. From their portal, wardens can:

View Room Occupancy

See which beds are occupied, by whom, and since when — across all rooms in their assigned wing.

Browse the Boarder List

Access a full directory of students in their wing with names, class, and parent contact details.

Flag a Maintenance Issue

Submit a room or bed maintenance report that is forwarded to the facilities team.

View Hostel Notices

Read school-wide or wing-specific notices published by the hostel administrator.
Wardens cannot assign or release students from bed spaces — that action is reserved for admin users with the Hostel Manager or Operations Admin permission. This separation ensures that all official allocation changes are audited at the admin level.