> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.edustream.ng/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Hostel Management: Dormitories, Rooms, and Boarders

> Configure dormitory buildings, wings, rooms, and beds, assign students to bed spaces, and give wardens access to manage their assigned areas.

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.

<Info>
  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.
</Info>

***

## 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.

***

## Setting Up Your Dormitory Structure

Navigate to **Operations → Hostel Management** to begin.

### Step 1 — Add a Dormitory Building

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the Buildings tab">
    Click the **Buildings** tab at the top of the Hostel Management page, then click **Add Building**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="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.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Save the building">
    Click **Save Building**. The building now appears in your dormitory list and is ready for wings to be added.
  </Step>
</Steps>

### Step 2 — Create Wings

<Steps>
  <Step title="Select the building">
    Click the building name to open its detail view, then click **Add Wing**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="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.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Save the wing">
    Click **Save Wing**. The warden immediately gains access to this wing in their Hostel Manager Portal.
  </Step>
</Steps>

### Step 3 — Add Rooms

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the wing and click Add Room">
    Inside the wing detail view, click **Add Room**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="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 Type        | Description                                                |
    | ---------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------- |
    | **Dormitory**    | Open-plan shared sleeping space with multiple beds.        |
    | **Private Room** | Single-occupancy or limited-occupancy room.                |
    | **Semi-Private** | Two to four occupants, typically used for senior students. |
  </Step>

  <Step title="Save the room">
    Click **Save Room**. The room is added to the wing and is ready for bed spaces to be created.
  </Step>
</Steps>

### Step 4 — Create Bed Spaces

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the room and click Add Beds">
    From the room detail view, click **Add Beds**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="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.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Save beds">
    Click **Create Beds**. Each bed space now appears in the room with an **Unoccupied** status, ready for student assignment.
  </Step>
</Steps>

***

## Assigning Students to Bed Spaces

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

<Steps>
  <Step title="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.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Click Assign Student">
    Click **Assign Student** on the bed space detail panel.
  </Step>

  <Step title="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.
  </Step>

  <Step title="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.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Confirm the assignment">
    Click **Assign**. The bed status changes to **Occupied**, and the student's profile is updated with their hostel allocation details.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Tip>
  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.
</Tip>

### 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.

<Warning>
  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.
</Warning>

***

## 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.

***

## 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:

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="View Room Occupancy" icon="bed">
    See which beds are occupied, by whom, and since when — across all rooms in their assigned wing.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Browse the Boarder List" icon="list-ul">
    Access a full directory of students in their wing with names, class, and parent contact details.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Flag a Maintenance Issue" icon="triangle-exclamation">
    Submit a room or bed maintenance report that is forwarded to the facilities team.
  </Card>

  <Card title="View Hostel Notices" icon="bullhorn">
    Read school-wide or wing-specific notices published by the hostel administrator.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

<Note>
  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.
</Note>