Cycle Management FAQ

Find answers to common questions about setting up, managing, and troubleshooting housing cycles.

Cycle Setup and Management

How many housing cycles can I create?

There is no limit to the number of cycles you can create. Multiple cycles can run at the same time to manage different student populations, such as first-year, returning, or commuter students.

How long should a housing cycle last?

Cycle length should align with your institution’s housing and billing timelines. Most cycles follow academic terms like Fall, Spring, or Summer, but shorter cycles can also be used for specialized programs or summer housing.

Can multiple cycles share the same term code or charge codes?

Yes. Shared term codes and charge codes help maintain consistency across concurrent cycles and simplify reconciliation with your Student Information System (SIS).

Can I edit a housing cycle after it starts?

Yes. Start and end dates, phases, and settings can be adjusted, but changes to active phases may affect students who have already started their process. Review all impacts before saving.

Can I copy an existing housing cycle?

Cycles cannot be duplicated directly, but forms, tags, and rulesets can be reused to speed up setup for a new term.

Can I delete a housing cycle?

No. Cycles are part of the institution’s historical record and remain available for reporting and reference.

Access and Eligibility

How do I make sure only certain students can see a cycle?

Use limit-to tags to define which students are eligible. Only students with those tags will see and access the cycle.

What if students see the wrong application?

Check tag configuration and cycle visibility dates. Updating tags to exclude certain students will remove their access automatically.

How can I confirm that my tags are working correctly?

Impersonate a test student with the intended tags to verify visibility. Always test before opening a live application.

Can cycles overlap?

Yes. Overlapping cycles allow separate student groups to progress through different housing timelines. Use clear tagging and term codes to prevent overlap issues.

Room Selection, Visibility, and Release Controls

How do I set when students can preview available housing inventory?

Use the Show or Hide Date in your cycle’s housing selection settings to determine when students can begin viewing available rooms or buildings before selection begins.

Can students see housing inventory before their application is approved?

Yes. You can choose to show or hide inventory for applicants in different statuses. Adjust this setting to control what each group can see.

How do I control what students see during the preview period?

Your ruleset determines which spaces are visible to each student. Tag logic defines the rooms and buildings available during preview and selection.

How do I stop students from seeing their housing lottery time early?

Set a Release Date for Housing Selection. This allows you to pre-assign lottery times and make adjustments before revealing them to students.

Will students be notified when they are assigned housing?

Yes. By default, the system sends a notification whenever a student receives a housing assignment. This can be turned off under Notification Management.

How do I control when students see or are notified about their assignment?

Set a date under Release Dates for the Housing Selection option to manage both visibility and notifications. When a date is set, all related notifications are held until that date so that pre-assigned students see their housing at the same time.

Transactions and Integrations

How do I set when transactions leave the system for my integration?

Use the Transaction Egress Date in the Integrations tab of each cycle. This date determines when transactions are sent from Housing.Cloud to your institution’s integration system.

What happens if my cycle doesn’t have a term code?

Housing.Cloud still generates and sends data, but your SIS may not have a mapped location to receive it. Your IT or integration team decides how that data is handled.

How can I confirm that data has been sent successfully?

Check the Integration Log in the Admin Portal to view sent transactions, pending transfers, or any errors that require review.

Room Selection and Assignments

What’s the difference between All-at-Once and Housing Lottery selections?

All-at-Once selection opens access to all eligible students at the same time. A Housing Lottery assigns selection times individually, which can be randomized, based on application order, or tied to integration data such as earned credits.

Can roommate groups include students from different cycles?

No. Roommate groups can only form within the same cycle.

Can I restrict who can live together?

Yes. Use rulesets to define which students can view or select specific rooms, such as restricting halls to first-years or honors students.

Can I stop students from changing rooms after they select one?

Yes. Once room selection closes, disable re-selection in the cycle’s settings. Administrators can still process room changes manually if needed.

Can I assign students who didn’t select a room?

Yes. You can assign them manually or run an automated placement process using your existing rulesets.

Move-In and Move-Out

How are move-in and move-out dates managed?

Move-in and move-out periods are configured within the same cycle. Each period can include designated time slots or moving groups for better scheduling.

Can students select their own move-in times?

Yes, if self-selection is enabled. Otherwise, administrators can assign students to specific times.

What happens if a student misses their move-in time?

You can allow late check-ins or assign a new time slot manually.

What is a check-in hold?

A check-in hold prevents a student from completing move-in until staff resolve the hold. Holds appear to staff during check-in but remain hidden from students.

Meal Plans and Billing

Can meal plans be mandatory for specific students?

Yes. You can assign a default meal plan automatically or use tags to make selection mandatory for certain students, such as first-years.

Can students change their meal plan after they select one?

Students can adjust their meal plan during the open selection window. After it closes, changes must be made by an administrator.

Can commuter students select meal plans?

Yes. Create a non-residential cycle and apply commuter tags so only eligible students can view and select available plans.

How can I apply different fees for different student groups?

Create separate cycles for each group and customize charge rules or fee triggers in each one.

What happens if a student cancels after being billed?

Refunds or adjustments must be processed manually based on your institution’s financial policies.

Troubleshooting and System Behavior

Why can’t students see their application?

Check that the cycle is active, the visibility dates are current, and the correct tags are assigned.

Why did my cycle lock or prevent edits?

When a phase begins or students submit data, connected forms lock automatically to preserve data integrity. Adjust future cycles rather than editing active ones.

Why isn’t billing data appearing in my SIS?

Confirm that a valid term code is attached to the cycle and that the integration is configured correctly. Cycles without term codes may not map automatically in your SIS.

What if I need to track housing outside the academic term?

Create a non-traditional cycle without a term code. The data can still be exported manually or processed separately by your IT or finance team.