Housing & Residence Life

What Housing & Residence Life does

Housing & Residence Life is an operating department within Mississippi State University that provides on-campus residential services to MSU students in Starkville, Mississippi. It administers 16 residence halls and the College View apartments, housing more than 5,300 students across the academic year, and supports roughly 56 staff positions. The department's product surface spans the Online Housing Portal for assignments and renewals, four branded room styles (Pod Single, Apartment, Contemporary, Classic), Living-Learning Communities that pair housing with academic cohorts (including the new Entrepreneurship LLC in Deavenport Hall, Fall 2025), and supporting services such as summer housing, guest housing, and the RSVP renewal lottery now in use for Fall 2026 and Spring 2027.

Revenue is generated almost entirely through mandatory freshman residency and voluntary upper-class on-campus housing, billed as per-semester fees that range from $2,883 to $5,465 depending on room style, plus summer and guest housing charges. The freshman residency mandate provides a structural demand floor, while the College View partnership and new hall openings (Azalea Hall) expand the inventory that can be monetized across class years. Leadership transitioned with the appointment of Laura Ann Unruh as Interim Director, and a renewed RSVP allocation mechanism signals that demand is now outrunning prior first-come renewal capacity.

Name

Housing & Residence Life

Legal name

Department of Housing and Residence Life, Mississippi State University

Website

https://housing.msstate.edu

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Housing & Residence Life operates 16 residence halls and College View apartments at Mississippi State University, housing 5,300+ students via an Online Housing Portal, Living-Learning Communities, and semester-based room fees under a mandatory freshman residency policy.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

University Student Housing

SIC

Real Estate Agents & Managers (For Others) (6531)

akta.pro primary industry

Residence Hall Operations & Administration (EDALACAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

On-Campus University Housing Management (BPAJAJAA), Residential Education, Programming & Community Development (EDALACAC), Student Housing Roommate Matching, Assignments & Occupancy Management (BPAJAJAJ), Residential Life Programming & Student Engagement Services (EDAEAFAC)

Keywords

• Student housing services
• Residence life programs
• On-campus housing
• Living-learning communities
• University housing portal

Headquarters

HQ city

Mississippi State

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Semester-based Housing Fees: Students pay semester housing fees charged to their MSU student account. Housing fees are determined by residence hall and room type (standard double, deluxe double, quad suite, single occupancy). The housing contract is a 9-month academic year commitment.
2. Freshman Residency Requirement: First-time freshmen are required to live on campus, generating consistent housing demand. Students are automatically enrolled in meal plans as part of on-campus living requirements.
3. RSVP Contract Renewal Process: Continuing residents apply through Renewal Selection Verification Process (RSVP) lottery for next academic year housing, with a lottery system implemented for Fall 2026/Spring 2027 due to high demand.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Housing & Residence Life provides on-campus student housing at Mississippi State University through 16 residence halls and the College View apartment community, serving over 5,300 students. Students apply, sign housing contracts, select rooms, and submit maintenance requests through the Online Housing Portal. The department also offers Living-Learning Communities, Guest & Conference Services, mail/package handling, and the BELL Residential Engagement Model to support residential student development.

Product overview

Housing & Residence Life at Mississippi State University provides comprehensive on-campus student housing through a portfolio of 16 residence halls and College View apartment community. The core offering includes the University Student Housing Portal, a web-based platform enabling students to apply for housing, participate in Online Room Selection (OLRS), manage roommate requests, and submit maintenance requests. Residence halls span multiple styles (Pod Single, Apartment, Contemporary, Classic) across four campus locations, with specialized Living-Learning Communities (College of Forest Resources, Promise Scholars, Luckyday Scholars, Entrepreneurship, Shackouls Honors College, Panhellenic Greek) integrated into specific halls. Supporting services include Guest & Conference Services (Butler Guest House), the RSVP lottery renewal process, MVNU2MSU move-in event coordination, Fix-It maintenance ticketing, and mail/package handling.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• University Student Housing Portal Online self-service portal for MSU students to apply for housing, sign contracts, select rooms through Online Room Selection (OLRS), manage roommate requests, and submit maintenance requests.
• Residence Halls On-campus residence hall housing for MSU students across 16 halls in multiple styles (Pod Single, Apartment, Contemporary, Classic) and four campus locations (Historic District, South Point, Victory Park, Zacharias Village). Rooms are offered as standard double, deluxe double, quad suite, and single occupancy.
• College View Apartments Apartment-style university housing community providing upper-division and graduate students with private bedrooms, bathrooms, and shared common areas, plus amenities such as a swimming pool and fitness center. Offered with a 12-month lease option and pet-friendly accommodations.
• Living-Learning & Themed Communities Specialized residential communities integrated with academic programs including College of Forest Resources (Hathorn Hall), Promise Scholars (Hathorn Hall), Luckyday Scholars (Azalea Hall), Entrepreneurship Living Community (Deavenport Hall), Shackouls Honors College (Griffis Hall and Nunnelee Hall), and Panhellenic Greek (Cresswell Hall).
• Guest & Conference Services Short-term housing accommodations including Butler Guest House for campus visitors, plus orientation and conference housing services for visiting prospective students and guests of the university.
• Mail & Package Services Package receipt and delivery services for residents through Information Assistants at residence hall front desks, with dedicated parcel lockers at newer facilities such as Azalea Hall.

Quantifiable outcome

• Students who live on campus are more likely to interact with professors and staff outside of class, attend cultural events, seek campus employment, and participate in clubs and organizations
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Center for Entrepreneurship & Outreach (E-Center)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Entrepreneurship Living Community launching Fall 2025 in Deavenport Hall. Offers access to up to $7,500 in non-dilutive grant funding through VentureCatalyst accelerator, networking with investors via Bulldog Angel Network, and $100K+ in prizes at Startup Summit.
• College of Forest ResourcescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLiving-Learning Community partnership housed in Hathorn Hall for natural resource majors. Students must be majoring in Forestry, Natural Resource and Environmental Conservation, Sustainable Bioproducts, or Wildlife, Fisheries and Aquaculture to participate.
• Judy and Bobby Shackouls Honors CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLiving-Learning Community providing housing exclusively for honors college students in Griffis Hall and Nunnelee Hall. The Honors College is a diverse academic community of over 2,500 students.
• Luckyday FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerScholars program founded by Frank Rogers Day, former chairman/CEO of Trustmark National Bank, to assist Mississippians in higher education. Scholars housed in Azalea Hall and receive programming for servant leadership development.
• Promise Program (Division of Access, Opportunity, and Success)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSpecialized first-year experience for Promise Program students housed in Hathorn Hall. Provides intentional learning environment to strengthen academic success skills and early exposure to career readiness opportunities.
• Guest & Conference ServicesminorOthersDepartment within Student Affairs providing short-term housing options including Butler Guest House for visitors to campus. Related department handling conference and orientation housing.
• GradGuardminorOthersEndorsed renter's insurance provider recommended to students for protecting personal belongings. MSU endorses GradGuard to meet students' renter's insurance needs.
• College View (External Developer Partnership)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartnership development providing apartment-style housing for upper-division students. 12-month lease option with amenities including swimming pool, fitness center, and independent living. Presidential/National Merit scholarship recipients can take scholarship portion to College View after 2 years on campus.
• Caldwell and Gregory (Laundry Services)minorOthersThird-party laundry service provider for residence halls. Students pay $1.50 to wash and $1.50 to dry using debit cards, credit cards, coins, or the laundry app.
• SMART Transit (Starkville-MSU Area Rapid Transit)minorOthersCampus and city transit system connecting residence halls to classes, dining, downtown Starkville, shopping, and other campus areas. Free service for students.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• The Scion Group: Student housing management and development firm specializing in off-campus and on-campus residences serving major universities. Comparable in operating student housing communities with similar living-learning programming and amenity positioning.
• Asset Campus Housing: Specialized student housing property management company managing more than 200 properties across 60+ markets. Directly comparable in providing third-party management of student residence halls and apartment communities with similar amenity and service offerings.
• Campus Apartments: Student housing operator and developer managing over 50 properties across 25+ university markets. Comparable in full-service student housing operations including leasing, residence life programming, and facilities management.
• Balfour Beatty Campus Solutions: Developer and operator of student housing through public-private partnerships with universities. Comparable in developing and managing on-campus residence halls under university-affiliated models, with similar capital development capabilities.
• American Campus Communities: Largest publicly-traded student housing REIT (now part of Greystar) that owns, develops, and manages on-campus and off-campus student housing properties. Directly comparable in managing university-affiliated residence halls at scale, though as a private operator rather than a university department.
• Capstone Management Partners: Boutique student housing management firm specializing in on-campus university housing partnerships. Comparable in operating university-affiliated residence halls with residence life programming.
• Provident Group: Student housing developer and operator partnering with universities to develop, own, and manage on-campus residential communities. Comparable in providing university-affiliated student housing with residence life integration.

Emerging players

• College Pads: Student housing search platform aggregating listings near major universities. Adjacent peer in the student housing search and matching workflow, though focused on off-campus inventory rather than on-campus residence halls.
• uhomes.com: Student housing marketplace platform connecting students to off-campus and on-campus housing options. Adjacent peer as a technology-enabled aggregator serving the same student housing search and application workflow the HRL portal addresses.

Broad incumbents

• Greystar Real Estate Partners: Global real estate management platform and the largest operator of student housing, managing hundreds of thousands of beds across college markets. Comparable in residential property management scale and student-focused operating model, though broader in scope.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/msstate_housing
• Facebookfacebook.com/MSstateHousingandResidenceLife
• Instagraminstagram.com/msstate_housing
• Pinterestpinterest.com/msuhousingandresidencelife
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/housing-&-residence-life

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Housing & Residence Life