The Challenge
The Residence Life department faced a significant operational challenge: managing the complex schedules of over 250 part-time student employees across 23 campus communities. These students staff front desks and fulfill on-call responsibilities, providing daily support to thousands of residents by responding to service requests, addressing student needs, and ensuring smooth day-to-day operations..
However, the department was relying heavily on manual processes to manage availability collection, schedule creation, shift distribution, and shift swaps. These outdated methods included emails, spreadsheets, legacy software, and a great deal of back-and-forth communication, which led to frequent delays, inconsistencies, and human error. Even a small mistake in a schedule could result in missed shifts, inadequate coverage, or overstaffing — all of which impact service quality and student satisfaction.
Moreover, this manual system offered limited visibility into employee attendance and accountability, making compliance and reporting difficult, and consumed a disproportionate amount of administrative time. Managers would spend several hours each week collecting availability and building schedules, leaving less time for strategic planning or student engagement. These inefficiencies were becoming a major operational bottleneck, with broader implications for the department’s ability to grow and serve its student population effectively.
The Solution
Looking to streamline its scheduling and workforce management processes, Texas State University evaluated multiple tools before choosing SubItUp. The decision was based on SubItUp’s ability to deliver automated scheduling, real-time shift management, and integrated time tracking — all within a single, cloud-based platform and app.
“SubItUp has made my job much easier. It reduced the time to create schedules from over 2 hours to under 30 minutes, and the system is super intuitive. The automated schedule generation is life-saving,” shared Ryley Kimmel, Coordinator for Front Desk Operations.
The transition to SubItUp was smooth and timely. With its user-friendly interface and accessible design, both managers and student workers were able to adapt quickly. Features like employee-managed availability and automated conflict detection helped eliminate scheduling conflicts and last-minute issues.
“SubItUp allows us to standardize our processes, making it easier to manage a large workforce efficiently. The cloud-based system and app ensure accessibility and ease of use for both staff and students.” added Jesus Olivo, Program Manager for Staffing.
The Results
The implementation of SubItUp delivered transformational outcomes for the Residence Life department. The time required to build schedules was reduced by 80%, freeing up valuable staff time that could be redirected toward student support, staff development, and operational planning. This reduction in administrative burden has allowed managers to focus on higher-value activities, such as improving programs and responding proactively to student needs.
Operational efficiency improved dramatically. With real-time visibility into employee scheduling, availability, and attendance, staff were better equipped to ensure consistent coverage across all 23 communities. Budget forecasting and compliance also saw significant enhancements, as the built-in time clock feature allowed for precise tracking of hours worked, minimizing overages and supporting accurate payroll processes.
Perhaps most notably, SubItUp helped empower student employees by giving them direct control over their availability and shift management—features available across all SubItUp packages. Students could input their schedules, initiate shift swaps, and manage their work commitments with ease, reducing the need for constant managerial oversight. With the Empower package specifically, managers also gained access to advanced features like real-time time clock tracking, enabling student employees to view their punch history directly within their account—further promoting transparency and accountability.
The department transformed a long-standing operational burden into a strategic strength. SubItUp didn’t just optimize the scheduling process—it enabled a culture of ownership, transparency, and efficiency. By simplifying one of the most complex aspects of student workforce management, Texas State University’s Residence Life team is now better equipped to support its mission and serve its student community with excellence.
