Job Description

Job Summary
Department Summary:

Michigan Housing is an actively engaged unit within Student Life Auxiliary Services within the Division of Student Life. Michigan Housing serves approximately 11,500 students: 9,100 undergraduate and 2,300 graduate and professional students and their families. Although first-year students are not required to live on campus, historically 96-98% of all new first-year students choose to live on. Currently, the M Housing portfolio consists of 19 residential facilities including traditional residence halls, apartments, and other living options located in communities on north and central campuses in Ann Arbor. In Fall 2026, 5 new residence halls housing 2,300 undergraduate students and a new 822-seat dining facility will open to continue M Housing's strong tradition of providing affordable housing options and services for U-M students. Michigan Housing's Operations department consists of 23 full-time staff members and over 200 student staff members managing housing operations responsibilities, including housing occupancy, housing applications and contracts, semesterly transition logistics, residential community center management, and housing parking permit management.

Position Summary:

The Business Systems Analyst (BSA) is an administrator of the housing management system, StarRez, a platform delivering critical business functions from assignments and occupancy management to billing and integration with university data systems. As business intelligence becomes increasingly important in every aspect of our operation, this role will partner with Student Life Technology Solutions in efforts to apply technology to solve business problems. The role requires planning for the implementation of new processes while simultaneously analyzing and improving existing processes. The BSA will document workflows and business processes by creating process maps, capturing desired states while identifying gaps in process, operations, and technology. Through data analysis and modeling, the role will assist in implementing the strategic direction of campus housing. This position will have a dotted functional reporting line to Student Life Technology Solutions.

Responsibilities*
50% Application specialist of housing systems

Internally manage the ongoing optimization and administration of the enterprise housing management system (StarRez) under direction of supervisor and IT Project Manager, including assignments, occupancy management, billing, and integrations with campus data systems.
Provide housing project management and process analysis oversight for current ongoing projects and future initiatives, in partnership with Student Life Technology Solutions.
Act as a point of contact (after software implementation) and relationship-owner with housing management system vendor; participate in peer community of other institutional users of housing management system.
Design and implement custom processes and procedures through analysis of current systems.
Manage and prioritize change requests
Serve as a housing liaison with university departments regarding the housing management system to ensure a high quality, responsive, and effective level of service to students and staff.
Assist with managing access and permissions to the housing management system.
Develop training manuals and coordinate training for new and current staff; develop and maintain reference documentation for all processes and business continuity.
Provide direction, guidance, and in-house support for end-user concerns.
Ensure system features continue to meet the needs of stakeholders; test and evaluate upgraded versions of software; ensure the integrity and reliability of the system.
Create custom forms and reports
Manage user configuration and groups
Document requests for application enhancements or integrations with other systems
Triage service issues and initiate communications with vendor support
Act as a liaison to SLTS for support escalations or project requests.
40% Business analysis and reporting

Perform analysis of workflows, data collection processes, regulatory requirements, and reporting requirements to translate business requirements into data/technical specifications - work on cross-functional projects that may span multiple domains.
Analyze current state, conceive the desired future state and identify projects needed to successfully implement future goals.
Continually review housing business processes to identify potential improvements and bridge the gaps between business operations, information technology, and student-facing housing operations.
Document processes and coordinate business operations with partners (e.g., Student Life Business and Finance).
Analyze periodic operational data and financial reports to improve efficiency and effectiveness.
Help identify and create innovative solutions to complex problems in housing in partnership with and under the guidance of Student Life Technology Solutions.
Design testing scenarios to validate applications, functions, and processes to determine the effectiveness of proposed solutions.
Provide recommendations to the Student Life Technology Solutions team during the solution development stage to meet Housing's business needs.
Collect requirements for dashboards for different levels of users to access relevant information.
10% Administrative duties

Provide analysis and requirements for data exchanges between systems (e.g., data warehouse into Housing)
Required Qualifications*
Four years professional experience performing business/workflow analysis, developing detailed business & functional requirements, creating scope documents, or standardizing operating procedures.
One year experience writing and/or conducting user acceptance testing.
Understanding of project management functions, including creating and maintaining deliverables such as project scope and plan, status reports, cost estimates, communication plan, presentation, milestone/project schedules.
Experience analyzing and understanding unfamiliar business processes or performing root cause analysis to identify problems and opportunities.
Demonstrated ability to meet deadlines, handle and prioritize simultaneous requests, and manage laterally and upwards.
Knowledge of University of Michigan information systems (e.g., StarRez, Wolverine Access, Advocate, CS Gold)