The idea for Simple Campus Housing (SCH) was created while John Bender was working in residential life as a college student in 2009. Frustrated with the outdated and inefficient processes for choosing student housing, Bender began working on a solution.

After a brief career in marketing and management, Bender researched and tested mock-ups of his software. He sought advice from a retired executive who saw both Bender and SCH’s potential and provided the initial funding for the company now called Simple Campus Inc.

SCH helps college students and administrators with organizing room selection in residential buildings. The online, expedited service allows students to see digital floor plans of all the rooms and select both their room and roommate in real time. This gives administrators the ability to make changes easily and efficiently, as opposed to a process in which each student submits a piece of paper with their room choice, Bender explained.

Bender said SCH software is based on flexibility, easy-to-use interactivity and a SaaS (on-demand software) solution that does not require client installations.

Currently SCH works mostly with small colleges and universities that are transferring from paper registration to an online system. SCH’s software is scalable and therefore useful for any institution with residential life, according to Bender.

“We look at our system as a way for institutions to better communicate with the student body and help increase their residents’ satisfaction, which can lead to greater student retention,” Bender said.

SCH is adding new functions and modules to further engage students and help manage other key aspects of residential life administration. In the long term, Bender said SCH plans to expand to military housing and medical areas.