CAMPUS STAY

Project Title: CampusStay:

A Dynamic Single-Page Interactive Web Application Optimizing Full-Time and Distance Student Lodging in Zambia

Abstract:Tertiary education students in Zambia face immense structural challenges when securing safe, affordable, and proximity-appropriate housing near urban campuses. Accommodation requirements vary drastically between full-time students requiring semester-long stability and short-term distance education students requiring temporary lodging for two-week intensive residential blocks. This project introduces CampusStay, a responsive, single-page interactive web application engineered to streamline student housing procurement across major Zambian higher education institutions.The application features a dynamic, button-driven user architecture tailored to specific enrollment streams, eliminating disruptive page reloads to optimize user experience on mobile view-ports. Users navigate a localized single-page flow to self-identify as either a "Full-Time" or "Distance" student before selecting their respective institution�including the Information and Communications University (ICU), the University of Zambia (UNZA), the University of Lusaka (UNILAS), or Cavendish University and many other higher education institutions.

Using frontend logic, the interface dynamically filters and renders specific boarding house profile cards, displaying semester-based options or flexible weekly rates. Concurrently, local hosts utilize a dedicated form portal to publish vacancies, detail local pricing in Kwacha, list key utility amenities, and prepare for future image upload attachments.Built strictly as a client-side frontend prototype using modern web standards, the interface utilizes semantic HTML5 for structural components, CSS for mobile-first responsive design, and JavaScript (ES6) for layout visibility toggling, multi-criteria array filtering, and client-side data persistence via LocalStorage. Ultimately, CampusStay offers a scalable, localized software solution to a pressing student welfare issue within the domestic academic framework.