Campus parking permits go online in lottery for spaces

Southeast Missouri State University is gambling on a lottery to make it fairer for students who want preferred parking permits that allow them to park in lots adjacent to residence halls and other campus buildings.

School officials announced Friday that permits will be handed out through a random lottery rather than the first-come, first-serve method of past years.

Also, for the first time, students will be able to apply for parking permits online. But the university, in a budget-cutting move, won't take credit-card payments online.

Art Wallhausen, associate to the president, said it could have cost the university $150,000 to $250,000 in credit-card fees to allow students to pay online by credit card. With a tight budget, the university can't afford such costs, Wallhausen said.

School officials decided on a lottery to address the complaints of students with permanent residence in St. Louis and other places far from campus. They said it takes longer to apply and pay for permits by mail than for students who live around Cape Girardeau, who can more easily apply for permits in person during the summer.

Students who live outside the Cape Girardeau area find it harder to get a preferred permit, Wallhausen said.

"We have had complaints from students who live outside the immediate area that they are all at the bottom of the list," he said.

First-year students living in campus residence halls aren't eligible for such parking, which is the parking immediately adjacent to campus buildings.

The university also has perimeter and evening parking permits. Perimeter permits allow students to park in outlying lots. Evening permits are for students who are taking only evening classes.

Students, for the first time, can apply for parking permits online beginning July 8 at 8 a.m.

Student Mardy Leathers of Cuba, Mo., likes the idea of registering online. But he doesn't like the lottery.

"This is a game of chance," he said.

Leathers said he won't be in a hurry to register since students have until 4 p.m. on July 19 to register and pay their school and parking fees to be included in the lottery. The online registration system will close at that time and reopen on July 22.

Preferred permits will be issued the week of July 24, school officials said.

Preferred permits will be mailed to students beginning on July 24. Perimeter permits will be issued and mailed daily following payment.

Leathers said the biggest problem with preferred parking is that the university gives out more permits than there are parking spaces. School officials said that's because students aren't all on campus at the same time. Issuing more permits allows the university to make the most use of the parking spaces, officials said.

But Leathers said he and other students with permits often find few spaces to park in the large lot serving the Towers complex and fraternity and sorority houses.

"Many nights we came in, we couldn't find a spot to park," he said. As a result, students with preferred permits at times have ended up parking in some of the outlying lots, Leathers said.

Southeast sold 1,015 preferred permits last school year.

"We expect to sell about 1,100 this year," Wallhausen said.

Southeast sold 3,440 permits to park in commuter and resident-student perimeter lots last school year, including 2,361 to commuter students.

About 150 permits for evening parking were sold.

Wallhausen said the university expects to issue similar numbers of permits for this school year. But the university won't calculate the exact number of available permits until it counts up available parking spaces next month.

Students may apply and pay for permits online, or complete a standard paper application that will be mailed to students in early July.

Student Kent James of St. Peters, Mo., said registering online will be convenient. "It is just quicker," said James, who will be a junior this fall.

The new online system, like the paper application, will allow students to select their first, second and third parking lot choices.

The system will put students on a waiting list if they don't receive their first choice.

Students will pay more to park on campus this school year. Preferred parking will cost $135, up from $80. Perimeter decals will cost $85, up from $45. Evening decals will cost $45, up from $25.

mbliss@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 123