Parking at UNM Michael Roybal

Introduction
As students at the University of New Mexico, we have noticed that the cost of parking
has reached an outrageous amount of money. Although there are many costs that go into running
the shuttle services and security many students who commute to school do not have enough
money to pay for a permit. Many of the students at the University live off campus and commute
to school. With gas, bills and school alone the costs of being a student are already at an all-time
high. Students who cannot afford these permits are forced to take the bus or walk. Yes, this isnt
that bad for students who live close to campus but many students live more than five miles away
from the University. With your help and funding we feel that the problem can be managed and
taken care of in a successful and easy way. With funding permits can be purchased and a
scholarship can be set up to give students parking permits.

The Problem
High parking prices does not only create issues financially for students on campus but
also for their education as well. Students who commute to school, as stated earlier, have to find
rides to campus, take the bus, and even walk because they cannot afford to park close to campus.
In a 2012 University of New Mexico Commuter survey it sated about 51% of the UNM student
and faculty population said they commute to school alone, in a car. The reasons for this are as
follows:

All of these issues cause students to want to

drive alone and with high prices they are
forced to be put out of so much money. This
issue also creates more stress for students
because it gives them something else they
have to worry about. They have to worry
about how they are going to get to school if
they dont have a permit and if they are
going to be late for class. If they do have a permit or need to get one they have to worry about
how they are going to pay for it and how they are going to be able to afford all the other school
expenses as well. Students are stressed out enough with school work - they dont need added
stress.
This has become an increasingly serious problem because if one was to look at the
parking permit prices they would see that the lowest permit starts at $175 and still requires
students to take a shuttle to campus. The highest permit cost is $499 dollars which is right on
campus. Another problem with these parking permits is that the availability for a good parking
spot is very competitive. These permits are sold at the beginning of the school year and they tend
to sell out extremely fast. Many students who do not get a good parking lot have to buy the
cheaper ones which are located further from campus. These students are still required to take a
shuttle to campus even though they are paying to park on campus. Students who do not get any
permits before they are all sold out have to wait and are put on a waiting list to possibly receive a
pass. This causes students to use even more money when they have to pay by the hour for

parking which is about $1-2/hr. How can it be so expensive for students to park on a campus in
which they are already paying thousands of dollars for education?
The average tuition cost or a student living at home is around $10,000/yr. With this high
cost of tuition students are having to buy these permits which makes their total cost more
expensive. Considering the average working college students annual income is about $14,000,
one year worth of working is he same for 8 months of school. Running a transportation
department does require a lot to keep going but it shouldnt have that much of an effect on the
prices of permits. The parking and transportation department does receive funding from the
school as well, which should lower the effect running shuttles back and forth and paying drives
has on the prices. Many things can be done about this problem and with the money being
allocated we bring this epidemic down to a miniscule problem for students around campus.

Solution for Affordable Parking

Receiving a fund will allow us to purchase UNM parking permits. With these we will
give them out like a scholarship. The scholarship will have a set of guidelines that if students
meet they will be able to receive a permit. Although not necessarily a cash scholarship this would
allow students something to take some additional stress off their lives. Students will have the
opportunity before the fall semester to apply for the scholarship. Depending on the amount of
funding we receive it will determine how many permits we will be able to supply.
We plan to use the grant money in a way that is the most beneficial to students attending
UNM.

Step 1:
We will begin spend an extremely minimal amount of the grant on advertisement. We plan to
have William Quan IT support tech for the Parking and Transportation website
(www.pats.unm.edu/), Luke Abeling, manager of Lobomail (www.loboauth.unm.edu/), and Brett
Burleigh who manages general website, www.myunm.edu make an update/e-mail alert detailing
the scholarship and provide information regarding it. This way, it can reach a large range of
students.
Step 2:
Start accepting applications for the scholarship. If the student is interested in applying for the
scholarship the guidelines would consist of:

Student must commute to campus daily

Students MUST still follow the rules enforced by the Parking and Transportation Department

Student must be a registered student at the University of New Mexico

Receive a 3.0 GPA per semester

- If you drop below a 3.0 you will be give one warning

Must volunteer 3 times a month, on or off campus

Scholarship is for need based students

- Student MUST fill out the FAFSA Application in order to be qualified for the
scholarship.

Submitatwopageessayexplainwhyyoushouldreceivethescholarshipandwhyitwouldhelp
you

Step3:
Ournextstepinthissolutionistostartevaluatingtheapplicationsandreallynarrowdownthe
candidateswhowearegoingtogivethescholarshipto.Thestudentshavetomeetallthe
requirementsandasateamwehavetodecidewhowefillwillbenefitthemostfromthis.
Step4:
Afterscholarshipsaregivenoutweplantostartworkingonwaysinwhichwecancontinuethis
scholarshipforthenextyearandimprove.This scholarship is designed to eventually become
self-sustaining like the lottery. After our money is used up we hope that by word of mouth we
could eventually find funding that would be there all the time. The State would be able to find
some extra money to help sustain the life of this program, or the school would see how much this
scholarship helps not only students but faculty and find some extra funding for this. With this
extra money more scholarships could be given out year after year and eventually it would
become a scholarship given like the other ones UNM offers.With this the hope is that we dont
just stop helping students from a year or so.
Free stuff to a college kid is like honey to a bee. Giving students the opportunity to fill
out a scholarship for a parking permit will be very popular. This scholarship is here to offer help
to students who commute daily. Students who receive this scholarship will have money to pay
for other bills instead of a parking permit. Because students wont have to worry about parking
tickets, fee or fines, this scholarship will help students become less stressed.
This solution is not something we want to be temporary but something that will help
future college students. Student parking costs is a problem around universities across the country
and with this solution here we hope it could be picked up by other universities around the U.S.

Qualifications

As students at the University of New Mexico, we are forced to encounter the expensive
parking problem every day. I myself paid for a south lot permit last year and this year purchased
a Yale lot permit. These prices are extremely high and put a set back for me at the beginning of
the year. When I did park at south lot the shuttle would be running late and I would have to end
up parking in a paid meter closer to campus. These costs added up and a good amount of my
income would go toward this. In order to get to our classes, we have no other choice but to pay
these costly fees so that we can park our cars at a safe place and a reasonable distance. We can
tell you firsthand how stressful it is to park anywhere near or on campus despite how simple of a
task it should be.
We see the increasing amount charged to our bursar accounts in order to gain a good
education, and believe parking should not be included in that cost. Because we value our
education, we continue to endure through this hardship, but also strive to come up with the best
possible solutions for any problems we may encounter in order to enhance our chances of
success. We are only a few of the many students who have to deal with this problem on a daily
basis, but we know we can speak for the majority of the student body when we say that UNM
parking is a problem, and it needs to be fixed.

Cost Distribution
What good is a scholarship if only a small amount of students take advantage of the aid?
Of the total money received, over 90% would be utilized to fund the scholarship. The primary
goal is to help students, and we intend to accomplish our goal. The pie chart shows how the

money would be used. Basedonagrantofabout$10,000weplanonusingatleast$9000justfor

permits.TherestwouldbeusedforadvertisingandpayingtheITmanagers.Weestimatethat
about$200wouldgotoadvertisingand$800wouldgotopayingthemanagers.

Benefits
Short-Term
There are short-term benefits to
students with this grant. Firstly, students
will immediately be spending less
money (as the rate would be more
feasible for him/her) and that would
result in giving a student more spending money. With more spending money, a students stress
levels will dramatically lower. If a student is overly stressed, his/her performance skills decrease
as well as their motivation. With a lack of motivation for school, a student is likely to drop out.
Going to college can be stressful, and as a university, high retention rates are desired.

Long-Term
There are also several long-term benefits for both the students and university. For UNM,
the long-term benefits are the higher retention rate and an increased positive reputation in the
community. Because of eligibility requirements, a student would be required to volunteer weekly
around the community, which can help boost relations as well as increasing a students ability to
plan ahead and learn better time management skills. Between their studying, commuting,

volunteering, social life, and possible job, students would need to effectively manage their time,
unless they want to crash and burn.
The scholarship could be compared to the Lottery, which is what keeps many students in
school. Also, it can alleviate some security concerns around campus. For example, if a student is
unable to afford a parking permit and hourly paid parking, they take the city bus to and from
school. If they have an evening class, they have to wait at the bus stop in the dark, and the bus
stop can house unsavory characters. If anything, it can help calm some fears about security
around campus. Due to strict requirements, a student must develop a good work ethic as they
would need to keep their grades high enough to qualify.
Lastly, a student will have improved social relations. They would interact with some
people that they normally wouldnt with their volunteering, and that in turn can make them better
members of society. On a more personal level, students can develop close bonds on campus since
they would not have to worry about catching a bus or running out of time on a meter. With the
permits, a student can be on campus for however long they desire and so theyll be able to stay
longer and spend quality time outside of class with their friends. The benefits with these permit
are numerous and with you help we can help students at UNM.

Conclusion
This scholarship would require multiple restrictions of having a 3.0 or higher GPA,
weekly volunteering, and completing the scholarship form. The scholarship would in turn,
provide financial aid to students by offering free or reduced parking fees. With the lessened rates,
students will benefit both in the short and long run. The students will have more cash in their
accounts, will become excellent members of their community, will develop better time

management skills and work ethic, and will have better relationships. In short, UNMs student
population will be much happier after this scholarship. We hope to receive funding for this
scholarship and problem at UNM. With your help we hope we can make students and faculty
happier. Thank you for your consideration and we look forward to hearing from you soon.

Works cited
Norman,Leyla."WhatIstheAverageCollegeStudent'sIncome?"EHow.DemandMedia,n.d.
Web.21Apr.2016.
DepartmentofParkingandTransportation.UniversityofNewMexico,n.d.Web.28Mar.2016.
UniversityofNewMexicoCommuterSurvey.2012.Web.04May.2016.