Original Query from Joe Scorpion, Academy for Lifelong Learning, Carnegie Mellon U, PA
I am interested in finding out how many LLIs provide parking ( free or charge) for their members who attend classes. Since our founding in September 1992 we have provided parking to members who attend classes as a perquisite. Presently we pay the University ($3800.00 this year) for 225 passes to park in the campus garage. However we do not pass this cost onto our members who enroll in classes. They park for free. Why 225 passes?? This is the maximum number of passes that the University allows us. These passes are issued on a "seniority" basis, that is, to members who have been with us the longest. We are contemplating some changes in our present system/policy and would appreciate hearing from you as to how you handle/provide parking for members, if at all. Let me know how you address the whole issue of parking,your policy and procedure. Thanks for your comments!!

From Merle Allshouse, ASPEC, Eckerd College, FL
At the Academy of Senior Professionals at Eckerd College we have 219 spaces by our building and also have free parking on the campus in any faculty staff parking area. When we remodeled our building we provided about $200,000 to construct the parking area from our own contributions.

From Sarah Fletcher, FULIR, Furman University, SC
At the Furman University Learning in Retirement (FULIR) program in Greenville, SC, we provide our members with a paper parking permit each term. This allows them to park on campus where commuting students can park. There are always sufficient parking spaces, but they do need to walk about 500-1,000 feet from the parking lot to the classrooms. Of course, they would like to park right outside the door to the classroom building, but really we have a good parking situation on our campus compared to other places. Handicapped parking is available in the nearest parking spaces for those who have state-issued permits.

From Stew Engel, ElderStudy, Mary Washington College, VA
At MWC ElderStudy we park on the neighborhood streets. The city allows resident only parking on streets adjacent to campus, so it means a hike. The college has plans for a parking ramp but it will be futher from our normal classrooms than the street. Handicapped parking is available in the nearest on campus parking spaces for those who have state-issued permits.

From Loretta Heindrichs, The Academy for LifeLong Learning, Lorain County Community College, Elyria, OH
Our campus provides annual parking passes for our volunteers (committee members) so that they may park in employee parking spaces. However, for classes the LLI members must park in areas designated for students.

From Marion Renning, Academy for Learning in Retirement at Empire State College, Saratoga Springs, NY
There is no campus per se (just 3 buildings) (it's distance learning) so we scramble on the streets of the town for spaces. Our director, Jo-Ellen Unger has been successful in getting local businesses to lend us rooms for classes where there is adequate parking available. Hope this info helps.

From Ann Burdett, Mohawk Valley Institute for Learning in Retirement, NY
Parking stickers are required on every car parking on campus---faculty, staff, students and MVLLI members. We negotiated with SUNY Institute of Technology to buy our stickers for $10 each. It is much more costly for everyone else. We include one car sticker in the annual membership fee of $100. These are numbered and I keep a record in my MVLLI database. If they change cars they have to pay $10 for a second sticker. These stickers cannot be transferred from one car to another----do not come off easily. Our MVLLI parking stickers are a different color and shape from other SUNY stickers, but enable our people to park anywhere on campus. Parking itself is not a problem. In fact, SUNY has just created another parking lot near the building where most of our classes take place. The fee we pay for parking stickers helps to offset the costs of University Police who are very helpful with our people.

From Diana Marsilje, HASP (Hope Academy of Senior Professionals), Hope College, MI
Our college provides Faculty/Staff parking passes for all HASP members requesting them. Unfortunately a small liberal arts college cannot provide sufficient parking for almost 450 HASP members in faculty parking. Also our office/classroom space is one block removed from most administrative buildings. Parking for classes relies on public parking spaces. Hope continues to work on the parking issue.

From Ara Rogers, Learning in Retirement, University of South Florida, Tampa
Members must now pay to park on campus. The cost is currently $12 per 8-week session, which is a slightly better deal than they might get purchasing a day-long permit for $2. This was a painful change for our members after several years of free, unlimited parking. We could have folded the cost of the parking permit into course fees, but we draw a lot of membership from a nearby retirement community, and they are shuttled to classroom sites by bus. Also, there was some feeling that including parking in course fees penalized couples and carpoolers. At the same time, increases in parking fees for students, staff, and faculty were implemented, so there was general howling from everyone about "the parking situation," and thereby some recognition that the end of free parking for our members was perhaps inevitable. We have purchased an allotment of parking permits which we provide to committee members, study group leaders, and other volunteers. Most of our on-campus study groups meet in a part of campus that has, relatively speaking, parking both available and close by. At peak times, however, finding such parking presents a challenge.

From Stacey Robbins, Dewey Institute for Learning in Retirement, Indiana State University
We just started issuing our members parking permits this past Fall. We are able to get a paper permit from the University for free for those who attend any of our courses. The permits are good from the first day of the course until the last day of the course. This allows them to park anywhere on campus. We have had nothing but good comments come from doing this.

From Mary Lewerenz, University for Seniors, University of Minnesota Duluth
Parking is our BIGGEST problem. Most of the parking on our campus is by permit only--there are three different types of permits. These are quite expensive especially if you are only coming to campus one or two days a week for a few hours. There are two pay by day lots==$1.25 per day with no in and out privileges. It is possible to purchase a debit card which reduces it to $1.00 per day. It can be a ways from a pay lot to the entrance of a building and then quite a distance to our classrooms area. All our buildings are connected so you don't have to go out once you get in. There are one, two, and a few three hour meters--50 cents per half hour. Those with state issued handicap stickers have special parking spaces and can part free at any meter. In September Mark Yudolf, the president of the entire University of Minnesota system was answering questions on Minnesota Public Radio. A woman who lived near the St. Paul campus called to complain about students taking all the parking on neighborhood streets. His reply was."The last five presidents of the University could have on their tombstone, 'He didn't solve the parking problem'." Good luck with the parking. We'd sure like to solve our problem.

From Mary Quinn Burkhart, Academy for Lifelong Learning, Auburn University, AL
AUALL's membership card allows members to get a guest parking pass, free, which is good for all parking places on campus. However, parking spaces are few and far between, and our choice of meeting space was dictated by the availability of a non-university parking lot.