KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — On Friday, a group of educators at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville recommended the university change its parking system, prioritizing parking pass sales to students based on their earned academic credit hours and shifting to a zoned system.
Starting in fall 2024, students will only be able to buy parking permits based on availability, and based on a tiered system that would allow graduate students and seniors to buy parking passes first. They will be followed by juniors, then sophomores and then first-year students, according to a release from UT.
UT also said it would transition into a zoned parking system and plans to add around 500 staff spaces in the core of campus.
The university said commuter students will have three parking permit options: permits allowing them to park in the central areas of campus, intermediate commuter permits or permits allowing them to park in lots adjacent to campus that are serviced by T Buses. The permits cost $390, $250 and $198 respectively.
Noncommuter students will have two parking permit options. The first costs $450 and will allow them to park in core areas. The second costs $310 and would allow noncommuters to park in lots adjacent to campus that are serviced by the university's buses.
"First-year students are encouraged not to bring a car to campus, and everyone is encouraged to take advantage of biking and walking pathways and the T transit system to get around campus," UT said in the release.
It also said it would add 1,000 pay-by-the-hour spaces across campus for visitors and people who need short-term parking.
UT also said the Campus Advisory Board voted to recommend a 2% tuition increase for in-state students and a 4% increase for out-of-state students. For the spring 2024 semester, full-time in-state students needed to pay a total of $6,742 including fees to attend the school. Out-of-state students needed to pay a total of $15,987 including fees.
The board also voted to recommend a $60 increase to the technology fee, a $40 transportation fee and a $44 online fee to support online learning.
