Prior to Oct. 7, the process of appealing a citation involved little input from Parking Services. The recipient of the citation would fill out a citation appeal form within 14 days of receipt of the citation and submit it to Parking Services.
The individual would then have the option of attending an appeal hearing. The decision made at the appeal hearing would be final.
The Student Government Judiciary decides student appeals of citations while the UNF Parking Violation Appeal Board decides all others. Voting members of this board include two faculty members, two UNF Administrative and Professional members, two University Support Personnel members, one student member the student body president appoints and one additional member the university president appoints. The vice president of administration and finance, in consultation with the university president, can appoint additional members as deemed necessary.
The new procedure involves an additional tier of authority. After submitting a citation appeal form, Parking Services will be able to review the information and if they see fit, void of an individual’s citation. The appeal would not need to go before a board for any more review.
Anthony Mack, SG director of governmental affairs, said this change will be beneficial to students going through the appeals process. Mack said granting Parking Services the authority to void parking tickets will eliminate the need for every appeal to go before an appeals board. Appeals with adequate evidence or reasons against the citation can be dealt with on the spot.
“The only authority parking services has with parking appeals is if its an automatic approval,” said SG Chief Justice Matt Yost.
If there is any question whether the appeal should be approved or not it has to go to the judicial appeals board, he said
This isn’t taking a lot of weight off of the judicial appeals board’s shoulders, it merely speeds up the appeals process for students with warranted appeals, Yost said.
If Parking Services does not see fit to void a citation, the individual still has the option of going before the appropriate appeals board. The board will still have authority to void or reduce any fines associated with a citation if they feel the citation was not warranted.
Mack said most other universities have a system in which there is more than one authority that handles citation appeals, and UNF will benefit from the revision of the policy.
BOT discusses new potential student fees
The board discussed several other matters which will have an impact on UNF students in the future.
UNF President John Delaney discussed the possibility of a new student fee for early next year. He said the fee has not been decided on, but in order to implement the fee next year, the Florida Board of Governors must approve a tentative proposal.
In a letter to the Board of Governors, Delaney’s Chief of Staff Tom Serwatka writes that a Student Life and Service fee of up to 10 percent may be formally requested for next year. The letter states the fee would “address issues of enhanced student programming and other measures to improve student engagement and student retention rates.”
Student Body President Sitou Byll-Cataria said students will be aware of this fee before it is implemented.
“The administration is willing to listen to what the students want,” Byll-Cataria said. “The students will be heavily involved in the process.”
President Delaney said they hope to use this fee to best serve the needs of the students.
“We would really like to see it driven from the students in terms of their needs, how they perceive their needs,” Delaney said.
Another topic discussed at the meeting that will affect students is UNF’s future wellness center.
Shari Shuman, vice president of administration finance, discussed the new wellness and sports education center.
A student fee of $2.94 is going toward financing the center, which would replace the current Dottie Dorian Fitness Center.
Shuman said this fee will be covered in prepaid tuition plans.
The 116,000 square foot facility will sit in the same location at the current fitness center.
Construction will begin the day after fall classes end and will go until January 2012.
