Green Permit:

Cost: $44.00 USD

This is the commuter permit and is designed for students who do not live on campus. Green permit holders may park in the green spaces on campus during the day, except during overnight hours. Overnight hours are defined as 1 AM through 6:30 AM. (Parking Rules and Regulations, Section D) 

Blue Permit:    (Recommended)

Cost: $88.00 USD

This is the most common type of permit and is available to any student. Blue permit holders can park in blue spaces on campus, primarily located in what is sometimes called the "Blue Lagoon." They are permitted for overnight parking, unless otherwise noted. 

Blue permit holders may park in Red spaces between the hours of 5 PM on Friday through 6:30 AM Monday. (This is NOT extended on extended breaks!) (Parking Rules and Regulations, Section C) 

**NOTE: Under current regulations, Blue pass holders may only park in blue spaces, and cannot park in the Green commuter parking.

Grey Permit:

Cost: $175.00 USD

A limited number of grey parking passes will be available. They are only available to students in on-campus residence halls. The spaces are located closer to the residence halls, and are usually considered the premium tier of parking.

**NOTE: Under current regulations, Grey permit holders can only park in grey spaces, and cannot park in Blue, Green, or Red at any time. 

Other Permits:

For information on other kinds of permits, such as “Handicap,” “Red,” and “Visitor,” please see Section C of the parking manual.

General Info & Appeal Tips:

DSU issues parking citations to students, faculty, and visitors who violate the parking manual.

Under the current system, “An appeal should be based on the fact that the citation was issued contrary to the Dakota State University Parking Rules and Regulations.” This means that an appeal based on the general intent of the parking manual, such as students being able to park in faculty parking when school is not in session, may not be considered if that is not the exact wording used in the parking manual.

For example, an appeal submitted in 2024 that was rejected stated:

“I was explicitly informed that parking tickets for instances like this would not be issued when the university was effectively closed. With food service—a core university function—along with classes and other services suspended until Sunday, I had every reason to believe that parking enforcement would also be suspended during this period, as it is each weekend.”

This appeal was rejected with the reasoning, “Blue permit, parked in red.”

It is important to note that parking appeals are not currently heard by the parking committee at DSU. Based on discussion at a parking committee meeting, individual appeals appear to be handled administratively rather than by the committee itself. This means that an appeal will not necessarily be reviewed by the committee of faculty members and students.

The author of this article suggests that if someone genuinely believes a citation has been issued unfairly, they should reach out to the Student Senate, as there should be three Senate members on the parking committee. As of writing, the author’s suggestion is to contact Colton Ventura, the College of Education and Human Performance representative on the parking committee, at Colton.Ventura@trojans.dsu.edu.

Common Cited "Mistakes"

• Blue pass holders assume that parking in red spaces on weekends also extends to longer breaks.

• Grey pass holders assume they may park in blue spaces or use daytime parking.

• Grey pass holders assume that the 'blue may sometimes park in red' rule also applies to them.

• Students assume that after purchasing a parking pass, they are allowed to park on campus until Facilities opens so they can retrieve their pass.