Priority System

Background

Parking at the University of Georgia is allocated by a process that is unique to our campus. Our campus has grown considerably over the decades and the previous permit model could not accommodate the number of people commuting each day. The Priority System was devised by the Parking Services Department in 2002 to alleviate long years of traffic problems and overcrowded parking lots.

In the past, permits were sold to anyone at anytime. However, a permit holder may or may not have been able to find space. The results were traffic jams, overcrowded lots and, in the end, no parking. This situation was expected to only get worse as enrollment increased. The decision was made to limit the number of permits sold, separate user groups, and divide areas by access points. Allocating permits in this manner leads to some applicants remaining on wait lists for preferred areas, or having no permit at all. However, all permit holders are now guaranteed parking, and traffic has been reduced considerably.

Basic Description

The Priority System takes into account nine different user groups, which are further prioritized by different parameters. Students are scored based on their cumulative hours and housing status. Employees are scored by their BCAT code and days of continuous service. These factors allow our customized computer program to rank each applicant based on comparisons with others being considered for the lot. This system is not one of luck. It is important that all applicants understand the priority system and how it applies to them.

The majority of campus follows the Admin/Faculty priority scheme. Staff and graduate assistants are given priority in lower cost areas, while residents are given priority near dormitories. All user groups can select any parking area on campus. If higher ranking customers do not fill a lot, the lot will be available to lower ranking customers. For example, under the Admin/Faculty scheme, it is possible that undergraduate commuters will park in the same lot as staff, but only after staff have had the opportunity to fill the lot to capacity. Special requests, such as disability parking, reserved parking or multi-area parking, will be considered on a case by case basis.

*The Priority System separates applicants by the following ‘user groups':

• Senior Administration
• Faculty
• Administration
• Staff
• Graduate Assistants
• Graduate Commuters
• Graduate Residents
• Undergraduate Residents
• Undergraduate Commuters

*Each lot has a different priority tier system:

• Admin/Faculty
• Staff/Grad Assistants
• Housing
• Staff

Within these four priorities each of the nine user groups is ordered according to their priority for the area. Those having the highest priority are at the top and those with lowest priority are at the bottom. The chart below lists the order of each priority.

Registration

Registration takes place during the spring for the upcoming year. It is very important to register during this time period, as 95% of all permits are assigned in the summer. Late registration will drastically decrease the chances of obtaining a permit. Everyone must register; even employees who only wish to continue in the same lot must complete the process.

It bears repeating that this process is not based on luck, but on the criteria of the priority system. It is not a good strategy for an applicant to register for areas in which they have a low priority or areas dominated by a different user group. For example, an undergraduate commuter registering for N09 or S11 will most likely not get a permit in either lot. N09 has an Admin/Faculty priority and is in the core part of campus and is filled with employees. S11 is a Housing priority lot and is filled with dorm residents and employees. Undergraduate commuters are last on the priority for the S11 deck.

Technical Aspects of Parking Services Priority Determination

The Parking Services Department of the University of Georgia uses a unique, custom written software system to make parking permit assignments. It considers set criteria and compares all applicants using the priority system described previously.

Source of Data -Parking services obtains nightly data feeds from Employee Records, Student Records, etc. This information is used to give each student, employee, or affiliate a rank, which is then used to determine the score they have for each lot and in turn, their placement on the waiting list. Parking Services can only make assignments based on the current information we receive from official sources, not individuals. Errors must be corrected at the source, such as Housing or the Registrar. Previous assignments made based on misinformation will not be changed. The applicant will be considered again during the next assignment cycle.

Wait List Determination

An applicant's position on the wait list is determined by the ranking of their lot score. The applicant's lot score is compared to everyone else who chose that lot and ordered accordingly from lowest to highest. The lowest lot score is first in line for the next available space .

1. The lot score considers the following criteria:
   • Group value: A group value is assigned to each of the nine user groups for each lot. The lowest value is assigned to the group with highest priority to that lot. The highest value is assigned to the group with the lowest priority for that lot. The user groups between have increasing values depending on their order in the priority list for the lot.
   • Rank of Applicant: Students and employees are ranked differently according to specific criteria. (see description in next section)
2. Lot scores are assigned to each lot chosen and are derived from the following:

Formula for Lot Score

Rank of Applicant + Applicant's Group Value for the particular lot choice= Lot Score

Employee and Affiliate Rank Formula

The following criteria are considered when making assignments for employees:

• Employee group: The applicant's employee group is assigned a value highest to lowest in the following order Senior Admin, Faculty, Admin, and Staff*.
• Employee type: The applicant's employee type is assigned a value with Faculty and Classified employees having the high value, Temporary employees having a smaller value, and Retirees and all others having the lowest value.
• Number of days employed: The number of days employed since the most recent employee start date available. Employees who leave the University and come back start at 0 days.
• In the case of a tie, a random number value is assigned (for example, staff applicants with the same date of employment).

Formula for Personal Score:

Employee group value + ( number of days employed X employee type value ) = personal score

1. All employees' personal scores are ordered highest to lowest and by random number if two personal scores are identical
2. Once scores are ordered, the first instance of the highest personal score is given a rank of 1 indicating the best rank. The rank of each lower personal score increments by 1 over the previous higher score.
3. This ranking is then used with the applicant's user group value for the lot choice to determine lot score and thereby wait list status.

Student Rank Formula

The following criteria are considered when making assignments:

• Student Group : Student group is assigned a value highest to lowest in the following order; Graduate Assistant, Graduate Resident, Undergraduate Resident, Graduate Commuter, Undergraduate Commuter
• Future Term Status : Undergraduate, Professional, Graduate
• Cumulative Hours: Beginning 9/20/2009, this includes all credit hours earned at UGA plus all transfer hours accepted by UGA.  Credit hours no longer reset when you change degree programs; all previously earned hours are counted.
• Length of Stay in dorm: the total number of semesters you have lived in a dorm
• Resident Type : Resident type is assigned a value with staff positions having the highest value, residents having the middle value, and non-residents having the low value. As in, Resident, Non-Resident, RA, CA, GR, RLC
• Ties are broken by assignment of a random number value (for example, undergraduate commuters with equal cumulative hour).

Formula for Personal Score

Cumulative Hours squared + ( Student Group Value x ( Resident Type Value + Length of Stay in dorm ))

1. All students' personal scores are ordered highest to lowest and then by random number if two personal scores are identical.
2. Once scores are ordered, the first instance of the highest personal score is given a rank of 1, indicating the best rank. The rank of each lower personal score increments by 1 over the previous higher score.
3. This ranking is then computed with the applicant's user group value for the lot choice to determine lot score and thereby wait list status.

Negotiated parking assignments are in effect that override the priority determination for an individual customer. These include multi-access and disability permits