Students attending Grossmont College will be charged for student parking spaces in the Fall 2025 semester.
Students and staff will be charged for parking and services as a means to maintain safe and functional parking lots throughout campus, as well as various campus services.
This significant change to campus life came more than five years after COVID-19 restrictions initially impacted students’ ability to learn on campus, as well as the cost of attending Grossmont.
Financial restraints placed on students due to the pandemic led to the executive decision to waive parking fees among other costs, in an attempt to make attendance easier.
According to Julio Hernandez, vice president of Finances at ASGC, Grossmont is suffering from an apparent net loss due to these costs, “The school doesn’t have the funds to keep it up for free for students, so we’re gonna reinstate it Fall 2025,” Hernandez said.
ASGC considered the possibility of parking permits being covered in a package with financial aid, and if options for students with disabilities are available.
Additionally, Hernandez said ASGC hopes to plan a purchasable semester pass directly from the Campus and Parking Services, or CAPS, office or through Self-Service.
The cost of permits is projected to be at least $40. Administrators are concerned that if students see parking fees put back in place, it will drive them away from studying on campus.
“That is one of the biggest concerns that we’re facing right now,” Hernandez said. “We have this massive gap where people, as soon as they see parking passes, they’re going to be like, ‘Oh I don’t want to come to campus; I’m just gonna take my classes online,’ and that kills a campus.”
There will be a three-week grace period in which students will not be fined for any parking violation, only warned.
Not only will this cover the cost of parking services, but it will also pay for the additional services CAPS offers to students. These services include escorts, vehicle unlocks, battery jumps and other motor vehicle services.
It is also important to know that these parking fees are considered some of the lowest in the state, with revenues being divided between maintaining parking facilities on campus and student life services. Crisanto Gamez, a student at Grossmont said: “At least the money is being allocated to a good resource; in that case, it would be a benefit to the student body.”
Grossmont has maintained these facilities by cutting the cost and hours of operation for the Griffin Grill and Cafe in building 60, Hernandez said.
“One of the other biggest things is we are cutting back in the hours for the cafe,” he explained. “Now it’s closing sooner, and the grill opens later and closes sooner too.”
Griffin Grill allegedly tries to keep its food prices as low as possible as well. When students start paying their permits and Grossmont accumulates enough funds, there is the potential for longer hours to be reinstated.
Though Griffin scholars may soon face an upcharge in the cost of attending the school, they can rest assured it is to help fund services catered to students for a more lively campus life.
