Holds will be placed on the academic records of nearly 900 students whose parking tickets are considered very delinquent, said university officials Monday.

The holds will be going in effect on Oct. 31.

“Based on an aging report, there is over $1 million in unpaid citations,” said Nancy Fox, manager of University Transportation and Parking.

As this mandate progresses, UTAPS will begin to place holds on records of the students who have citations that have been 60 days delinquent and then those that are 30 days, Fox said.

“The holds are being treated like any other campus debt, such as an overdue book,” Fox said.

Currently, there are 3,634 very delinquent citations, which amount to $152,197.

A portion of the funds that come from parking citations are used for the Hornet Shuttle program. The remainder goes to the operational cost of the appeals process.

This policy follows the parking fines and forfeitures revenues guidelines set up by the state.

The unpaid citations have also played a large role in the increase of the semester parking permit this past semester, Fox said.

The holds are absolutely ludicrous, said president of Associated Students, Inc. Peter Ucovich.

“This disallows students to continue their education,” Ucovich said. Some repercussions of holds placed on students records include the inability to register for classes, request transcripts, check out library books, or use public transportation.

“I think that if you get a ticket you should pay the citation, but the holds are harsh,” graduate student Jennifer Heitz said. “These are people’s educations in jeopardy over a parking ticket.”

The current rate for a parking citation on campus ranges from $14 to $280, depending upon the violation, plus a $5 service charge that is used to fund the construction of courthouses and jails in Sacramento County.

In the past, the school used to absorb the $5 service charge for the students. Currently, however, university administration insists that the students pay the fee.

Funds collected through the service charge will be directed to other projects like the construction of parking structure three which will begin construction in May 2004, Fox said.

A portion of the $1 million can potentially be used to expand current Hornet Shuttle routes, the number of routes, and more buses, making the Hornet Shuttle accessible to more students, Fox said.

According to UTAPS, all unpaid parking citations are reported to the California Department of Motor Vehicles after 60 days after the date of the citation and a hold is placed on the vehicle’s registration.

“If holds are being placed on their vehicle registration, why are there so many unpaid citations?” Ucovich said.

Fox said that among the reasons there are so many outstanding parking citations are the large number of out-of-state license plates on campus. Another possible reason is that some people do not register their vehicles at all and are driving on expired registration tags.

A small portion of Sacramento State faculty and staff have been identified as having delinquent citations, but there is no mechanism available to place a hold in this situation, said Fox.

“One way (the university) has thought of dealing with the faculty and staff citations may have to do with employee payroll, but this is not for sure,” Fox said.

To pay for a citation, students must go to the Student Financial Center. Paying the fine will clear the hold from the students record.

If a student has more then one hold on their record and they are financially unable to pay the whole fine in one payment, they can work with a financial advisor to create a payment plan.