Parking Decals Policy Important For Student Safety

The parking decal, is a system commonly used at universities and colleges to distinguish the vehicles of enrolled students. Miami Dade College uses the system by having students place an identification sticker on their vehicle.

Decals need to be put on the left rear bumper or exterior left rear window of the car, so it may be easily identifiable by security personnel.

Decals can be obtained in the Student Life Office at all Miami Dade College campuses. To obtain a parking decal, students must bring a government issued ID, a paid class schedule and an unexpired vehicle registration. The decals are issued each year in August and last the entirety of the school year, which runs through July 31.

“This system has been used for decades since I was a student here in Miami Dade College,” said the College’s Director of Communications, Juan Mendieta.

Visitors can get a daily parking pass by visiting public safety. Anyone who parks on campus without a decal can face several consequences. This includes a first warning, which is a paper notice, a second warning, which is a red sticker on the vehicle window, and if a third violation occurs, the vehicle could be booted and eventually towed, according to North Campus Public Safety Director, Victor Moreno.

“The decals show that people are where they need to be and indicate that they actually belong here,” Moreno said. “In case of emergency, we can find a person and maintain safety on campus. It is very important.”

The College uses multiple ways to inform students at the beginning of the school year about the necessity. They use tactics such as placing flyers on the dashboards of vehicles and putting signs around the campus to inform students.

Despite the communication to students, some choose not to get the decal.

“I didn’t get my parking decal because it is always something that I forgot to do. It was always in the back of my mind,” said student, Ethan Toth. “I also am in campus for always a short amount of time, so I thought I could get away with it.”

For more information about the parking decals, contact the following Student Life Department at your campus:

Hialeah Campus – 305-237-8742
Homestead Campus – 305-237-5065
Interamerican Campus – 305-237-6163
Kendall Campus – 305-237-2321
Medical Campus – 305-237-4213
North Campus – 305-237-1250
West Campus – 305-237-8904
Wolfson Campus – 305-237-3536