Campus Security and Vehicle Policy

The Campus Security Department provides for the security and safety of students, employees, and property of the College. The Department is manned by staff officers and additional student officers. Campus Security serves the student body by teaching respect for the laws, rules, and regulations that must govern all our lives. This is done in part by enforcing all vehicular regulations through instruction and the issuing of tickets for violations of campus regulations. Campus Security provides fire watch 24 hours a day.

Security Surveillance Policy

College of the Ozarks (hereinafter referred to as the College) reserves the right to install, monitor, log, and record security cameras and other surveillance technology on College property, outside or inside structures, excluding restrooms, shower rooms, and dressing rooms. To promote the safety and security of students, employees, and visitors, the College may conduct surveillance of any portion of its premises at any time without notice. All video or other surveillance content captured by the College is considered confidential and the property of the College.

The College’s IT department secures video and other surveillance content within its IT infrastructure. Access to video streams or other surveillance content requires approval by the VP for Vocational Programs.

Only College employees authorized by the VP for Vocational Programs may request a review of specific video or other surveillance content. These requests are approved and logged by the Campus Security Department and executed with the assistance of the IT department.

Exporting of video or other surveillance content for internal use requires approval by the VP for Vocational Programs. External or third-party review of video or other surveillance content requires the approval of the College President or designee.

Campus Opening and Closing

To increase security, the campus opens at 5:00 a.m. each morning and closes at 1:00 a.m. each night. After 1:00 a.m., student vehicles will be allowed onto campus and students will be able to drive directly to their designated parking lot. These hours may be extended during special events or holidays.

Vehicle Registration

The regulations regarding registration, fees, and insurance apply to all students who bring a vehicle on campus. Students bringing their motor vehicles to the campus must register them in the Dean of Students office. All vehicles (including bicycles and mopeds) are governed by Missouri State Laws while operating on campus.

All motorized vehicles must be registered the first week of each fall term or the first week of the term the student is newly enrolled. The student is expected to update their vehicle information each time he/she registers or at any time the student attains a new vehicle. Vehicle registration will cost $25.00 each year. Each fall term will represent the beginning of a new registration period and students are expected to re-register accordingly.

Student vehicle stickers identify the student owner and the approved area for parking. If a change to your student status allows you to park in a different area, you must obtain the corresponding new sticker before parking in the new area. The sticker must be properly attached to the front windshield (lower corner of the driver’s side) and clearly visible.

The minimum insurance requirement of the state in which the vehicle is registered will be adequate unless that state has no requirement, then the vehicle must be insured for the Missouri state minimum. The insurance must remain in force while the vehicle is registered. Students who have not yet acquired insurance must place their vehicle in the Freshman Lot. Contact Security to place the vehicle in the lot and to avoid disciplinary action.

If an unregistered vehicle is brought on campus during a semester, it must be registered within one week, and all rules and regulations apply. If the temporary-use vehicle is replacing a registered vehicle, the student should go to the Dean of Students office to update his or her records accordingly and get a new vehicle sticker. If special circumstances exist that fall outside of these guidelines, contact Security or the Dean of Students Office for a temporary permit for the vehicle.

Classification

For parking purposes, student classification is determined by the number of hours recorded on the student’s official College of the Ozarks transcript (and in the case of freshmen, by the number of semesters attended). Once earned hours are recorded on the student’s C of O transcript, then the student is eligible to request a classification change.

Freshmen Status: Students living on campus who have completed less than two semesters as a full-time student, regardless of the number of hours completed. Freshmen students will be issued a green sticker.

Sophomore Status: Students living on campus with between 31-60 semester hours. Sophomore students will be issued a yellow sticker.

Junior and Senior Status: Students living on campus who have 61 or more semester hours. Junior and senior students will be issued a silver sticker.

Commuter Students: Students who do not live in the residence halls on campus are considered commuter students, regardless of the number of semester hours enrolled. Children of faculty and staff who are commuting students at C of O must register their vehicles and observe regulations governing commuting students. Commuter students will be issued a purple sticker.

Faculty and Staff: Employees of the College will be issued a white hangtag, which is issued to the employee and cannot be transferred to a student.

Weekend Parking Hours/Summer Parking Hours

Weekend Parking Hours: Noon on Friday to 1:00 a.m. Monday morning.

Summer and Break Parking Hours: Students can park in any student lot. Freshmen and Sophomores are not confined to their lots. Summer hours begin the last day of finals and end on the Sunday before classes begin. Certain holidays and designated school breaks may warrant weekend parking.

Parking Regulations for Student Vehicles

Student Parking Lots

The parking lots listed below are considered student lots in which students may park their vehicles according to their sticker classification.

Ashcroft Parking Lot

Barrett Parking Lot

Chapel Parking Lot (East row away from building)

Students may not park in the chapel lot on Sunday during chapel service from 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

College Center Parking Lot (Uphill half away from building)

East Fieldhouse Parking Lot

Freshman Parking Lot

Kelce Parking Lot

Rose Mann Parking Lot

Sophomore Parking Lot

Technology/Warehouse Parking Lot

Upper Plaster Parking Lot

Youngman Residence Hall Row

Parking Guide by Class Standing

As indicated by their sticker classification (freshman, sophomore, etc.), students may park in the lots as listed below.

Freshman Resident Students

Freshman Parking Lot - The Freshman Parking Lot is located north of the track. Freshman students are required to keep their vehicles in the freshman lot from 1:00 am Monday morning until noon on Friday. The freshmen lot is closed and locked from 1:00 a.m. Sunday night until Noon on Friday during the academic semester. When this lot is locked there is no access without the Dean of Students approval.

Freshmen may park in any student parking lot only during weekend, break, and summer parking hours.

Sophomore Resident Students

Sophomore Parking Lot - The Sophomore Parking Lot is located north of the track. Sophomore students are required to park their vehicles in the sophomore lot.

Sophomores may park in any student parking lot only during weekend, break, and summer parking hours.

Junior and Senior Resident Students

Junior and senior resident students may park anytime in any student parking lot.

Commuting Students

Commuting students may park daily from 5:00 a.m.-1:00 a.m. in any student parking lot.

Commuting students on school sponsored trips may leave their vehicle overnight in the following lots:

Upper Plaster

East Fieldhouse

Kelce Lot

Faculty/Staff Parking

Employees with a white hangtag may park in any regular parking space in any parking lot. Children of faculty and staff who are commuting students at C of O must register their vehicles and observe regulations governing commuting students.

The parking lots listed below are considered Faculty/Staff and/or Visitor parking lots in which students may not park their vehicles.

Administration, Berger, and Gittinger Parking Lots: Students may park in these lots for no longer than ten (10) minutes during business hours.

Alumni Center Parking Lot: Faculty/Staff/Visitor parking during normal business operating hours. Resident students arriving on campus after the front gates are locked may park on the west end of the parking lot, behind the building. These vehicles must be moved by 9:00 a.m. that morning.

College Center Parking Lot: No student parking is permitted on the north side of the grass island (building side).

Construction Parking Lot

Day Care Center Parking Lot

Edwards Mill/Landscaping Lot

Fieldhouse West/Garrison Activities Center Lot

Jones/Memorial Parking Lot: Faculty/Staff parking except for the ten (10) minute loading zone spaces at the west end of Memorial.

Keeter Center Parking Lot: Designated for customers eating and/or staying at the Keeter Center. Students may park in the Keeter Center parking lot only when dining or lodging in the Keeter Center as a paying customer.

Patriotic Place Parking

Pfeiffer Parking Lot

Plaster Lower Parking Lot

Print Shop/Post Office Parking Lot: Students may only park in the designated ten (10) minute parking spaces to conduct business.

Ralph Foster Museum Lot

Youngman Agricultural Parking Lot: Front side of building is designated for Faculty/Staff.

Maroon Hangtag (Special Use Parking)

Maroon hangtags are issued to members of the College community who are not faculty, staff, administration, or students. These individuals include trustees, guests staying on campus for an extended period of time, and long-term contractors working on the campus who are not college employees. Individuals with a maroon hangtag may park in any regular parking space in any parking lot. These hangtags must be renewed each semester.

Additional Parking Regulations

Motorcycle Parking

Parking for Student Motorcycles: Freshmen resident students will park in the designated motorcycle area in the Freshman Lot, sophomores in designated parking in the Sophomore Lot. All other student motorcycles will be limited to the designated area marked for motorcycles, located in the East Fieldhouse lot. This includes weekends, holidays, and breaks. Motorcycles and mopeds must attach an official College sticker to the rear fender or fork in a position that is clearly visible.

Fire Lanes and Loading Zones: No parking in marked fire lanes. For spaces that are marked loading and unloading, there is a ten (10) minute time limit. Loading zones for Ashcroft and Mabee residence halls are located in front of the residence halls next to the sidewalks. There is no student parking at the rear of Ashcroft/Mabee.

Special Regulations and Exceptions

1. When holidays or vacations occur during a school term (i.e. Good Friday), all resident students may have their vehicles on campus until campus closing prior to the next day that classes will be held. Regulations for periods between academic terms will be the same as vacation time during school term.
2. Students must contact Security if they need to leave a vehicle parked in a lot other than their assigned parking lots overnight during the week due to mechanical problems.
3. Students with medical problems may apply for permission to park in restricted areas. This must be approved by the campus hospital administrator and the Dean of Students.
4. Students who are guests in the campus home of faculty or staff members will be allowed to park their vehicles at that home during the hours their vehicles are allowed to come on or leave campus.
5. Students should take their vehicles to the Freshman or Sophomore parking lots when working on or conducting repairs on the vehicle.
6. Each junior and senior may have only one vehicle registered to park on campus due to limited parking available.
7. Students are not to operate their vehicles on campus from campus closing until opening the next morning.
8. Sophomore students may contact the Dean of Students for permission to have their cars on campus before 5:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday or before Noon Friday for loading and unloading. Freshman students may contact the Dean of Students for permission to remove their vehicle from the lot for an emergency.
9. Roller blading, skating, and skateboarding may be done only on the Old Entrance Road.
10. The use, possession, or storage of hover boards (self-balancing scooters, battery-operated scooters, hands-free Segways and other similar equipment) is prohibited on campus, including residence/dining halls.
11. The College of the Ozarks prohibits the operation, possession, or storage of all unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), including drones and model aircraft on College property(s). College faculty, staff, and/or students must receive administrative approval prior to operating any College owned UAS.
12. Noisemaking with vehicles should be kept to a minimum while on campus. This includes, but is not limited to, playing stereos at excessive volumes with windows raised or lowered, unnecessary honking, and mufflers on vehicles that are louder than the standard factory level.
13. There are occasions when certain parking lots have to be cleared and reserved for special events. When these events occur, seventy-two (72) hours advance notice is given, and students are expected to relocate their vehicles to the reassigned parking lots. Violators will be ticketed.
14. Concrete markers and/or painted lines are used to designate parking areas in the parking lots. Do not park past the end of the rows of markers in the center of the lot, as this area must be kept open as a driving lane. Each vehicle is to have a white line on each side of the vehicle.
15. Vehicles and bikes abandoned for a period of sixty days will become the property of College of the Ozarks and may be removed at the discretion of the College. Bikes must be registered and kept on a bike rack.
16. In extreme cases, or if students receive multiple parking or non-registration violations, a Vehicle Restraint Device (boot) may be applied. When a boot is applied to a vehicle, the owner must report to Security in order to get the boot removed. Drivers must not try to remove the boot or drive the vehicle with the boot attached to the vehicle. This can damage the vehicle and/or the boot and additional action may be taken.
17. School of the Ozarks students generally will park on the south side of the grass island of the Good Center Parking Lot (away from the building). When parking is not available in the Good Center Lot, S of O students will be allowed to park in any lot designated for commuters.

Penalties for Violation of Student Vehicle Regulations

Students may receive tickets for failure to register or properly display decals or sticker, improper parking, and for moving violations. Students have one week at the beginning of each term or once the vehicle is brought to campus to register their vehicle before being held responsible for a ticket for failure to register. Students are responsible for all other tickets they receive prior to registering the vehicle. A student may receive one ticket each week that the vehicle is not registered. Penalties for violations are as follows:

a. $20.00 for first ticket, plus $15.00 for each additional violation noted on the ticket.*

b. $25.00 for the second ticket, plus $15.00 for each additional violation noted on the ticket.

c. $30.00 for the third ticket and each ticket following the third plus $15.00 for each additional violation noted on the ticket(s).*

d. All moving violations are $40.00.*

e. A fourth ticket in one semester, of any combination of violations, will result in penalties ranging from the banning of the student’s vehicle and driving privileges on campus for a period of six weeks up to one year, to disciplinary probation. Students receiving any additional tickets while their vehicle is banned will result in additional sanctions which may include suspension from the College.

f. Two moving violations will result in the same penalties as four nonmoving tickets.

g. Any reckless driving violation may result in the penalties ranging from the banning of your vehicle and driving privileges on campus for a period of time up to one year, to disciplinary probation or suspension from the College in extreme incidents.