Sooner or later, America’s colleges and universities will get back to normal, and for many students that means confronting the high cost of parking.

In today’s Martin Center article, Megan Zogby, a student at North Carolina State, looks at this as a matter of administrators paying insufficient attention to students. One slip-up, such as having your car’s battery die, and students are hit with heavy fines.

Of course, this isn’t just a problem at her school. Zogby writes, “Outside the UNC system, students aren’t happy either. High prices are one thing, but customer service is a sticking point. In the Duke Chronicle, Bella Miller called Duke Parking and Transportation ‘an exploitative, money-making arm of the ‘non-profit’ that is Duke University.’ Duke’s equivalent of a commuter parking permit is $423 annually.”

Zogby suggests that school officials consider a modest reform: “For low-income students or students who have off-campus jobs, colleges could offer discounts or price reductions for community service, similar to UNC-Wilmington’s approach with parking tickets. All UNC schools should follow UNC-Chapel Hill in aiding lower-income students in parking complications by allowing them to apply for cheaper prices.”