Anyone who ever plucked a yellow envelope/parking ticket from under their windshield wiper knows how efficient and businesslike NIU’s Parking Division can be.

With thousands of permits sold and citations issued every year, parking is big business at NIU.

NIU Parking Manager Helen Nodurft said the parking division took in $440,000 from permit sales and $418,500 from fines during fiscal year 1991. The permit figure does not account for refunds given for withdrawal from NIU.

Nodurft said she did not know how many permits were sold so far this year, but her office consistently sells from 11,000 to 12,000 throughout each year, not including temporary or motorcycle permits. “Some people leave or graduate at the end of each semester, so not all of these permits are in use at any one time,” she said.

Money from permit sales and fines is used to pay salaries and general operating expenses of the parking division and maintenance of more than 50 parking lots on and off campus.

Any vehicle parked on university property must display a current NIU parking permit. Permits are sold at the parking division office on Lincoln Terrace.

Permits are color-coded and issued according to the status of individuals buying them. Blue permits are for faculty and staff, green for graduate students, yellow for commuters, orange for students living on-campus and brown for off-campus students that live within bus routes or walking distance. Motorcycle permits also are available.

In addition, red permits for reserved spaces are available for full-time employees and persons with disabilities.

Free one-day permits are available at the parking division or the Department of Public Safety on Lucinda Avenue.

Nodurft said prices for student permits, $30 for permanent stickers and $32 for transferable permits, has not risen in at least three years.

Three full-time parking agents and two part-time student employees enforce the regulations, which are in effect from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Nodurft said the most common violations are parking with no NIU registration, parking in the wrong lot and parking in no-parking zones.

Tickets for expired meters can be given every hour or two hours after expiration.