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There are lots of geocaches at colleges and universities. I've looked for caches at 3 different universities here in Florida and some of them are quite good. I have noticed that none of them have mentioned being placed with permission (with the exception a few that were placed by a department at the school on an area of the campus they manage). Fortunately, this doesn't seem to have caused much trouble at least that I've noticed.

 

Have there been any problems with universities/colleges(at least in the US) being anti-caching on their campus?

 

If I wanted to ask a college permission to place a cache on their campus, what department/office/posistion at the college should try I contacting?

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If I were you I would go the campus police first. I have no experience in the topic but that seems like the people who should know about it.

Good call. I was thinking the maintanence department, or maybe someone in the faculty where it is located.

 

You may also want to contact the grounds maintenance department and let them know about it. They're the ones that may be the most likely to stumble upon a cache hidden in any green areas.

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If I were you I would go the campus police first. I have no experience in the topic but that seems like the people who should know about it.

Good call. I was thinking the maintanence department, or maybe someone in the faculty where it is located.

 

You may also want to contact the grounds maintenance department and let them know about it. They're the ones that may be the most likely to stumble upon a cache hidden in any green areas.

That is the first place that I would go, if I didn't have any other guidance. The campus police is the absolute last place I'd go, because I suspect that they are the last that would give permission. On the other hand, if you did have permission from elsewhere, it may not be a bad idea to notify the campus police that you have that permission. Edited by knowschad
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I've cached around Stanford, UC Santa Cruz and CSU Monterey Bay. Each with a smattering of caches. Often they seem to be left by students who have since relocated. One at UCSC was placed by someone who worked in the building the cache was hidden in. Another cache was dismantled forcibly by bomb squad at the UCSC campus.

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I don't like 'em. It is often expensive to park there for grabbing a cache. The police there make a lot of money giving tickets for illegal parking. Of course, I live in California.

 

I'm afraid I'm going to have to write you a citation for posting in a Plaid Zone on a Thursday in a month with no 'R' in it under a Waxing Gibbous Moon. You may appeal this citation on any Tuesday, in a month that begins in a vowel, between Waning Crescent and New Moon, but only if you can find where we've hidden the secret parking space near the courthouse with a working parking meter, else you'll get another ticket. You can't miss the county courthouse, it's at the end of the One-Way single-lane road, past the No Outlet sign. Have a good day.

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I guess it depends on how 'open to the public' the college campus is. I did two at a local campus, placed by one of the professors, with permission. Campus security (of the rent-a-cop variety) was unaware of the caches, and followed us into the woods behind the ballfield. (Is there something suspicious about a man more than twice the age of the students heading off into the woods?!?) The were archived shortly thereafter.

I will not be looking for the caches on the grounds of a local religious college. I see no mention of permission on the cache pages, and it is a gated college.

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There used to be caches at the University of Wisconsin Green Bay campus, but the powers that be decided to institute a no caching policy. The ones that were there had to removed, much to the dismay of many in that caching community. I can't remember what the major concern that led to the decision might have been.

 

Our alma mater in central Wisconsin has quite a few caches, due to the fact that for a few years there was a very active geocaching club on campus. Those people have graduated and moved on, and no one has been able to bring it back to the activity level it had been, so I suppose those caches will eventually disappear.

 

Some of the campuses in Wisconsin have caches, some do not. Most listings seem to mention permissions. I think it's usually buildings and grounds folks.

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As with asking permission anywhere you are selling geocaching. As with any sale you need to understand the corporate dynamic.

 

Most employees have the power to say no. In fact that's most of many manager's job, to say no to things.

 

Anyone in the organization can say no. You are wasting your time approaching anyone who can only say no.

 

There are a few, however, who have the power to say yes. Those are the people you need to approach.

 

Do your homework and make a presentation to the Dean explaining geocaching and why it is a good thing for the school and students.

 

When you have permission from the top you don't have to worry about what campus police or groundskeepers think!

Edited by TheAlabamaRambler
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Ground maintenance departments (or whatever they call themselves) are the place to go. I was nervous, but the guy had no problem with mine. He just wanted to know the location so when they came across it they knew it was safe and would not move it. Someone mentioned parking, no problem here free 2 hour visitor parking at Stage 1! Newberry Born, Neberry Bred

 

I know at USC (University of South Carolina) there is a bit more of a process due to a friend putting one there. Each college is different, but most will easily work with you.

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As with asking permission anywhere you are selling geocaching. As with any sale you need to understand the corporate dynamic.

 

Most employees have the power to say no. In fact that's most of many manager's job, to say no to things.

 

Anyone in the organization can say no. You are wasting your time approaching anyone who can only say no.

 

There are a few, however, who have the power to say yes. Those are the people you need to approach.

 

Do your homework and make a presentation to the Dean explaining geocaching and why it is a good thing for the school and students.

 

When you have permission from the top you don't have to worry about what campus police or groundskeepers think!

That is a very interesting take on things, TAR. I like it!
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I don't like 'em. It is often expensive to park there for grabbing a cache. The police there make a lot of money giving tickets for illegal parking. Of course, I live in California.

 

The parking issue is not just in California. Parking on the campus where work (Cornell University) can be difficult as well. However, most of the parking lots that require a permit have free parking after 5:00pm and on weekends, which is probably when most people go geocaching anyway.

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I don't like 'em. It is often expensive to park there for grabbing a cache. The police there make a lot of money giving tickets for illegal parking. Of course, I live in California.

 

The parking issue is not just in California. Parking on the campus where work (Cornell University) can be difficult as well. However, most of the parking lots that require a permit have free parking after 5:00pm and on weekends, which is probably when most people go geocaching anyway.

And if ya go during Summer Break, on a weekday evening, sometime shortly after 5:00 pm (I believe it's called "Happy Hour", or something like that), you just might be surprised to find yourselves all alone with lots of free parking everywhere! Just an observation we've made finding 8 caches on campus here in town.

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That is a very interesting take on things, TAR. I like it!

I am the world's worst salesman. :laughing: Really. I started my computer business in 1979 and, while I made a good living, failed to get rich before retiring in 2003. Anyone with one iota of sales skill could get rich at that time and place!

 

But I did learn in a hurry that pitching to anyone who couldn't sign a check was just wasting time. Just that wee bit of insight allowed me to get contracts that my competitor's slick salesmen couldn't get. :wacko:

Edited by TheAlabamaRambler
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I have a few caches on the campus of UT Dallas. I asked the maintenance department some time ago if it was ok and they gave me a blank look after I explained geocaching. The guy said "OK", but I don't think he had any idea of what I was talking about. :laughing:

 

There is free visitor parking on the campus, but it's tricky to find.

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I don't like 'em. It is often expensive to park there for grabbing a cache. The police there make a lot of money giving tickets for illegal parking. Of course, I live in California.

 

The parking issue is not just in California. Parking on the campus where work (Cornell University) can be difficult as well. However, most of the parking lots that require a permit have free parking after 5:00pm and on weekends, which is probably when most people go geocaching anyway.

And if ya go during Summer Break, on a weekday evening, sometime shortly after 5:00 pm (I believe it's called "Happy Hour", or something like that), you just might be surprised to find yourselves all alone with lots of free parking everywhere! Just an observation we've made finding 8 caches on campus here in town.

 

Yeah, colleges in the midwest clear out in the afternoon during summer session. I went to visit a friend that lives by my alma matter about 2 days after spring term ended and the place was a ghost town.

 

You can also try the early morning. At 6am the only people around are groundskeepers, ROTC and fitness buffs.

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I think it would also pay dividends to turn over a list of your approved geocache placements to the Public Safety/Campus Police, so they are aware:

 

A) They know what Geocaches are.

 

:laughing: There are Geocaches on campus.

 

C) They know the Geocaches are approved.

 

D) They know what sort of containers to expect (Important: No PVC pipe, because the general population, right or wrong, equates that with a pipe bomb.)

 

Otherwise they may leap into action (away from ticketing Alohabra's car, yet again) and bring in the Happy Fun Water Cannon Crew to safely disintegrate a Lock & Lock.

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I don't like 'em. It is often expensive to park there for grabbing a cache. The police there make a lot of money giving tickets for illegal parking. Of course, I live in California.

 

The parking issue is not just in California. Parking on the campus where work (Cornell University) can be difficult as well. However, most of the parking lots that require a permit have free parking after 5:00pm and on weekends, which is probably when most people go geocaching anyway.

I have to laugh at the Cornell comment. I have an outstanding parking ticket from the University from nearly 20 years ago. I was informed that I won't receive my degree until I paid the ticket. If I had thought about it, I would have paid the ticket and demanded my degree even though I wasn't enrolled there. An FYI. The roads at Cornell are privately owned.
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