At the beginning of each semester, enrolled undergraduate and graduate students in universities across Chicago are presented with the opportunity to have unlimited access to Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) buses and trains. This is commonly known as the U-Pass.
For NEIU students who obtain a U-Pass, a fee of $155 is added to their student balance. However, given the differing requirements based on hours enrolled, the process of obtaining a U-Pass varies for full-time or part-time students.
Full-time students enrolled in NEIU, defined as 12 minimum credit hours for undergraduates and 9 minimum credit hours for graduates, are automatically opted in for the U-Pass; according to NEIU’s website, this is “the agreement between the CTA and NEIU.”
According to the May 2023 President’s Report to the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees under then-NEIU President Gloria Gibson, the contract between the CTA and NEIU runs through August 2028.
Prior to this agreement, only full-time NEIU students were eligible to obtain a U-Pass, while part-time students and full-time students who, for one reason or another, did not require a U-Pass, still had to foot the $155 bill.
According to the report, “The new contract also allows part-time students to participate in the program, representing an equitable change that no longer “penalizes” non full-time students.”
This option is not available at other universities such as The University of Chicago (UChicago), where full-time undergraduate students are eligible to obtain a U-Pass, and there is no existing opt-out option for students who drive to campus. According to their website, “If you are a full-time student, you cannot opt out or be refunded the U-Pass fee. This is a CTA/U-Pass policy. If you do not pick up your UPass, you will still be assessed the fee on your student account.”
For a full-time, first-time freshman student at NEIU, the process of obtaining a U-Pass is an intricate one, “For a full-time student to get their U-Pass for the first time, they would have to show up to the Welcome Desk to place the order for their U-Pass,” said Phoenix Sanchez, student worker at the Welcome Desk and Administrative Manager of NEIU’s Student Media Board.
From there, students will wait five to seven business days, after which, “they should receive an email saying it’s ready to be picked up.” Sanchez said.
Part-time students who are enrolled in at least one credit hour have the option to obtain a U-Pass via two methods:
“They will need to complete the online Google Form that usually gets mailed out in a targeted announcement near the beginning of each semester,” Sanchez said. “Or they can email [email protected] and they will get that Google Form in an automated message.”
From there, students will receive a physical form from the Welcome Desk. Once the form is filled out, students will take the form to Student Payment Services, to receive a verification the U-Pass charge is in fact on their student balance.“You take that receipt, bring it back to the Welcome Desk. It takes about 24 hours for that system to update.” Sanchez said.
Sanchez also explains the process for full-time students who opt-out and then choose to opt back in, “They will need to complete the online Google Form for the opt-in, do that physical form, send it to the cashier’s office, [and] bring back the receipt. Within 24 hours, it will update.”
Sanchez also explains the process for part-time students who opt-in and then wish to opt back out, “They will fill out the opt-out form and then we will do our process and it takes maybe a month, maybe a bit less, for that fee to get removed.”
Sanchez acknowledges how the process of obtaining a U-Pass can be time consuming, “We do try our best to explain and make as much information available to students as possible and it’s eye catching so we don’t lose their attention in the middle of them trying to complete that form.”
The deadline for opting in and opting out is September 26, 2025. For more information, visit NEIU’s website or contact NEIU’s Welcome Desk, located in Village Square.
