New student services, a new book project, competition in a different athletic division, new degree programs and the completion of a some key construction projects are on tap as UC Davis welcomes about 30,170 students this fall.

When classes begin Thursday, it's estimated that the student body will have 59 fewer students than last fall's 30,229; and on-campus enrollment is anticipated to average 26,560 over the three academic quarters.

On the enrollment front

About 4,400 new freshmen are expected to register by the start of classes. That's about 390, or 8 percent, fewer freshmen than last fall.

The decline follows Gov. Arnold Schwar-zenegger's call for a 10 percent cut in freshman enrollment and the plan to divert many UC applicants to community college for two years as part of UC's Guaranteed Transfer Option (GTO) program. This summer, however, the state budget agreement resulted in UC campuses offering freshman admission to GTO students and other eligible applicants.

Among its new freshmen, UC Davis will welcome about 275 students who were formerly part of the GTO program. About 67 students admitted through the program have opted to continue with it and attend community college for two years before transferring to UC Davis.

Also, about 1,900 new transfer students are expected to enroll, for 149, or 8.5 percent, more students than last fall's 1,751. An estimated 975 of the new transfer students participated in UC Davis' Transfer Admission Agreement program at 82 community colleges throughout the state.

Total undergraduate enrollment is expected to decrease by 209, or approximately 1 percent, to 23,300. Upper-division students will make up 57 percent of the undergraduate student body this year.

Graduate and professional students, including interns and residents, are expected to increase their ranks by 150, for a total of about 6,870.

Fees and financial aid

Undergraduate students who are California residents will pay fees of $7,557 this year; resident academic graduate students will pay $8,407.

About two-thirds of the undergraduate student body is expected to be receiving some form of financial aid. By the end of August, aid totaling $119 million -- in grants, Federal Work-Study, scholarships and loans -- had been awarded to about 14,000 undergraduates for 2004-05.

To help students stay informed about their loan indebtedness, the Financial Aid Office has introduced a Web-based tool that provides them with estimates of their current indebtedness at UC Davis, allows them to make future estimates and calculates estimated loan payments.

New programs and services

New academic programs offered for the first time this academic year include:

• certificate programs in environmental law for law students and in business development for MBA and graduate students;
• majors in computational applied science, mathematical and scientific computation, technocultural studies and film studies; and
• minors in quantitative biology and biological informatics, and Middle Eastern and South Asian studies.

The campus continues its transition to Division I in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, and student-athletes begin playing Division I competitors this year.

New in health care are dental benefits for undergraduate students; a secure Internet service by which students can schedule appointments at the student health center, communicate with clinical staff, receive test results and more; and a pilot program offering massage services at a fee for faculty and staff members.

Aggie Family Pack, launched in 2002 to serve the parents of freshman students, has expanded this year to serve the parents of all undergraduates. The project includes a monthly e-mail newsletter, a Web site with additional information and resources, and a parents section in UC Davis Magazine.

This fall, the third annual Campus Com-munity Book Project will focus discussion and other activities on Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992. For the work, author Anna Deavere Smith interviewed some 200 individuals about the riots in Los Angeles after the Rodney King verdict.

On the housing horizon

Student Housing will accommodate about 4,340 undergraduates in the residence halls this year, including some 3,900 incoming freshmen. Two halls, Castilian North and South, will house about 340 transfer, continuing and international students.

In addition to the undergraduates in residence halls, almost 1,820 other students will live in Student Housing facilities, privately owned projects and family housing at UC Davis.

Construction continues on a larger dining commons to serve students living in the Segundo area. The new facility is scheduled to open in the spring of 2005.

In the Tercero area, work is under way to build residence halls for about 400 students and to expand the dining commons. Included in the project will be a lounge and an academic advising center. Both projects are scheduled for completion in fall 2005.

Other construction

The campus continues one of its biggest building booms. Among the many projects in construction this academic year are:

• The $95 million Genome and Biomedical Sciences Building, in the Health Sciences area, is scheduled for completion this fall.
• The $56.7 million Sciences Laboratory Building, east of Briggs Hall, is set to open in the winter quarter. Designed specifically for undergraduate teaching, it will contain 34 labs for biology and chemistry classes as well as study space, computer labs and a teaching greenhouse.
• Construction is under way on the School of Veterinary Medicine Instructional Facility, a $27 million classroom complex. Other vet school facilities under construction are Vet Med III A, a $77.4 million teaching and research facility, and a $4.2 million equine athletic performance lab.
• The Mathematical Sciences Building, now under construction, will provide departmental space for mathematics and statistics. It is slated for completion in summer 2005.