UC Davis will welcome the largest freshman class in the history of the University of California beginning this weekend. The estimated 5,500 new freshmen will contribute to record campus enrollment of an estimated 30,550 students this fall.

Preparing since May -- when more students than anticipated accepted offers of admission -- the campus has added more than 100 classes, hired more instructors, added teaching facilities and converted some double rooms in its residence halls to triples.

This weekend, the entire student housing team of more than 150 staff will help about 4,860 freshmen move into residence halls. Dozens of employees will use their muscles and red dollies to help lighten the load for students and families, and others will collect empty cardboard boxes as students unpack.

"The campus has been hard at work to prepare to welcome the entering class," said Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef. "We're confident our new students will have good experiences in their classes, in their residence halls and on the campus in general."

Numbers

Approximately 5,500 new freshmen are expected to register by the start of classes on Sept. 28. The estimate is about 25 percent higher than last fall's 4,381 and about 15 percent more than the previous campus record of 4,786 new freshmen in 2003.

The 2006-07 estimate is about 400 students above the high end of the freshman enrollment target, but it represents a decline from the more than 5,900 students intending to enroll as of the May 1 deadline.

About 1,800 new transfer students are expected to enroll, 70 more than last fall but fewer than the peak of 1,932 in 2002. The new estimate is within the enrollment target range for transfer students and is down from the 2,100 students intending to enroll as of the June deadline.

Pamela Burnett, director of undergraduate admissions, said that college enrollment managers across the country typically expect the number of students intending to register to decline over the summer as some students fail to meet the conditions on which they were admitted, others change their plans and yet others who have paid deposits at more than one campus finally choose their college.

Graduate and professional students, including 820 interns and residents, are expected to total about 7,060, an increase of about 160 or 2 percent compared with last fall.

Overall, about 30,550 students are expected to enroll for fall quarter, about 3 percent more than last fall's 29,637 and approximately 1 percent more than the peak of 30,229 in 2003.

Total enrollment includes students who will study at locations outside of Davis, such as the UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento and the UC Washington and Education Abroad programs. Enrollment is usually lower in winter and spring quarters. Official enrollment numbers will be available in late October.

UC Davis officials say the higher-than-anticipated number of students intending to register may have been the result of several factors, including increased marketing efforts following lower response last year and more students putting down deposits at more than one school where they were offered admission. The Chronicle of Higher Education and The Wall Street Journal have reported that several campuses across the country were surprised that higher proportions of students accepted their offers of admission.

Housing

Bob Smiggen, director of student housing, said about 87 percent of freshmen have opted to live in the residence halls. "We've honored our commitment to offer university housing to all freshmen who request it on time," he added.

Of the 4,860 students in the residence halls this fall, about 1,215, or 25 percent, will be accommodated in 405 triple rooms, mostly in the Tercero South and Segundo North residential areas. The halls in these complexes have larger rooms.

Of these residents, more than 500 requested triples rooms, which offer a $1,200 savings for the academic year compared to a double room.

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.

Academics

The campus has invested more than $1 million for additional instruction for the large freshman class, primarily for hiring instructors and adding classes.

Fred Wood, interim vice provost for undergraduate studies, said a number of measures have ensured that students will have full course loads and reasonable access to courses they want. "The colleges and the academic departments, as well as the staff in Summer Advising and the Office of the University Registrar, have not only met the demand," he said, "but they have done so in a stellar fashion."

Last spring, upper-level students were initially restricted from registering for specified critical introductory courses so that new students would be able to register for these classes during Summer Advising, and seats for more key classes were released in a staggered fashion during each orientation period. Over the spring and summer, more than 100 courses or sections were added.

New freshmen have been able to register for a full workload of 13 or more units for fall. Midway through the second registration opportunity for new and continuing students, 1,900 class seats remained open in many introductory courses, Wood said, and waiting lists for some popular courses are shorter than in recent years.

The campus also made arrangements to have Sacramento City College add to its offerings that satisfy UC Davis' entry-level writing requirement and fulfill preparatory chemistry and mathematics requirements. For example, the community college has scheduled an additional 16 sections of composition in winter and spring, and, for the first time, the course was offered during UC Davis' Summer Sessions.

With the opening of the new School of Veterinary Medicine instructional facilities, two classrooms in Haring Hall and one in Surge III have been refurbished and updated for general assignment use to help meet the enrollment needs of students.

New programs

New and continuing students will find a number of new academic programs as the campus continues to add to its innovative offerings.

They include expanded offerings in the Middle East/South Asia studies program, including first-time instruction in Hindi/Urdu and Arabic; a major in science and technology studies; a designated emphasis in pharmaceutical chemistry for chemistry majors; and a pilot program in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences to help freshmen explore career options.

The Department of Theatre and Dance begins two exchange programs with London's Globe Theatre and the Shanghai Theatre Academy. And at the UC Davis Health System, eight postdoctoral biologists are learning how to translate basic research into medical practice through the Integrating Medicine into Basic Science scholars program.

Construction highlights

Several projects are under construction as the campus continues a major building program to meet current and future needs, including:

• Warren and Leta Giedt Hall, north of Kemper Hall, will provide three lecture halls and two smaller classrooms when it is completed next summer;
• The multi-use sports stadium, expected to be open in January or February, will accommodate sporting events, commencement ceremonies and other major events; and
• Construction of the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science on Old Davis Road is expected to be complete in the summer 2008.