Enrollments are continuing to grow at the University of California, Davis, with as many as 519 more students expected to register next week than registered last fall. A student body of 24,450 -- the highest fall enrollment in the campus's history -- is anticipated, up from last fall's 23,931. The recent campus enrollment growth started three years ago and supports a four-year funding agreement with Gov. Pete Wilson and the Legislature to ensure a place at a UC campus for all eligible California residents seeking admission. UC Davis enrollments are expected to grow to 26,850 by the year 2005-06 to accommodate increased demand. Total undergraduate enrollment is expected to rise by 421 this fall, mostly due to a larger number of continuing students. About 3,645 new freshmen likely will register next week, 107 fewer than last fall; the number of new advanced standing students likely will increase by 34. Upper-division students will continue to make up 60 percent of the undergraduate student body this year. New graduate students are expected to increase their ranks by 67. Health science enrollments should increase by 31. More than 16.3 percent of the admitted freshman class are students from underrepresented ethnic groups, compared to 16.1 percent last year. About one-half of all new transfer students will have participated in the Transfer Admission Agreement program with 55 community colleges throughout the state. Here's a snapshot of what this fall's students will find as they arrive next week: • Course availability. Students this fall should find a good number of open course sections and classroom seats -- about 600 sections with some 12,000 seats. "This is clearly a testament to the excellent work departments have done in monitoring their enrollments and striving to match their offerings to student demand, even in an environment of diminished resources," said Fred Wood, associate dean of the College of Letters and Science. Relatively slim waiting lists exist for such high-demand classes as general and organic chemistry, and students will still find seats in introductory calculus. The line's already begun forming, though, for such introductory foreign languages as Chinese, Japanese and Spanish. English composition courses are also full but will be offered again in the winter and spring. English 57 classes offered through Sacramento City College also have waiting lists, but SCC anticipates opening additional sections. Introductory courses in the social sciences are also proving quite popular but most students awaiting a seat should be able to find one. Students may request "simultaneous enrollment" in a course at another college when its equivalent at UC Davis is full. For example, students electing to study Spanish might choose to enroll in a Sacramento City College Spanish class until a course becomes available at UC Davis. Most students were able to enroll in a full load of 12 or more units: 86.3 percent of freshmen; 83.7 percent of sophomores; 83 percent of juniors; and 75.5 percent of seniors. • Finish in Four. This past year, 207 students participated in this program designed to help undergraduates complete their degrees in four years. The program's thrust is to encourage more students to take advantage of academic advisers on campus. Faculty and staff advisers explain which courses are required, in what sequence, for completion of majors and for graduation. The graduation rates of students who enter the University of California as first-year students continue to climb. However, the percentage of students taking more than 12 academic quarters to graduate has increased in recent years, a trend experienced by the UC system as a whole. Currently the average time to degree at UC Davis is slightly more than 13 quarters. • Financial aid. Between 58 percent and 60 percent of the student body is expected to be provided some form of financial aid this school year. So far, $28 million has been disbursed to 11,240 students for this fall quarter. Another 1,000 students have not yet completed the financial aid application process and others may have only partial funding because they have not signed promissory notes. Loans comprise as much as 60 percent of all aid, with the average indebtedness of a new graduate totaling about $12,000-$15,000. • Housing. Housing is expected to be tight this fall, both on the campus and within the city. Undergraduate residence halls and apartments for students with children are expected to be full when classes begin next week, and a city apartment vacancy rate of just 0.5 percent is projected. The vacancy rate was as high as 8.7 percent only five years ago. "We're concerned that our students will find housing to be in such short supply," said Carol Wall, vice chancellor for student affairs. "Along with the city, we're exploring ways to ease this circumstance and taking steps to increase the range of housing options available to our students." The campus broke ground last month for Primero Grove, a 180-unit complex that will house 300 students in one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom apartments. Ready for occupancy in fall 1998, the complex will temporarily house students displaced by the renovation of Webster and Emerson halls. The feasibility of additional housing along LaRue Road will be considered by the campus this fall. Some students are also finding new quarters this year in Aggie Village "grad flats." A new apartment complex in west Davis opened this month. • Building construction and renovation. A record number of projects are in the planning, drawing or construction phase this fall. Among major construction projects: The Memorial Union seismic tower project will be completed in June. The two-year $6 million renovation will reinforce the four-story facility by adding stiffening elements along the south side and a new elevator tower along the north entry. The building will provide 60,000 square feet to accommodate student government offices and related student services. The project is being financed by a seismic fee paid by the students. In an effort to bring student affairs administrative units closer together, a new East Hall is slated for construction beginning next month on the site of the original building that was demolished in 1974. Expected to be completed in 1999 at a cost of $7.8 million, the building will be similar in appearance to North and South halls. The project is being financed through a combination of student registration fees and campus funding. The Center for Comparative Medicine, a two-story laboratory and office building at the California Regional Primate Research Center west of the central campus, will be completed next fall. The $8.9 million new facility will allow for additional teaching and research space. Construction has begun on the Environmental Services Facility and should be completed next fall. This state-of-the-art building will replace the existing hazardous waste handling facility. A state revenue bond financed this $11 million project. • Parking and transportation. This year, the campus's parking system, entirely funded by user fees, should be able to handle parking demand, according to transportation and parking services director Brodie Hamilton. A new 229-space lot just west of Recreation Hall is now open, and improvements to the intersection of La Rue Road and Orchard Park Drive have created a better flow of bike, pedestrian and automobile traffic. The lot adjacent to the California Regional Primate Research Center will be expanded by 140 spaces this fall, and the lot displaced by the Walker Hall replacement project will be replaced this spring by a new lot just west of the Repro Graphics building. To accommodate peak winter demand, attendants will again be available to coordinate a "stack" program parking cars in aisles of already-full lots to expand lot capacity. Daily visitor parking permits have increased from $2 to $3, and parking violation fines have increased from $19.50 to $22. Air travelers can now hop a shuttle to the Sacramento International Airport for $1, with hourly departure from the Memorial Union. Small-plane pilots will be able to gas up 24 hours a day at the University Airport off Hopkins Road when a new self-serve fueling facility is completed this November. The bike path traversing the west and south boundaries of Aggie Village will be completed this winter, connecting the campus with First Street and the Aggie Village commercial property. Bicycles at bargain prices will be available at the campus's biannual bike auction, held Oct. 11 at 9 a.m. behind the Fire/Police Building on Kleiber Hall Drive.