As many as 761 more students, including 108 more new freshmen, are expected to register next week at the University of California, Davis, than registered last fall. A student body of 23,203 is anticipated, up from last fall's 22,442. Enrollment had been dropping gradually since 1990's record high of 23,898, but this year it has started to grow again. The reduced enrollments were the result of careful planning after several years of higher-than-desired enrollments and after continuing shortfalls in state funding. This year, Gov. Pete Wilson and the Legislature agreed to a four-year funding plan for UC, enabling enrollments to grow again as outlined in UC's stabilization plan. About 108 more new freshmen and 206 more new transfer students likely will register next week; total undergraduate enrollment is expected to rise by 695. Upper-division students are likely to total 60.3 percent of the undergraduate student body in 1995-96, compared to 60.5 percent last year. New graduate students are expected to increase their ranks by 62. About 17 percent of the admitted freshman class are students from underrepresented ethnic groups, compared to 18 percent last year. 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 -- almost 800 sections with 17,000 seats. Departments have finetuned their planning, streamlined majors and, where appropriate, expanded class size. "We're really in good shape," said Fred Wood, associate dean of the College of Letters and Science. "There are a few hot spots but, overall, students are getting the courses they want and advancing toward their degrees." Two traditional problem spots -- introductory chemistry and math -- this year have open seats for first-year students, though some chemistry students may have to wait till winter quarter. That's also the case for students wishing to enroll in English 57. Students electing to study Spanish might choose "simultaneous enrollment" -- enrolling 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: 86.4 percent of freshmen; 79.4 percent of sophomores; 82.6 percent of juniors; and 74.3 percent of seniors. Improvements in the telephone reservation system are enabling students to be swept from waiting lists into high demand classes as seats become available. • Finish in Four. This past year, 151 students participated in this pilot 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, and in what sequence, for completion of majors and for graduation. The graduation rates of students who enter UC Davis as first-year students are among the highest in the University of California. At the same time these rates have climbed, 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. The traditional time to degree is 12 quarters, with three quarters each year. Currently, the average time to degree at UC Davis is 13.2 quarters. Often students become lost in a maze of choices and fail to take the courses they need at the appropriate times, or they experience several false starts. Seeing advisers early and often can help, and that's what the campus encourages through Finish in Four. • Financial aid. Approximately $89 million in undergraduate and $23 million in graduate financial aid is expected to be awarded to approximately 15,000 students -- up from $107 million awarded to 13,424 students last year. Scholarship assistance increased from $9.4 million in 1993-94 to $9.7 million in 1994-95. Grants increased from $32.8 million in 1993-94 to $41 million in 1994-95. Loans grew from $39.7 million in 1993-94 to $48.4 million in 1994-95. Work study funding decreased from $1.9 million to $1.8 million. Aid is reaching students faster since the designation of UC Davis as "a direct lending campus." Several weeks have been shaved from the aid process because the campus now is able to administer loans directly through the federal government without banks as an intermediary. • Housing. Some vacancies still exist in the undergraduate residence halls, but family housing is expected to be full when the quarter begins. • Building construction and renovation. Construction of the life sciences addition to Briggs Hall is on schedule and is expected to be completed in November 1996. This fall, workers are expected to begin putting the exterior skin on the four-story concrete structure that will provide teaching and research laboratories, and support for molecular and cellular biology. The 119,000-square-foot facility will be occupied by the Division of Biological Sciences. Funding for the $31.8 million building project comes mainly from a state bond measure passed by voters that set aside revenue for capital construction and renovation projects. The remainder of the funding will be provided by the UC Office of the President and private donors. The renovation that began on North and South Halls last spring will continue through this academic year. The project is designed to improve the seismic standards and to upgrade the health and safety requirements now mandated for state buildings. Funded by a new student fee specifically targeted to upgrade campus buildings, this improvement project will be completed next June. The $5 million Bainer Hall reconstruction project should be completed this month. The remodeling project was principally designed to improve the heating, ventilation and air conditioning of the 30-year-old building. In addition, laboratory and classroom space was increased and the telecommunications system upgraded. The 1993 completion of Engineering Unit II made it possible for Bainer Hall to undergo the renovation. The project has enabled faculty in biological and agricultural engineering, chemical engineering, and mechanical and aeronautical engineering -- now scattered in several buildings across campus -- to be consolidated within Bainer Hall. Seismic deficiencies found in Wyatt Theatre, Veihmeyer Hall and three water towers will be corrected beginning in winter quarter and concluding by September 1996. Most of the work at Veihmeyer and Wyatt will be on the exterior, minimizing disruption to the buildings' occupants. • Parking and transportation. This year, the campus's parking system, entirely funded by user fees (which again won't increase), should be able to handle parking demand, according to transportation and parking services director Brodie Hamilton. Many lots were repaired and resurfaced over the summer and a 60-space lot at Putah Creek Lodge was created. Assistance is now available after 5:30 p.m. to campus motorists with dead batteries, flat tires, empty gas tanks, or keys locked inside their vehicles. For help, call 769-1230 or 762-9985. New parking permit dispensers that accept currency, coin and credit cards have been installed in major visitor lots. A new compressed natural gas fueling facility will be available in February, enabling more clean-fuel vehicles to be added to the university's automotive fleet. High-security bike racks continue to be installed across campus and bike lockers for inter-city commuters are coming soon to Recreation Hall and Hickey Gym.