In an enrollment decline that was anticipated, the first summer session at UC Davis has about 500 fewer students enrolled this year than the record high last summer, according to Dan Wick, summer session director at UC Davis. "Students no longer pay a flat fee but are being charged according to the number of units they take," says Wick. "The second factor affecting enrollment this year is the decline in the formerly large backlog of graduating seniors." Seniors traditionally take summer courses in larger numbers than students in other class levels in order to accelerate progress toward graduation. For the 3,857 enrolled for summer school at UC Davis, it still is cheaper to take a full load of courses than to pay fees for a quarter, according to Wick. In addition, summer school makes available to students a large number of classes that are over-enrolled during the academic year.