September 18, 2000 Students begin moving into campus housing at UC Santa Cruz First day of instruction is Wednesday, September 20 By Jim Burns The first day of classes in the 2000-01 school year at UC Santa Cruz is Wednesday, September 20. Students began moving into university housing on Thursday, September 14, and were scheduled to continue doing so through Saturday, September 16. Here are some facts and figures about this year's student body, what the campus is doing to house students, and the new academic programs the campus is offering: Enrollment: UCSC is expecting an opening-day enrollment of approximately 11,900 students, 598 more students than were officially enrolled last fall (11,302). Enrollment totals become official following the third week of instruction. Of the 11,900 students, approximately 10,800 are expected to be undergraduates; 1,100 are expected to enroll in graduate studies. Of the undergraduates expected to enroll, approximately 3,900 will be new students (freshmen and transfer students). These 3,900 new undergraduates were admitted from among 20,624 applicants, a record number for undergraduate admission. Profile of New Freshmen: Approximately 2,970 of the 3,900 new undergraduates expected will be freshmen. Of the total number of freshmen expected, 1,049 identified themselves as African American, Chicano, Latino, American Indian, or Asian/Asian American, a 30 percent increase in the total from those ethnic groups last fall. The two most popular majors among freshmen who have already declared are biology (310) and psychology (206). The Jack Baskin School of Engineering, beginning its fourth fall, attracted 243 freshmen who declared in the following majors: Computer Science (153), Computer Engineering (65), Electrical Engineering (16), and Information Systems Management (9). Among the freshmen expected to enroll at UCSC this fall are 44 Regents Scholars. Among the most academically accomplished high school graduates, these students will receive UC's most prestigious scholarship, which covers all university fees for four years. The number of Regents Scholars who have accepted UCSC's offer to enroll has nearly tripled since 1995, when 16 students enrolled. This year's Regents Scholars have an average grade-point average of 4.2 and average SAT scores of 1406. Eleven other new students, transferring to UCSC this fall, qualified for the same scholarship; among new and continuing students, UCSC's student body now includes 191 Regents Scholars. Housing UCSC Students: To help offset a shortage of rental housing in the surrounding community, UCSC has increased its undergraduate housing capacity by 915 bed spaces in the past three years--from 4,233 in fall 1997 to 5,148 this fall. In addition, on-campus housing includes accommodations for 82 graduate students in the campus's Graduate Student Apartments near Kresge College, apartments for approximately 250 students in Family Student Housing, and space for 50 students in the campus's RV Park. This year is the first that new apartments at College Nine will be occupied. The new housing is providing accommodations for 315 students. Off campus, UCSC has leased a block of rooms (53) from the Holiday Inn on Ocean Street, housing 83 students in what is called the "UCSC Inn." UCSC's total housing capacity also includes 86 students who will occupy 54 apartments in the University Town Center on Pacific Avenue. (An additional 20 bed spaces in the center are reserved for UCSC Extension students enrolled in the English Language International Program.) In all, the campus will be housing 44 percent of its student body in university-sponsored housing, the highest percentage of any UC campus. In addition to students who will reside in university-sponsored housing, UCSC has secured 166 rooms in 13 local motels participating in the Slug Housing Partnership Program. In its fourth year, this program links students with local motels, which rent rooms to students on a monthly basis during the academic year (when there is less tourist demand for rooms). UCSC is continuing to build housing for students this year: some 400 new bed spaces are expected to be available next fall with the opening of the College Nine residence halls; College Ten residence halls, also providing housing for 400, will open a year later, in fall 2002. The Village, which had provided modular housing for students on the Colleges Nine and Ten site, is also expected to reopen next fall in the Lower Quarry area of the campus, providing housing for 153 students. New Programs for UCSC Students: The Anthropology Department has added Ph.D. concentrations in Archaeology and Physical Anthropology. The Biology Department has split into two departments: the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; and the Department of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology. The undergraduate curriculum and the various biology majors, including a new Ecology and Evolution major, will be administered jointly by the two departments. The Earth Sciences Department has added a Ph.D. concentration in Geochemistry. Electrical Engineering has attained departmental status and has a bachelor's program. Environmental Toxicology has attained departmental status, with M.S. and Ph.D. programs. The History Department is administering a new interdisciplinary undergraduate major and minor in Classical Studies. The Literature Department is administering a new interdisciplinary undergraduate minor in Jewish Studies. The Music Department has established a new undergraduate minor in jazz. The Philosophy Department has established new master's and Ph.D. programs. The Writing Program is offering a new undergraduate minor in Communication and Rhetoric. Return to Front Page