Classes begin on September 18

September 16, 2002

New college opens as classes set to begin; chancellor addresses students

The first day of classes in the 2002-03 school year at UCSC is Wednesday, September 18. Students were scheduled to move into university housing between Thursday, September 12, and Sunday, September 15.

Hundreds of new and returning UCSC students joined Chancellor M.R.C. Greenwood, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Francisco Hernandez, faculty and guests for the Fall Convocation held Sunday in the Upper Quarry Amphitheater. Greenwood spoke on what to expect at UCSC, and Psychology professor Craig Haney gave the faculty keynote speech. Other speakers included Student Union chair Matt Jones, Graduate Student assembly chair Lee Ritscher, Santa Cruz mayor and UCSC alumnus Christopher Krohn, and State Assemblyman Fred Keeley. Photo: Tom Vani

Students entered the quarry in groups by college affiliation cheering for their colleges, followed by administration, faculty and guest speakers. Photo: Ann M. Gibb

See photos of fall move-in and more convocation photos.

Here are some facts and figures about this year's student body, UCSC's newest college, new academic programs the campus is offering, and what the campus is doing to house students:

UCSC's newest college opens:

College Ten--home to 413 students, including 260 freshmen--is opening this fall. UCSC's newest college has an intellectual theme of "social justice and community" and is affiliated with the Division of Social Sciences. But Campbell Leaper, provost of the new college, says College Ten students "come from all majors, including those in humanities, arts, natural sciences, and engineering, as well as social sciences."

The new college's core course, Social Justice and Community: A Writing and Discussion Seminar, will examine current issues related to the college theme. Topics will include poverty, discrimination, immigration, human rights, and environmental degradation.

The college's residence halls are also opening, and students who live there will share a new dining hall with students living in the new College Nine residence halls (see "Housing UCSC Students" section, below). More information on College Ten is available online.

New academic programs for UCSC students:

• Anthropology has added new B.A. concentrations in archaeology, cultural anthropology, and physical anthropology.

• The Baskin School of Engineering is offering new M.S. and Ph.D. programs in electrical engineering.

• In Biological Sciences, there is a new M.A. concentration in ecology, evolution, and behavior.

• Education is offering a new Ph.D. program.

• Language Studies is adding a new B.A. concentration and minor concentration in Ancient Greek, and a new B.A. concentration and minor concentration in Latin.

Enrollment:

UCSC is expecting an opening-day enrollment of approximately 14,250 students. Enrollment totals become official following the third week of instruction.

Of the 14,250 students, approximately 13,000 are expected to be undergraduates; 1,250 are expected to enroll in graduate studies.

Of the 13,000 undergraduates expected to enroll, approximately 4,250 will be new students (3,250 freshmen and 1,000 transfer students).
The 1,000 transfer students, most of whom are coming from the California Community College system, represent a 5 percent increase over last year's incoming transfer students.

These 4,250 new undergraduates were admitted from among 25,425 applicants, a record number for undergraduate admission.

Profile of new freshmen:

Approximately 3,250 of the 4,250 new undergraduates expected will be freshmen, an 8 percent increase over 2001-02.

Of the total number of freshmen expected, a total of 1,276 identified themselves as either African American, American Indian, Asian/Asian American, Chicano, or Latino; of the freshmen enrolled last fall, a total of 1,090 were from those ethnic groups.

The most popular majors among freshmen who have already declared are in the areas of biological sciences (252) and psychology (167). The Jack Baskin School of Engineering, beginning its sixth fall, attracted 232 freshmen who declared in the following majors: computer science (111), computer engineering (65), electrical engineering (28), information systems management (15), and Bioinformatics (13).

Among the freshmen expected to enroll at UCSC this fall are 26 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. This year's freshmen who are Regents Scholars have an average grade-point average of 4.16, average SAT I scores of 1422, and average SAT II scores of 1448. Five other new students, transferring to UCSC this fall, qualified for the same scholarship; they had an average GPA of 4.0. Among new and continuing students, UCSC's student body now includes 186 Regents Scholars.

Housing UCSC students:

UCSC has increased the capacity of its university-sponsored housing by 854 bed spaces since fall of 2001--from 5,363 to 6,217 this fall.

Residence halls at Colleges Nine and Ten are opening this fall for the first time, providing new on-campus housing for 820 students (College Nine, 407; College Ten, 413). This year is the third that the apartments at College Nine will be occupied. That housing is providing accommodations for 305 students.

Included in the total of university-sponsored housing are accommodations for 153 students in the Village, comprised of 17 modular units located in the campus's Lower Quarry; and for 199 students at UCSC Inn & Conference Center (the former Holiday Inn) on Ocean Street near downtown Santa Cruz.

UCSC's total housing capacity also includes 80 students who will occupy 54 apartments in the University Town Center on Pacific Avenue. (An additional 26 bed spaces in the center are reserved for UCSC Extension students enrolled in the English Language International Program.)

In addition to the 6,217 university-sponsored bed spaces, UCSC accommodations include 197 units at the Family Student Housing complex on the west side of campus and 42 spaces in the campus's RV Park.

In all, the campus will be housing approximately 45 percent of its student body, the highest percentage of any UC campus.

In addition to students who will reside in housing described above, UCSC has secured approximately 100 rooms in eight local motels participating in the Slug Housing Partnership Program. In its sixth 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. Apartment-style buildings will be added at Cowell, Stevenson, and Porter Colleges for an overall total of 652 new bed spaces. Occupancy is planned for fall 2004.

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