A record number of freshman applications and the renovation of Gilbert Hall are two contributing factors to an already crowded situation that will require the University to use its class scheduling in an efficient manner next year.
How the renovation and the high number of applications will affect University departments and schools still remains to be seen, but many on campus have different views of what the effects will be.
The University has received close to 8,500 applications for this school year, exceeding last year’s total by almost 500, said Director of Admissions Martha Pitts.
Joe Stone, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, said because of the increase in freshmen next year, the departments in the college will have their work cut out for them.
“I think we’ll do well,” he said. “But it will certainly be a scramble.”
Stone said classes focusing on computer science, math and Spanish will be the hardest hit because they are popular lower-division credits and are filled mostly by freshmen.
He said hiring faculty would help, but there are no funds to do so. To solve that problem, he said, senior graduate students and adjunct professors will be hired on a temporary basis.
Philip Romero, dean of the Charles H. Lundquist College of Business, said the college won’t be too crowded with the greater number of freshmen because it doesn’t accept majors until a student’s second year. But he added that renovations to Gilbert Hall will affect the entire University.
“Every part of the UO has to increase the productivity of its instruction,” he said.

Greg Kerber, assistant dean of the School of Journalism and Communication, said the increase in freshmen will put the limited amount of classroom space in even higher demand. He cited an increase of more than 200 pre-majors, majors, and graduate students in the journalism program in more than a year. He said this may require the school to move classes that are traditionally taught in Allen Hall elsewhere. Incoming freshmen will also have an impact on the faculty, creating an overload for the counselors as well as the amount of grading required in each class.
Despite some predictions of a classroom crunch, James Buch, associate vice president for enrollment services, remains confident the increased number of freshmen will not have a dramatic effect on scheduling.
Buch said his office is working with University departments to slightly alter the schedule next year, which is primarily due to the Gilbert Hall renovation.
He said the change would entail a redistribution of classes on campus, as well as a slight adjustment in the time slots when classes are offered.
Buch said he expects only 200 more freshmen to attend the University, despite the record number of applications. In the fall of 1999, 2,422 freshmen attended the University, and in 2000, more than 2,780 were on campus.
Michael Eyster, director of University Housing, said the applications could mean a high level of occupancy at the residence halls next year.
“We’re hoping that it means we are fully occupied next fall,” he said. “Usually our occupancy is tied into the amount of freshmen on campus.”
This year, he said, the residence halls have a larger number of residents than last year. Currently, he said, there are 2,902 residents living on campus. In spring last year, there were 2,638 people living in on-campus housing.
Eyster said that despite the amount of applications to the University, he is worried the freshmen will not apply to live in the residence halls because of the quality of the halls compared to other schools, as well as other living arrangements.
“I’ve been concerned for quite awhile at the fact that our residence halls are not competitive,” he said.