Classes start Monday at Santa Rosa Junior College

Fall classes begin Monday for many of the 28,000 students enrolled at Santa Rosa Junior College.

With the crush of returning students will come packed parking lots and endless circling, especially at the main Santa Rosa campus.

But there are options, paid for in part by a student-approved transportation fee. Local buses are once again free to registered students. And the school is offering a free shuttle service from the downtown parking garage on Seventh Street, which has 300 spaces.

“We’re really encouraging students to use alternative forms of transportation,” President Frank Chong said Friday.

Still, students seemed willing to take their chances on driving to classes. Dozens lined up Friday inside Bailey Hall to pay $30 for new maroon parking permits.

Among them was Whitney Bowers, 21 of Santa Rosa, who is returning this fall to complete an associate degree in administration of justice.

Bowers said finding parking spaces can be a challenge for new students. But it can be done.

“You’ve got to get the timing down,” said Bowers, cradling two new textbooks and standing beside her grandmother. “You learn, though.”

Meanwhile, officials said overall enrollment was comparable to the spring term. Chong said the size of the student population tends to run counter to the general boom-bust cycles of the economy, with numbers dipping as employment opportunities improve.

But judging from the 1,200 students who turned out at a welcome event Thursday on the Santa Rosa campus, interest is strong, Chong said.

A similar event is scheduled from 9 a.m. to ?2 p.m. Saturday at the Petaluma campus.

Enrollment may be in part driven by new classes, such as the drone pilot’s course, which are in response to industry demands.

Registration for fall classes is continuing.

“We’ve never had that many people before,” college spokeswoman Ellen Maremont Silver said of the welcome-day turnout. “We’re all very encouraged.”

In addition to new course offerings and many new faculty members, returning students will be greeted by building renovations.

Burbank Auditorium will be closed as part of a $21 million face- lift, and school officials have brought in a number of portable buildings.

Signs will direct students where to go.

“There will be a little bit of a pardon-our-dust type of thing,” Chong said.

But many students may be too busy to notice.

Brian Conway, 53, of Santa Rosa, who said he is pursuing studies toward a “third career” as a drug and alcohol services provider through CalWORKS, said he was eager to get back to his classes.

“Lovin’ it,” he said Friday as he waited in line for a parking permit. “I got a little bit of a break. I’m looking forward to what I’m going to be doing.”

You can reach Staff Writer Paul Payne at 707-568-5312 or paul.payne@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @ppayne.