PORTLAND — The University of Oregon’s recent scramble to rustle up housing for incoming freshmen is only the highest-profile example of public colleges bracing for a population boom.

Driven partly by the economy, partly by demographics and partly by new public funding for college scholarships, a larger-than-usual freshman class is expected on state campuses this fall.

At Southwestern Oregon Community College, the board of education decided to freeze tuition and fees, which officials expect to make the South Coast school even more attractive to perspective students. At the college’s first budget committee meeting last month, President Judith Hansen said student enrollment applications to the Coos Bay college, including the Oregon Coast Culinary Institute, were higher than at the same time in previous years.

Officials around the state chalk up the surge at least in part to the extra $50 million lawmakers poured into the state scholarship program known as the Oregon Opportunity Grant.

Dennis Johnson, who heads the Oregon Student Assistance Commission, said that starting this fall, 34,000 students will get state aid, for an average grant of about $2,117 apiece.

That’s a significant boost from the 27,000 who currently get an average of $1,259 and is ahead of estimates, said James Sager, an education adviser to Gov. Ted Kulongoski.

In exchange for increased aid, students must pledge that they will make their own financial contribution. The idea is to reduce high post-graduation debt.

That program is resonating all over the state, but the University of Oregon last fall began offering a sweetener to members of the class of 2012: Lower-income students who meet eligibility levels for the federal Pell grant get comped on their approximately $6,200 in tuition and fees.

Awareness of that offer is still seeping into public consciousness, said Brian Henley, the university’s interim admissions director.

Oregon State University in Corvallis has followed the Eugene school’s lead with a program called “Bridge to Success,” promising to cover tuition and fees for 10 percent of low-income Oregon students.

About half those students could also get grants to cover their books and supplies. But the program wasn’t announced until mid-April, meaning it had less impact on incoming freshman.

Still, Kate Peterson, assistant provost for enrollment management, said Oregon State was “seeing an increase for new freshmen in the fall.”

Traditionally, when the economy slows, college populations swell, she said.

“The opportunity to work, or the availability of funds to do other kinds of experiences seem to be less available,” Peterson said.

That dynamic also can benefit community colleges, particularly those that offer work force training programs in still fast-growing areas, like the nursing program at Mount Hood Community College or the renewable energy technician program at Columbia Gorge Community College in The Dalles.

Kathi Ketcheson, director of institutional research and planning at Portland State, said the university is expecting “strong growth” among both freshmen and graduate students, and added that housing is still available, joking that displaced University of Oregon students are welcome.

Ketcheson and others said part of the growth comes from a population bubble that has swelled high schools for the past few years, and peaked this spring; numbers of college-bound students are expected to level off again by 2010.

Regional universities, too, are seeing an uptick.

At Western Oregon University in Monmouth, freshman housing spots are still available, but late applicants are being told that there’s a chance they could be placed on a waiting list. Eastern Oregon University is expecting a freshman class of about 7 to 10 percent larger.

Admissions officials at Southern Oregon University in Ashland said they hope stepped-up recruiting efforts, including more personal contact with prospective students, will mean more bodies on campus in September. Because admission there is “rolling,” no final numbers will be available until then, said Mark Botoroff, the school’s admissions director.

As for the University of Oregon, Henley said officials will be monitoring closely to see if this year’s increased numbers — 3,800 students strong, a 400-student increase over last year — are a blip or the leading edge of a trend. If it’s the latter, that could push the school to toughen its admissions requirements.

“We have a guaranteed admissions level, but years like this will make us take a look at our level of selectivity, to manage enrollment as best we can,” he said.

On-campus dorms have only been available for about 3,600 students in Eugene, and some of those spots go to upperclassmen. The university has recently struck a deal with an off-campus apartment complex near Autzen Stadium to house some of the overflow, while other single rooms on campus will be converted to doubles.