It is the first week of fall classes for the University of Arkansas, and the state's flagship school expects record enrollment, spokesperson John Thomas told Axios.

By the numbers: The university saw an all-time high of 32,140 students in fall 2023, including undergraduate, graduate and law students. The numbers for this fall won't be available until the 11th day of classes, but officials expect even larger undergraduate and overall enrollment numbers, plus its second-largest freshman class.

• The largest freshman class was in 2022, with about 7,100 students.

State of play: The 6,200 on-campus beds are not enough to house all students who want to live there, so the university has contracts with off-campus apartment complexes, Thomas said in an email.

• About 1,200 students will have university housing contracts but live at The Cardinal, The Locale, The Marshall and College Town Fayetteville.
• Freshmen are required to live on campus, with some exceptions — like living nearby with parents.

What's next: The U of A will spend the entire academic year designing two new dormitories to be constructed in the parking lot north of Hotz Hall and the open space south of the Maple Hill communities.

• The board of trustees in May approved the projects and expects one of the residence halls to cost $127 million to $135 million, and the other between $117 million and $129 million, the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported.

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At least eight Arkansas schools in five districts will offer Advanced Placement African American studies this school year, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports.

Why it matters: In the past, conservative lawmakers around the country have expressed outrage over the curriculum, claiming it teaches critical race theory, a college-level framework that's often conflated with general teachings on systemic racism.

• Last school year, it wasn't clear if the course complied with Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders' executive order banning critical race theory and "indoctrination" in schools, but it's now been placed back onto the state's code-management system.

State of play: The 2023-24 school year was the course's second pilot year in the U.S. The College Board, which developed the curriculum, made revisions in the wake of critiques and released its revised framework in December. It added a number of new sources and sections, while removing or merging others, the Democrat-Gazette reports.

• Some Arkansas schools offered the course last year, but students didn't get credit since it was still being reviewed by the state Department of Education.

Context: AP African American studies examines topics "from early African kingdoms to the ongoing challenges and achievements of the contemporary moment," a course description reads.

Between the lines: Schools in central and northeast Arkansas offering the class include: Little Rock Central High School; North Little Rock High School; North Little Rock Center of Excellence; The Academies at Jonesboro High School; Jacksonville High School and eStem High School; Parkview Arts and Science Magnet High School; and Hall-West High School, per the Democrat-Gazette.

The bottom line: Since the course has been added back to the code-management system, students will be able to earn credits toward graduation.

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💵 Bella Vista Historical Museum is looking to double in size through a $2 million expansion project. (Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)

🍺 Fayetteville Falltoberfest will return for its second year Sept. 29, noon-6pm, with music, beer and food. (Fayetteville Flyer)

✈️ Delta Airlines will soon offer nonstop service from Northwest Arkansas National Airport to Salt Lake City and Detroit. (5News)

The Fayetteville City Council meets tonight. Here's a quick preview of what's up for action:

The council plans to vote on:

• Issuing $15 million in bonds for street and park improvements. This is part of the $226 million bond issue voters approved in 2019.
• An $111,858 contract with Raftelis Financial Consultants to study the city's recycling and trash-collection fees to determine whether the city should increase rates.

If you go: 5:30pm at City Hall or online.

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Fayetteville made a fairly elite list, landing No. 10 on Outside magazine's "10 Best Bike Towns in America."

🏅 Why it matters: Outside is the gold-standard publication for anyone who ventures outdoors.

State of play: The magazine focused on towns with populations less than 100,000, and used data from People for Bikes and the League of American Bicyclists.

🧮 By the numbers: Fayetteville has a People for Bikes score of 50 and gold status with the league.

• Outside says there are 50 miles of paved trails inside Fayetteville and a total of 154 pathways.
• The story also notes it connects to the Razorback Regional Greenway, which runs about 40 miles from Kessler Mountain to Bella Vista.

🔎 Zoom out: Other cities included Park City, Utah (No. 6); Aspen and Crested Butte, Colorado (Nos. 1 and 4); and Jackson, Wyoming (No. 3).

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