More than 3,000 freshman students arrive to Boone today as they move into their campus residence halls at Appalachian State University.

The new students will move into dorms between 9 a.m. and noon and between 1 and 4 p.m., and additional traffic congestion around town is anticipated as a result. Returning students move into residence halls on Saturday, Aug. 18, and fall semester classes begin Tuesday, Aug. 21.

Susan Davies, associate vice chancellor for enrollment management at ASU, said 950 transfer students will also join ASU this fall, and all told, the university is expected to enroll more than 17,000 students. ASU will take a census on the 10th day of classes that will be released as the official enrollment count.

Last year’s freshman class totaled 2,972, according to the ASU Office of Institutional Research, Assessment and Planning.

In fall 2011, ASU enrolled 17,344 students on its main campus and in distance education courses held at satellite locations, including 15,460 undergraduates and 1,884 graduates. About 1,400 students were enrolled in distance education courses last year.

ASU has a number of events planned to educate new and returning students about safety on and off the campus.

On Monday, Aug. 20, from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m., a program called “Sex Signals” will be offered at I.G. Greer auditorium. The program is “a high energy and interactive show that explores the good, the bad and the ugly of dating and relationships,” according to a description on ASU’s freshman orientation website.

In June, ASU administrators said they planned to implement the “Red Flag Campaign” on campus during the 2012-13 academic year.

The Red Flag Campaign is a public awareness campaign designed to address dating violence and promote the prevention of dating violence on college campuses.

The campaign was created using a bystander intervention strategy, which encourages friends and other campus community members to “say something” when they see warning signs (“red flags”) for dating violence in a friend’s relationship.

In early September, ASU will hold “Safety Week,” a series of events related to personal, psychological, relationship, public and online safety.

“Safety@appstate” is scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 5, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. outdoors on Sanford Mall. The event features representatives from campus, town and county agencies who will provide information about fire, food, bike, animal and personal safety, along with other topics.

The university also works to educate students about living in the Boone community, especially those who reside off campus. On Tuesday, Aug. 28, ASU faculty and staff and community members will visit freshman residence hall rooms and some off-campus apartments from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., providing free gifts and resources on local laws and other need-to-know info.

Susan McCracken, ASU vice chancellor for external affairs, said she spoke with leaders of the Student Government Association Monday about community relations issues.

“We discussed some town/gown issues including the noise ordinance, off-campus living and the town’s skateboard policy,” McCracken said. “They want to find avenues to educate students about the new noise ordinance in effect.”

McCracken said she asked SGA leaders to help fellow students understand the town’s zoning laws and the importance of respecting rules associated with living near the town’s single-family neighborhoods.