It's back to school for more than 23,000 students at Fresno State

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- The fall semester at Fresno State is officially underway. Wednesday morning many of the 23,000 students enrolled headed to class, some for the first time and others returning.

"I am very excited, very happy to be back on campus and just looking forward to the rest of the day as well as the rest of the week," said Junior Hisham Qutob.

"I am taking 18 units," said Junior Elizabeth Rocha Zuniga. "I am not sure how I am going to manage it yet, but I am sure I will do a great job."

Of that group, 6,100 are new to the university and about half of that number are a freshman.

"My biggest advice for freshman is to go to class and to get involved," said sophomore Citlali Palma.

New Provost and Vice President of Academic affairs Saul Jimenez-Sandoval say graduation looks promising for those students.

"We have really good six-year graduation rates and also really good four-year graduation rates and now my focus as provost is to really go for the four-year graduation rates," he said.

Campus facilities are also being improved. Over at the University Center areas are being revamped and modernized. This year the university is investing $116 million dollars in major projects, this includes a continuation of stadium renovations and their new student union.

"We are still finishing our final plans for a new student union, we hope to break ground sometime later this year or early next year," said Vice President of Student Affairs Frank Lamas.

When it comes to parking a slight change has been made for expecting mothers. Near the library, 2-hour free parking has been made available for moms to be. Returning students have some advice for everyone else.

"As somebody who drives to campus, get here early to find a parking spot. You are going to hit the traffic jam for the first two weeks no matter what you do," said Qutob.

"Get here a little bit early so that you can find a parking spot and not feel stressed out before class," said Palma.

Campus transportation is urging students to take advantage of free transportation methods. In Fresno, students can ride the FAX transit for free by swiping their ID cards.

In the South Valley, students can catch a ride to campus on the VLine bus, with a free pass that can be obtained on campus.