Grab a pencil and take notes because school days are here again at Ohio University Southern.

So far, enrollment for the fall quarter that begins today is on pace with last year's figures that exceeded 2,000 students. This continues the trend of

increased enrollment on the Ironton campus.

"At the moment, we are showing a 1 percent increase over this day last year," Dr. Kim Keffer, director of enrollment services, said Friday. "This is not the final enrollment because students can enroll by phone and online over the weekend. Many students will continue to enroll (this) week and for the special interest workshops that come up late this fall."

Keffer is optimistic that the university will again be able to brag of more students hitting the classrooms.

"I would very much like to see a 5 to 7 percent increase. We may still hit that," she said. "… Across the state in higher education, there is a trend of enrollment decrease, but we don't know it that is real or just students waiting until the last minute to register."

Putting the numbers aside, Keffer said she can already feel the excitement building for teachers, staff and students.

"We are all anxious to get going," Keffer said. "… The students are very keyed up. They are excited to come back and see what is new and what is happening."

Several new things are happening that have Keffer, and she believes the students, excited about the new quarter.

The university will host a coffee house series on most Fridays at the Campus & Community building to will feature local musical talent for a bargain price of $3 per person.

Plus, a few new student-driven clubs are in the works as well. The electronic media club has already been approved and others including a student nursing association and a Scrabble club have been proposed, Keffer said.

"We are really trying to increase the opportunities for students to have things to do on campus," she said. "Hopefully, we will have a student activity room soon. The students raised money to purchase a pool table and a ping-pong table. Now we are trying to find the best place for it."

Kevin Manning, 30, of Ashland, Ky., is looking to get back in the swing of things after an extended summer vacation from college - real extended.

"I am really excited. I took a couple of years off after attending ACC, so I am eager to get in," the junior math major said. "It kind of surprised me because I didn't know anything about it, but it looks like a fine institution."

"The people here and the staff are phenomenal. They are better than at any other institution I have been at."

Manning has ample options to compare OUS to since he has attended ACC, Marshall University and the University of Kentucky.

"Being a regional campus, it is part of a big university," Manning said. "But, it is still a small school so you get all the pluses with no downside."

Andrew Sparks, 20, Franklin Furnace, transferred from the New Mexico Military Institute. Excited to get started, the college sophomore said it was the electronic media program that made OUS the choice for him.

"The facility here in electronic media is unbelievable," he said. "They have state-of-the-art equipment that is the best quality out there."

For Sparks, the first day of classes could not come soon enough.

"It is a new start here. It is going to be the start of a career," he said. "… I am ready to roll."