She'd been in college for only about "four hours" on Monday, and in the space of two morning classes, plus an explanation of a "lab" associated with one of the classes, the freshman from Las Vegas was in the process of asking the "third person" of her morning for directions.

"Everyone has given me perfect directions so far," said the young woman, who, feeling a little self-conscious about all of the way-finding questions around the campus, preferred to be called only by her first name, "Haley." She added with a smile, "I haven't been late to class yet. Everyone has been really helpful."

That seemed to be the order of the day as the academic year began on Monday. First-year students somehow found their way to class. Returning students, faculty and staff offered up pinpoint directions and encouragement.

With the University's fall enrollment expected to top last year's record of 20,898 students, the scenes from Monday's first day weren't unexpected. The walkways were brimming with students. Printed campus maps looked to be just as prevalent as phones. A number of students took advantage of the shade of the tree-lined University Quadrangle to flip open laptops and relax between classes as Frisbees filled the air. By late afternoon a slack line had been strung from one of the Quad's trees to another as a couple of daring students balanced their way, Wallenda-like, over the grass.

Faculty Senate Chair Fred Harris, a professor in the Computer Science and Engineering Department, remembered a much smaller University when he began his career at the University in 1994. Enrollment was a little under 10,000 students then. His department had five professors. Today, it has more than two dozen.

Harris smiled as he recalled last week's New Faculty Orientation event, which was attended by about 75 new faculty.

"I looked at them and told them, 'Twenty-two years ago, I was sitting right where you are sitting now," he said. "It's an exciting time on the campus, particularly if you are new. When I think back to my first day, it feels as if time has flown by."

As students, faculty and staff transition to the new semester, the University will be buzzing with a variety of activities as campus life shifts into high gear, from a late-night pancake feed on the Quad to the Wolf Pack football team's home opener against Cal Poly. To find out more about coming events, go to: http://events.unr.edu/

The key for success with so much to do, from classes to homework to special events, said one veteran student, is to find the right balance between time spent in class and time spent out of class.

"There is so much to do, and that's what college is all about," said Jacob Davis, a senior from Reno majoring in psychology. "Getting involved is very important. You need to be open to experiencing new things."