After a nearly five-week winter break, MTSU spring semester classes will begin Thursday.

MTSU faculty, staff and administrators will welcome about 23,000 students back to campus for not only their classes but for events, special lectures, athletic competition and all things MTSU.

“For the first day of classes, I would expect enrollment to be about 23,000. It should grow slightly from there,” said Dr. Deb Sells, vice president of student affairs and vice provost for enrollment and academic services. The 14-day census will be submitted to the Tennessee Board of Regents in February.

Final-semester seniors will be working toward graduation on Saturday, May 11.

As usual, MTSU will hold two commencement ceremonies for spring graduates. Students in the College of Graduate Studies, Basic and Applied Sciences, the Jennings A. Jones College of Business and the College of Education will receive their degrees in the 9 a.m. ceremony.

A 2 p.m. ceremony is planned for the College of Behavioral and Health Sciences, Liberal Arts, Mass Communication and the University College. The second ceremony also includes Regents Online Degree Program and Bachelor of University Studies degree candidates. More details, including the speakers for each ceremony, will be available later this semester at http://mtsunews.com/graduation-info.

The university will be closed and no classes will be held on Monday, Jan. 21, for the Martin Luther King holiday. Students and faculty also will be off March 11-17 for spring break. Classes will end Wednesday, May 1; a study day will be held Friday, May 2; and final exams will take place May 3-9.