FIRSTYEAR INTEREST GROUPS

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FIRST-YEAR INTEREST GROUPS

• Welcome to FIGs
• Fall 2009
• We helped each other move forward.
• Emily, 2001 FIGs student

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Some Background

• First-Year interest groups began with a pilot
  group of four FIGs in Fall 2001. The program has
  continued to grow. There are 29 FIGs in Fall
  2008 enrolling about 560 students.
• FIGs offer new students the opportunity to be
  part of unique learning communitiesthat help to
  make a smooth transition to UW-Madison.

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A Learning Community

• Provides students with opportunities to integrate
  learning through intense intellectual and social
  coherence and engagement
• Provides curricular and environmental experiences
  that enhance students ability to connect
  socially and academically with the university
• Creates intentional and substantive interaction
  with peers and faculty

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The Importance of Peers

• A students most important teachers are other
  students.studies show that relationships play a
  significant role in student persistence and
  degree completion, and they are major influences
  on learning and personal development.
• Arthur Chickering, 1994
• Empowering Lifelong Self-Development

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Some characteristics of learning communities

• Incorporate and value diversity
• Share a culture
• Foster internal communication
• Promote caring, trust, and teamwork

• Encourage participation and sharing of leadership
• Foster personal development
• Have links with the outside world

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RESULTS

• Students sharing a common academic and social
  frame of reference in a small community are more
  likely to feel connected to the institution and
  are more likely to succeed.

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SoJust What are FIGs?

• A typical FIG is a learning community of about 20
  first-year students who live near each other in
  the residence halls and co-enroll in three
  courses.
• Each FIG has a theme that connects the courses.
• Each FIG is led by a faculty member who teaches
  the synthesizing course and who integrates
  material from the collateral courses

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Something you should know about FIGs faculty

• Teaching FIGs seminars is something that faculty
  ASK to do.
• FIGs faculty must submit their proposals to the
  FIGs Planning Committee which selects which FIGs
  will be offered each fall.
• FIGs faculty are generally senior professors
  well-known and respected in their fields.
• FIGs faculty have been evaluated highly by their
  students.

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FIG Outcomes

• Higher retention rates
• Higher grade point averages
• Higher levels of academic integration and
  institutional commitment
• More informal interaction with faculty outside of
  class

• Higher levels of interaction with peers
• Higher levels of integration of course
  information
• Greater gains in communication skills
• High student satisfaction, esp. out-of-state
  students and students of color

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Understanding is integration. Alexander
Meiklejohn
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What students said about FIGs

• Because I was in a FIG, I knew people right away
  and wasnt sitting in my room for four months
  before Id meet somebody to talk to. It made my
  transition easier.
• Because everyone else in my FIG was working hard
  on their classes, I did too. Everybody kept each
  other on track.
• All of us in my FIG worked really hard and
  helped each other. And we all did really well.

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What students have found valuable in FIGs

• Integration of academic and intellectual
  components (living/learning community)
• Integration of course content in the
  synthesizing course
• Opportunities for faculty-student interaction
  both in and outside of the classroom
• Connection of a FIG to a specific residence hall
  or neighborhood of halls

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Making the Most of Your FIG Experience

• Get to know and enjoy your classmates
• Get to know the professor teaching the main FIG
  class
• Form study groups in your classes meet on a
  regular basis
• Talk with your group about setting up a Facebook
  page for your FIG.

• Take advantage of the partnerships and resources
  available in your FIG librarians, The Writing
  Center, residence life staff, etc.
• Explore ways to further integrate your learning
  in your FIG classes.

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Questions about your FIG?

• What happens if I decide to drop one of the
  classes in my FIG?
• Obviously we do not want you to do poorly in any
  course. Once classes begin, if you feel you need
  to drop a FIG class, talk with your academic
  advisor first. We do ask that you keep us
  informed as well about any issues that we might
  be able to resolve or at least avoid in the
  future.

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Questions about your FIG?

• Will I be able to be in a FIG in the spring
  semester?
• Enrolling in a FIG is only an option during the
  fall semester of your freshman year. No FIGs are
  available in the spring. However, you and some
  of your FIG partners may want to stay together
  and enroll in at least one course in the spring.
  Talk with your professor or e-mail Greg Smith
  (FIGs Director) to see if that could be arranged.

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Expect to be contacted by us

• FIGs Program Assessment
• Focus groups (in November)
• On-line survey at the end of the fall semester
• Surveys, focus groups, and interviews in your
  senior year

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FIGs Contact Information

• Greg Smith
• FIGs Director
• 413 South Hall
• 263-6504
• glsmith_at_lssaa.wisc.edu

• Kari Fernholz
• FIGs Coordinator
• 415 South Hall
• 262-7375
• klfernho_at_wisc.edu

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Any last questions?Feel free to call or e-mail
us.
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Good luck! Have a great first semester!!