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FIGs help new students grow
Freshman groups ease
the transition from high
school to the University
By Stefanie Knowlton
lor the Emerald
Most students would agree
with Webster’s that a FIG is “a
small, sweet, pear-shaped fruit."
But contrary to popular belief, a
FIG at the University stands for
“Freshman Interest Group.”
Established 16 years ago, FIGs
are now a common part of the
freshman experience.
Some 1,000 students partici
pate each year in FIGs. Students
can join FIGs that focus on spe
cific interests ranging from reli
FIGS
gion to history to
business.
Jack Bennett,
director and
founder of the
FIG program,
said FIGs share
the goal of “con
necting students
to each other
around an academic theme with
student mentors.”
The program is on a first-come,
first-served basis. But FIG stu
dents are guaranteed enrollment
in a set of core classes that ad
dress their interests. For instance,
students in the “Exploring Italy”
FIG take Italian 101,150 and 199,
and Linguistics 144.
“It’s a way to link students up
with each other for their academ
ic classes” said Marcy Hunt, a
graduate teaching fellow who
helps run the FIG program.
Claire Robertson, now a sopho
Graduation and persistence rates for freshmen
FIG students' graduation and persistence rates are considerably higher
than those of non-FIG students.
FIGs after 4 years*
Non-FIGs after 4 years*
Graduated
Continued
Dropped out
SOURCE: Jack Bennett, director of FIG program
•for freshmen starting fait 1992
Katie Nesse/Emerald
more and communications direc
tor for the ASUO, said she be
lieves the program makes life eas
ier for freshmen.
“I went to my first class in 221
Allen,” said Robertson, who was
in a journalism FIG. “There was
a couple hundred people in
there, and I knew faces and
names ... that was really nice.”
Besides core classes, each FIG
has two student leaders who help
freshmen adjust to college life,
such as setting up e-mail ac
counts, registering for classes and
navigating the campus.
Student leaders also sponsor
study sessions and recreational
activities.
"We encourage the FIG leaders
to throw out ideas and then have
the group formulate what they
want to do,” Hunt said.
The program is tracked
through student evaluations. Sur
vey results reveal that nearly 80
percent of participants believe
FIGS helped them make the tran
sition to college.
FIG participants also have
higher graduation and retention
rates compared with non-FIG
students. Although FIG students
have average SAT scores and
high school GPAs, 45.3 percent
of them graduate within four
years, compared with only 34.7
percent for the University as a
whole.
But students have made one
suggestion for improvement:
more FIGs. Only 45 exist now.
“I was going to join, but the
FIG I wanted to join was full,”
freshman Emily Fenning said.
The University is taking steps
to involve more students. This
year, a FIG for transfer students is
being tried out in an effort to re
tain students.
“If students connect early to
each other, to student mentors
and to faculty, it seems to have a
long-term effect,” Bennett said.
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