New frosh may pick FIGs
Nurturing newcomers on campus, academically and socially, will foster
both collegiality and retention
By Susan Voelkel
If you give a fig about what's going on at the Indiana University
Bloomington campus, you'll want to know that 400 "FIGs" are expected to
be enrolling at IUB next August. And one of the least concerns of FIGs
director Sarah Westfall is the laughter and gibes the name will bring. She
knows the acronym is perfect for teasers.
But the FIGs (Freshmen Interest Groups) program is no joke. It is an
energetic program designed to help incoming freshmen adjust quickly and
easily to their new academic and social environment.
Students, in groups of 20, will live in close proximity and attend classes
together. The program, which takes advantage of the residential nature of
IUB, will establish student clusters virtually throughout university
undergraduate housing. The environment will encourage group activities
and studying together.
The students will be self-selected. All incoming freshmen will soon be
given a chance to apply to participate in FIGs next semester. It's a way of
answering freshmen's needs for a little cushioning in the transition from
high school to higher education. Not only will the students be living in
close proximity, but students in each cluster will take three courses
together, the courses themselves a cluster. Each FIG will be organized
around a common topic, e.g., science, history, fine arts. These focus
themes will be fairly broad. Other students will be in each class so the
FIGs will not be isolated.
Each FIG group will also have an upperclass peer adviser (PA) who will
live in the residence hall and give a one-credit seminar designed to link
the students to the academic, cultural and social aspects of campus life.
The peer adviser will be both mentor and friend. The PAs will get special
training this spring and in the fall to prepare them for their special roles.
They will work with staff from Residential Programs and Services to help
the FIGs adjust. One of the important goals of the program is student
retention.
Faculty members have been asked to indicate their interest in the FIGs
program. They can do so by agreeing to have a FIG group in one of their
classes, or more actively, they can, with colleagues in other departments,
suggest and develop a three-course FIG unit. Westfall said the faculty
interest and response has been good.
FIGs is funded by the Lilly Endowment, which is actively engaged in
encouraging institutions of higher education to improve their student
retention and graduation rates.
Westfall
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The logistics of the program are stunning, Westfall indicated, but having
faced them, she is enthusiastic about the prospects for success. Some of
the logistical challenges involve choosing three different courses which
are offered at different times and choosing topics which will fill
graduation requirements in all fields of endeavor. Several other
universities have similar programs, including the universities of
Washington, Oregon and Missouri. Westfall is familiar with the problems
they have faced and solved.
Westfall is already established in Maxwell Hall, and with assistance from
Matt Brim, a doctoral student in English, is well along in making plans for
the initial FIGs. Westfall has master's and doctoral degrees in higher
education from IU. A graduate of DePauw University, she has more than a
decade of experience in teaching, program planning and administration at
several institutions including Carleton College, Ohio University, Ivy Tech
State College and IU.
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