FIRST-YEAR INTEREST GROUP
ANNUAL REPORT
Spring 2008
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Background
          The development of the First-Year Interest Groups (FIGs) Program was in response to recommendations that the university develop a first-year seminar experience as one way to improve academic performance, student retention, and multicultural understanding for all students.  The fundamental mission of the program is to enhance first-year student learning through the development of learning communities that foster academic and social connections.  The program attempts to

• Provide diversity education for participating students, in support of Plan 2008;
• Contribute to general education goals and learning;
• Contribute to residential learning, connecting academic pursuits with residence life; and
• Offer integrated learning across a cohort of classes.

            Extensive assessment efforts indicate that the program is accomplishing these goals: participating students have become actively engaged in the intellectual life of the university, have developed connections with faculty members, have formed strong bonds with other students, and have experienced some element of diversity education through FIGs.

            The structure of FIGs emphasizes faculty involvement, curricular integration, and social connections among students. Each FIG enrolls a small group (20) of students co-enrolled in three linked classes, including, in most cases, an ethnic studies course.  Most FIGs are based in residential “neighborhoods,” with some FIGs that offer Honors credit open to all first-year students regardless of where they may be living.  Each FIG is led by a faculty member who teaches the core “synthesizing” class and who integrates appropriate material from the two “linking classes.”  In addition, some FIGs also include service-learning opportunities, extending the out-of-class experiences of students into the surrounding community.

            In the fall of 2001, four pilot FIGs enrolled 75 students. Since then, the program has grown 28 FIGs enrolling 534 students offered in the fall of 2007; 31 FIGs will be offered in the fall of 2008.  In their academic profiles, the Fall 2007 FIGs cohort on average appeared to be less academically prepared than their non-FIGs peers.  The average composite ACT score of this FIGs cohort was 26.9, and 43% graduated in the top ten percent of their high school class;  the average ACT score of the 2007 freshman cohort was 28, and 60% of the cohort graduated in the top ten percent. The FIGs cohort also differed in that the program enrolls a higher percentage of females (65% of FIGs students are females, while 54% of entering freshmen are females) and students of color (students of color comprise 25% of the FIGs cohort, while  the entering freshman class of 2007 included 13.9% students of color).  The program appeals to a wide variety of students: some are enrolled in the Honors Program, others are Chancellor’s Scholars, and still others participate in TRIO or the Academic Advancement Program.  Some see FIGs courses as integral to meeting requirements for their majors, some enroll in FIGs to explore areas of interest, and still others enroll in FIGs primarily as a way to become connected to the campus and to their peers.

 The program is supported by the College of Letters and Science, and most of the FIGs are taught by L&S faculty.  However, one goal of program planners has been to expand campus support of FIGs, and the FIGs Planning Committee actively solicited proposals from faculty outside of L&S.  As a result, in the fall of 2007, two FIGs were led by faculty from the School of Engineering, one from the School of Education, two from Nursing, and one from the School of Pharmacy. These FIGs will all be repeated in the fall of 2008, with the addition of a second FIG led by a faculty member from Education.

Program Assessment
            The FIGs program is assessed and evaluated in different ways for different purposes.  “Formative assessment” measures are in place to obtain information that is used as feedback to improve and fine-tune program processes and procedures.  Information is gathered through faculty focus groups and meetings, student focus groups, student surveys at the beginning and end of the semester, surveys and focus groups of former FIGs students as they prepare to graduate four years later, and also through conversations and meetings with other constituencies, including staff from University Housing, the library, and the Office of the Registrar. Another level of program assessment is a “summative evaluation” that focuses on the profiles and progress of student cohorts.  Specifically, this evaluation process collects, analyzes, and compares the following data for FIGs students and their non-FIG peers:  ACT scores, high school class rank, cumulative grade point averages, performance in selected courses, retention, and graduation.

Assessment Results
            Students and faculty frequently commented on how different their FIGs experiences have been compared with their experiences in other classroom settings. Faculty repeatedly stated that “FIGs students are not like regular UW-Madison students”: their FIGs students rarely if ever missed classes; they were enthusiastic contributors in class discussions; and they performed better on exams and class assignments than other students.  Some FIGs faculty were able to develop collaborations with the instructors teaching the “linking classes,” and for these individuals, the opportunity for interdisciplinary teaching was “unmatchable,” and “the most memorable part of the experience.” Faculty also reported that FIGs gave them opportunities to develop new courses or to revise old ones, to involve students in off-campus research and community service projects, and to develop grant-funded projects for themselves and their graduate students.

            A number of FIGs faculty have been working with staff in the residence halls to plan out-of-class activities.  Picnics, movies, presentations by guest speakers, group retreats, faculty office hours, and evening discussions over dinner were just a few of the activities that faculty planned with the help of residence hall staff, and those occurred just in the first month of the semester.  This higher level of integration of living and learning is largely due to more proactive approach of informing faculty of these types of opportunities.  Faculty have made frequent positive comments about the helpfulness of residence hall staff and about the high level of professionalism exhibited by these partners in the FIGs program.

            Students appreciated FIGs on several levels.  They reported that being part of a FIG eased their transition to university life and that they made close friends more easily. They valued the connections they were able to develop with faculty, and they especially appreciated the out-of-class events that some FIGs professors organized.  One aspect of FIGs at UW-Madison that distinguishes the program from similar efforts at other universities is the emphasis on the “integration” of course content: the professor teaching the core class in a FIG makes a concerted effort to integrate or synthesize material from the two linking classes.  Many students have commented on “the amazing overlap and correlation” when professors were able to integrate course content among the linked classes, and the majority of students found that this was an important aspect of their FIG experience.

            While FIGs students have been enthusiastic in their expressions of satisfaction with the program, their academic achievement demonstrates that the program has been successful in that arena as well.  FIGs students have consistently outperformed their peers semester after semester in terms of cumulative GPA. For example, the Fall 2007 FIGs cohort finished that semester with an average GPA of 3.3, while the average GPA for the freshman cohort was 3.09. Even into the third semester of enrollment, the cumulative GPAs of FIGs students are higher, with 70% maintaining a GPA of 3.0 or higher compared with 61% of the peer group.

            What is especially striking is the difference in the performance of targeted students of color who enrolled in FIGs compared with the performance of their non-FIGs peers.  At the end of the Fall 2007 semester, the average GPA for targeted students who had enrolled in FIGs was 3.0 compared with a GPA of 2.68 for their peers.  Going into their senior years, 56% of targeted students who had been enrolled in FIGs had maintained average GPAs of 3.0 or higher, compared with just 49% of their non-FIGs peers.
           
            Retention rates for FIGs students are slightly higher than for non-FIGs students.
Third semester retention for the Fall 2006 FIGs cohort was 95%, just a little better than the 91% for peer cohort.  Seventh semester retention numbers show more of a difference, with 83% of FIGs students returning compared with 72% of non-FIGs students.  For targeted minority FIGs students, the third semester retention rate was 92% compared with 88% for their non-FIGs peers. The seventh semester (senior year) retention rate for targeted minority FIGs students was 79% compared with 69.8% for their non-FIGs peers.

            Graduation rates have consistently been higher for students who began their freshman year by participating in FIGs. Data provided by the campus office of Academic Planning and Analysis indicates that the four-year graduation rate for the 2001 FIGs cohort was 54.7% (compared with 47% for the peer group); the five-year graduation rate was 84.9% (compared with 75% for the peer group); the six-year graduation rate is 89.9% (compared with 80% for the peer group).  For the 2002 FIGs cohort, the four-year graduation rate was 57.9% (compared with 50.4% for the peer group); the five-year graduation rate was 87.3% (compared with 76% for the peer group).

Conclusions
            On the basis of reports from faculty, satisfaction surveys completed by students, and academic achievement data, the FIGs program is meeting its goals.  Students are connected to a wide range of diversity issues – ethnicity, disability, socio-economic – through FIGs curricula and service learning experiences. Students are bonding with each other and with faculty members, developing a sense of community, and connecting to the campus through their participation in both classroom and out-of-class activities.  Academic achievement is enhanced through study groups, integration of course content, and the development of crucial skills in communication, team building, library use, and critical thinking.

            In addition to its positive effects on students and student achievement, there have been other spin-off benefits of FIGs.  Faculty have also reported that they have benefited from teaching in the FIGs program.  They have enjoyed the enthusiasm of FIGs students and collaborations with their faculty peers.  Some have been awarded research grants based on work that began with their FIGs courses and students.  All have reported an increased appreciation for students and a better understanding of “where our students are coming from and what they need.”  All have said that teaching in FIGs has enhanced their teaching in other courses as well.  The program has also created strong campus partnerships and alliances that include staff from Letters and Science, Housing, Library, the Office of the Registrar, the Office of New Students and Orientation Programs, the Provost’s Office, University Health Services, the Morgridge Center, and faculty and staff from various schools and colleges across campus. 

The Future of FIGs
            The FIGs program is in its infancy and is still evolving.  Program planners have made numerous changes – some subtle, some more obvious – in program offerings, organization, and processes.  As it continues to develop and change, the program faces some important challenges:

• There is a demand for continued program growth; student surveys reveal interest in more FIGs, especially FIGs associated with specific interests (e.g., arts, sciences, communication, community service) and majors (e.g., engineering, business, etc.). Based on the budget for faculty stipends, program planners had set a goal of 30 FIGs; in the fall of 2008, the program will be offering 31 FIGs options.  If the program is to grow much larger, either faculty stipends will have to be reduced or planners need to find more funding to support these efforts.
• While 25% of the Fall 2007 FIGs cohort were minority students, program planners continue to work on ways to encourage the enrollment of more students of color in FIGs.
• Residence life staff and programs have been supportive of FIGs; the partnership between FIGs and Housing is likely to grow stronger as more faculty realize the advantages of utilizing resources available in the residence halls.
• Planners would like to expand the types of FIGs opportunities for more first-year students by involving schools and colleges outside of L&S. 
• Collaborations between FIGs and other programs, such as Honors, AAP, TRIO, SCE, Chancellor’s Scholars, and others, have been established and continue to be strengthened.