As students wrapped up the first week of classes this semester, many freshmen completed their first Freshman Interest Group proseminars.
About 2,000 freshmen are enrolled in the FIG program, making it one of the largest years in program history, Director of Residential Life Frankie Minor said.
Minor developed the FIG program with Associate Dean of Arts and Science Ted Tarkow in 1994.
The concept was already in place at a few other universities, but Minor and Tarkow wanted to take the idea a step further by incorporating faculty mentors and a shared living experience. In its first year in 1995, MU offered 21 FIGs to 225 students.
This year, freshmen were able to choose from 109 different FIGs. There are 937 more students on campus this year than last year, according to an MU news release. Freshman enrollment also increased by 6.4 percent from the Fall 2011 semester.
“We’re trying to create as many programs as we can based on student interests,” Minor said.
Although a few FIGs were not offered again this year, the program was able to offer some newer, more relevant FIGs to this year’s freshmen, including an ROTC and a social media FIG.
Developments in technology throughout the years have not only affected the types of FIGs offered but have also put a greater emphasis on using such tools during the FIG proseminar classes.
MU has highlighted the availability of such a program to students as a way for freshmen to succeed. Studies have shown FIG students get better grades, have higher retention rates, have higher graduation rates and are more likely to assume leadership roles than those students who did not participate in the program.
“We give students a peer and a faculty mentor that is readily accessible,” Minor said. ”It allows students to create a social network for themselves, and it breaks campus into smaller, more manageable chunks.”
Overall, the program is designed to make the transition to college easier so students can flourish, according to the FIG website.
New FIGs are developed because the program evaluates itself every year through the students and peer advisers who are part of it.
Although there are no plans for major changes to the program in the next few years, overseers of the program will be looking for areas that can be improved, Minor said.
“One of the great things about the program is that we’re constantly evaluating to see what we can do better,” Minor said. “We’re constantly looking for ways to improve, modify and adapt.”
