The Freshman Interest Groups (FIGs) arose in response to several events and concerns that occurred concurrently around 1992.
- MU hired a new chancellor, who set a goal of regaining the public's trust by reinvigorating undergraduate education.
- MU chose to become a "selective" institution and thereby agreed to meet two performance standards established by the state's Coordinating Board for Higher Education: (1) a freshman to sophomore retention rate of 85 percent, with all students completing 24 credit hours with a 2.0 GPA or better, and (2) a six-year graduation rate of 65 percent.
- Residence hall occupancy at MU had declined and dissatisfaction with residential living led to few students choosing to return to the halls as sophomores and juniors.
- The public percieved MU as a large, bureaucratic place uninterested in undergraduates.
Development of the FIGs program began with discussions in November of 1994, and the program was implemented in the fall semester of 1995 with 21 FIGs and 225 participants. MU faculty and staff involved in the development of the FIGs program built off of the already- proven sucesses of co-enrollment initiatives at different institutions, taking this concept one step further by assigning co-enrolled students in the FIGs program to the same residence hall floors. The FIGs program at MU is now a key element in the larger context of Learning Communities.
We know from research that two main things influence student learning: meaningful contact with faculty and peer-to-peer learning. Thus, creating programs that provide these and other success factors increases students' satisfaction with and transtion to college. The overall purpose of living-learning communities is to motivate and inspire students to spend time on educaitonally purposeful activities and to invest intentionally and wisely in the time spent "on task" during one's academic career, both in and out of the classroom. When students who have a similar interest, major or goal are co-enrolled in two or three courses and share a residential environment, peer advisor and faculty mentor, their opportunities for success are greatly heightened.
Updated August 22, 2005
Produced by the Department
of Residential Life, Copyright 2001, 2004, 2005
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