‘Time’ names IUB a 2001 College of the Year

A nurturing environment brings sweet rewards to campus

By Susan Williams

Little did you know.

But the only similarity you’ll find between FIGs on the Indiana University Bloomington campus and those cookies is a fruitfully sweet reward.

In this case, FIGs (short for Freshman Interest Groups) and several other programs implemented over the past few years to support and nurture freshmen through their first year of college, have earned Time magazine’s recognition of Indiana University Bloomington as its 2001 College of the Year for research institutions.

“I am delighted with this recognition from Time,” said IU Bloomington Chancellor Sharon Brehm. “It recognizes our effectiveness in working with first-year students to ensure their success. And it pays well deserved tribute to all of the faculty, staff and students who have worked together to understand the needs of new students and to create appropriate programs and then implement them.”

For a number of years, Time has published in its guidebook The Best College for You, its Colleges of the Year, one in each of four categories—a large research university, a state university awarding master’s degrees, a liberal arts college and a community college. But the magazine’s choices aren’t determined by ranking academic programs or figuring the ratio of adjunct to full-time faculty or counting volumes in the library. Instead, it attempts to discover, as Ellie McGrath, author of the magazine’s Sept. 10 “Welcome, Freshmen!” feature, wrote, “Are the students engaged by their courses? How well do they learn?”

Time sets a specific criterion each year in a different area in order to find schools working to improve undergraduate education. This year’s focus was on programs that help freshmen adjust to college life.

At IU, freshman retention has been a concern for at least 31 years. That’s how long ago the GROUPS Student Support Services program was established to assist minority, first-generation, low-income and disabled students with academic support and financial aid, not to mention plain, old tender, loving care.

Since then, other efforts have been realized, among them FIGS, Faculty and Staff for Student Excellence (FASE) Mentoring, Intensive Freshman Seminar, Thematic Communities, Academic Support Centers and Television Math. (Visit Web sites posted at the end of this story for more information on these programs.)

If that seems like more than enough, it’s because IU has always made an effort to honor its students’ individuality, whether as part of an applicant pool or as a freshman looking at his or her first extended excursion from home, or as someone who pursues an independent major. A number of options allows students a custom fit. What all of the programs have in common, though, are opportunities for students to bond in smaller communities, establish relationships with friendly, understanding mentors—professors, staff and older students—and to find friends who share the same interests and concerns. In other words, they don’t feel so overwhelmed, so like little cookies in a big cookie jar.

To measure success, return to McGrath’s questions. Are students engaged by their courses? How well do they learn? At IU Bloomington, they are at least engaged enough and are learning well enough that the great majority of freshmen are returning for sophomore seasons, 85 percent now compared to 80 percent in 1994. Among African American and Latino students, the percentage now stands at 82 compared to 64 percent in 1994.

Other colleges selected by Time for recognition are: Appalachian State in North Carolina for the state university with master’s degrees category; William Jewell College in Missouri for the liberal arts category; and Seattle Central in Washington for the community college category.

Time asked a panel of higher education experts for initial input for locating exemplary schools for consideration. Among those panelists were IUB’s George Kuh, Chancellor’s Professor and director of the National Survey for Student Engagement. (See Postings, page 15).

Read the Time article:

http://www.time.com/time/2001/coy/story.html

The first FIGS arrived on the IUB campus in 1999: Read these HP archival stories about the development of FIGS and other freshmen retention strategies:

http://www.iuinfo.indiana.edu/homepages/0116/text/FIGS.htm

http://www.iuinfo.indiana.edu/HomePages/092598/text/retention.htm

Read about Groups:

http://www.indiana.edu/~groups/