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The Hip Hop and the Politics of Race FIG, led by instructor Andre Sirois, celebrated its 10th annual Hip Hop Jam this year.
First-Year Interest Groups (FIGs) is the UO’s academic curricular high impact practice program for first-year undergraduate students. The program has more than 40-year history at UO.
FIGs are comprised of a maximum of 20 students who share a unique collaborative academic experience during their first term each fall. Each cohort shares three courses during the term: two core education courses and a First-Year Experience seminar. The format offers FIG students frequent interactions with faculty, provides peer mentorship, and facilitates peer-to-peer learning.
All curriculum and programming centers on four pillars: college knowledge, belonging, well-being, and career exploration.
Skill Building
Every FIG student receives academic and career exploration planning with an embedded academic advisor, acquires valuable college knowledge, and engages in experiential learning.
Through FIG programming, students also receive skill development in library usage, tutoring, research, presentations, writing, critical thinking, and personal reflection.
New skills can serve as a form of cultural capital for students: they are a set of resources that aid in the navigation of the new academic context.
FIGs by the Numbers
Student Feedback
The program surveys all participants annually to help assess its impact on the experience of first-year student and consider programming improvements.This year, almost half of students who enrolled in a FIG said they did so to make connections with others. By the end of fall term.
- 95 percent of FIG students said they made positive peer to peer connections.
- 93 percent of FIG students said found the peer mentor to be a supportive aspect of the program.
- 90 percent of FIG students said they made strong connections to a UO faculty member.
- 62 percent of FIG students said they found their FIG topic interesting.
According to student feedback, the top four benefits of FIGs are:
- Building connections to peers.
- Learning about campus resources.
- Learning about a new or interesting topic.
- Building connections with faculty and peer mentors.
Students in the Remixing Media, Critiquing Culture FIG present their work at the Critical Art Show.