As students enter their first year of university, they can find it overwhelming navigating the many academic opportunities and pathways available to them. They鈥檙e not only becoming familiar with the structure of university courses and timetables, they鈥檙e also trying to settle into a new social environment and meet new people. And given that first-year classes tend to be larger, some students may find it difficult to connect with classmates, instructors, and even the course material.
That鈥檚 why this fall, to assist in helping students transition to university, 国民彩票 introduced First-Year Interest Groups (FIGs) for students in the Faculties of Science and Arts & Social Sciences.
Through weekly 50-minute sessions, held during the fall term, FIGs offered participants the opportunity to meet in small groups (15 participants maximum) with other first-year students who share similar academic interests.
鈥淢ost science and arts students spend their first year as 鈥榰ndeclared majors,鈥欌�� says Sandra Walde, associate dean, academic in the Faculty of Science. 鈥淭his is a good thing for most students, since it gives them the freedom to explore university offerings, and time to think about their interests and career goals before committing to a major. But it can also lead to them feeling a bit lost, as if they don鈥檛 belong anywhere yet.鈥�
Making connections
Led by senior undergraduate and/or graduate students, the FIGs allow Dal students to discuss some of the ideas coming out of their courses. Dr. Walde says the main goal was to help first-year students start connecting right away 鈥� to potential disciplines, opportunities in their fields of study, Dal faculty members, and to other students.
Courtney Baumgartner (left), a first-year Marine Biology student from Toronto, registered for a聽 FIG to meet people who鈥檝e been through her program.
鈥淚 wanted to meet students in upper-year courses who could advise me in which direction I can take, which courses they would recommend, or other opportunities like the Seaside Program or co-ops,鈥� she says. 鈥淎nd then, of course, to meet other people in first year who are like-minded and also interested in protecting our oceans.鈥�
Learn more: Dal First-Year Interest Groups
Courtney participated in FIGS 0004: The Ocean, one of the聽 Science FIGs that were offered. The others ranged in topic from human health and the brain to systems, patterns and predictions. The seven Arts & Social Sciences FIGs covered such topics as literature and the performing arts, history and myth, and international politics and development.
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