First Year Interest Groups

First-Year Interest Groups (FIGs) offer new freshmen and transfer students at College Eight a unique opportunity to become actively involved in a co-curricular experience with other new students who share a common interest. FIGs offer you an opportunity to learn about a topic of interest to you outside your general education courses. In addition, FIGs allow you to meet other new students to make new friends and potential study partners. FIG students also have the opportunity to assume a leadership role in the College Eight community by initiating a group sponsored activity. The activities could take many forms, and could be specifically for the group or inclusive of other College Eight students.

Groups that initiate an activity will be eligible to apply for funding from the college to cover the costs. These funds are subject to budget availability and certain restrictions. A few possibilities:

• Beach Clean Up Day
  
• Voter Registration Drive
  
• Core Course Jeopardy Game
  
• Coffee House Study Session
  
• Guest Speaker
  
• Campus Seep Zone Hike
  
• Public Awareness Campaign

Intersections with the College Eight Theme: Environment and Society

Each of the FIGs offered are broad in scope and will provide opportunities for discussions and activities focused on issues that the students are most interested in. You will have an opportunity to help shape the direction of the group by working with your facilitator to plan the weekly discussion topics and activities.

In addition, the subject matter of each of the groups intersects with the theme of the college in some way, allowing students to bring the theme of the college to life outside of the core course and apply their learning to real world issues and current events. For instance, the Outdoor Adventures group will directly interact with the natural environment in the areas surrounding the UCSC Campus. Alternatively, the Election 2004 group might discuss the environmental policy positions of the candidates for president, while the International Affairs Group may discuss the Kyoto Accord or the environmental impact of projects funded by the World Bank.

Academic Credit Opportunities

Certain FIGS have been approved to allow participants to earn 2 units of academic credit under the course code CLEI 99 f. All FIGS offered for credit will be graded pass/no-pass.

If you choose to enroll in a FIG for credit, there will be academic assignments required to earn the units. Examples of the assignments might include reading, journal writing, or a service project with a reflection paper. The facilitator will explain the specific assignments for your FIG at the first meeting.

Participation Requirements

FIGs are intended to be highly interactive and participatory experiences for students. This necessitates that students who choose to register be willing to participate actively in the weekly discussions, help plan activities, and attend the events sponsored by their FIG.

Registration

Information about FIG registration will be available during the Core Course Orientation meeting. For questions, you can also contact any of the Coordinators for Residential Education.