FIGs is short for Freshmen Interest Group or Focused Interest Group, either of which enrolls a common cohort of students in a small, personal "learning community" by linking general education or other undergraduate courses around a common theme or area of interest. Typically, a Focused Interest Group, designated as FIGS 200, consists of two or three courses taken in conjunction with each other, which examine a common theme in disciplines within or across the humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences. Students are enrolled automatically in each of the courses. Faculty members focus on the common theme while teaching their own courses as discrete classes.
Freshmen Interest Groups, designated as FIGS 100, on the other hand, link general education courses commonly taken by freshmen. These FIGs are identified under the general headings of Humanities and the Arts, Social Sciences, Natural Sciences, and the like. While they typically link LA&S general education courses, they can also include courses from art, music, and theater, as well as courses from other NIU colleges.
Source: NIU Office of Registration and Records, http://www.reg.niu.edu/regrec/courses/figs.shtml
The roster for courses designed by the Office of Registration and Records as part of a FIG (Focused/Freshman Interest Group) is not automatically populated until shortly after the semester begins. Therefore, students names don't appear automatically in the Blackboard Course Gradebook and Roster prior to the start of the semester as is the case in all other Blackboard courses. The rosters for FIG courses in Blackboard are populated by an automatic run of the servers sometime during the first week of the semester. Faculty who do not see students appearing automatically in their Blackboard Course Gradebook prior to the beginning of the semester should check the Registration and Records website to see if their course is part of a FIG.
More details about FIGs are provided at http://www.reg.niu.edu/regrec/courses/figs.shtml.
Additionally, check the following list of FIG course offerings to see if your course(s) are included.
Last Updated: 09/05/2007