Freshman Interest Groups: Creating Seamless Learning Communities to Enhance Student Success

In 1983 the National Commission on Excellence in Education’s A Nation at Risk began a call for reform in secondary and higher education. This report claimed that America’s education was “being eroded by a rising tide of mediocrity that threatens our very future as a Nation and a people.” 1 . Several related reports followed. Namely, the Wingspread Group 2 and the Kellogg Commission 3 both charged higher education to redesign the undergraduate experience to better prepare America’s citizens for the 21 st century. One area that continues to be of concern is the decline of science, math, and engineering (SME) students. “Undergraduate engineering enrollment declined from a high of 441,205 students in 1983 to 356,177 students in 1996, representing a 19 percent reduction.” 4 Furthermore, the attrition rate for engineering students remains high. An estimated 35% of first-year engineering students change their major before the start of their sophomore year. 5 While many in academia are quick to blame poor academic preparation in secondary education for the difficulties that students face in these fields, Seymour and Hewitt found that a loss of interest in the sciences and poor teaching by SME faculty were major concerns for both students who persisted in the field and those who changed academic majors 6 . In his meta-analysis, Daempfle came to a similar conclusion and described the classroom experiences of SME students as “chilly.” 7 Seymour and Hewitt suggest that the best way to increase the retention of students in SME fields is to “improve the quality of the learning experience for all students— including those non-science majors who wish to study science and mathematics as part of their overall education.” 8 They suggest that institutions focus their efforts on teaching pedagogy,