First Year Programs

Carlos Guillen and former FYP FIG Leaders featured in Student Success Publication

November 5, 2020

Relationship-Rich Education: How Human Connections Drive Success in College by Peter Felten (Assistant Provost, Executive Director of the Center for Engaged Learning, and professor of history at Elon University) contains interviews from almost 400 students, faculty, and staff across 29 higher education institutions across the country. This publication looks to explore what makes a college education excellent. Felten finds that "all students learn best in an environment characterized by high expectation and high support..."

Carlos Guillen, Max Chan, and Marium Khan share their personal experience with the FIG Program to show that FIGs are relationship-rich and "align with a core need and desire of first-year students to make friends and develop a sense of belonging on a very big campus" (Felten 112). 

Chan is quoted stating that "'not a lot of college students get this experience. You are trying to find that balance between being their friend, being someone they can come to for support, but also being their instructor" (Felten 111). 

Read more about Relationship-Rich Education: How Human Connections Drive Success in College: Amazon

Learn more about FIGs on the FYP Website: FIGs