enroll in themed interdisciplinary clusters of UW-Madison classes • small class sizes • dedicated instructors

For advisors

Thank you for helping your students explore and enroll in FIGs. Please follow the steps below to ensure a smooth advising and enrollment process:

  1. Introduce the FIGs. — As you meet with students at SOAR, please talk with them about First-Year Interest Groups. Use the catalog on this website to explore. Note that some FIGs have yellow tags in their description indicating that these are restricted to specific student advising groups. Only students eligible for the FIG’s classes will be allowed to enroll (check placement test scores).
  2. Check open seats. — If a student is interested in a particular FIG and you determine that it is a good fit for them, please consult the real-time advisor dashboard to determine whether space is currently available. We account for seats differently than SIS and Course Search & Enroll, so please rely on our open-seats report.
  3. Request a seat. — When a student wants to enroll in a FIG, have them fill out the Choose your First-Year Interest Group” form during or after their advising session.
  4. Wait lists. — If a FIG is full, students can join its wait list by using the “Choose your First-Year Interest Group” form. FIGs that currently do not have open seats will be marked as “WAITLISTED” within the form. We contact wait-listed students directly when a seat is available for them.
  5. Enroll in classes. —After they are authorized, they will receive an email with detailed enrollment directions.
  6. Check a student’s status (Which FIG did they request? Have they been authroized?), please look at the list of students under your advising unit’s tab at the bottom of the advisor dashboard.

Thank you for helping students find a good fit in a First-Year Interest Group!

“Choose Your First-Year Interest Group” form

Students use this form to request a seat in their preferred FIG after they have met with a SOAR advisor.

Advisor dashboard and open seats report

only open to SOAR advisors • View student statuses by advising unit and by cohort program, plus a real-time view showing how many seats for each FIG are available. Feel free to bookmark it — you’ll use it often.