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This study examines student-faculty relationships at a small women's college where STEM students rely almost exclusively on faculty members for academic support. Students at comparison schools, including two of similar size, rely primarily on peer study groups. To understand this difference, students and faculty interviews, classroom observations, and a mission statement content analysis were conducted. The authors hypothesize that the institution's mission and small size create a culture of increased faculty access and engagement, both inside and outside the classroom. They argue that this strategic approach could benefit students from a wider demographic and could be adopted advantageously by other institutions.

Cultural integration of students and student population diversity play an important role in training college students, due to growing demand for diversity to solutions to human needs, the advancement of global economy and cultural understanding. This type of cultural integration has resulted in the new normal known as the multicultural classroom. However, studies have shown that multicultural classrooms are associated with low academic achievement due to cultural differences and trust problems within the new culture. As an HBCU, Tuskegee University is a multicultural environment and so is the Chemical Engineering Department. This study combines survey and focus group discussion to access the experiences of international students in the Chemical Engineering Department. The results suggest that while the issues of multicultural classrooms are experienced by internationals, such experiences are different for different students. Also, the students consider such experiences as part of the learning that makes them stronger upon graduation than when they enrolled.

Background: Cocurricular and extracurricular activities benefit precollege students. Yet connections between these activities and academic outcomes in college are mixed or inconclusive. Little is known about how involvement in cocurricular activities is associated specifically with academic engagement in college. Purpose (Hypothesis): The purpose of this study was to understand the connection between cocurricular activities and academic engagement for engineering and computer science undergraduates. We hypothesized that cocurricular activities and engagement are not directly related but are associated with one another through interactions with academic self-efficacy. Design/Method: This study surveyed engineering and computer science students at four different institutions. Data were analyzed using multiple linear regression models to understand the relationships between cocurricular activities and academic engagement. Results: While relationships between cocurricular activities and academic engagement were not significant, interaction effects with academic self-efficacy were significant. Academic cocurricular activities interacted positively with, whereas nonacademic cocurricular activities interacted negatively with, relationships between self-efficacy and academic engagement. Conclusions: Results show that connections between cocurricular involvement and academic engagement not only occur in interactions with self-efficacy, but also depend on the nature of the cocurricular activity. Most students who are active in cocurricular activities report higher levels of engagement than do their nonactive peers for the same levels of self-efficacy.

The article offers information on the College of Engineering at Tuskegee University. The school was founded in 1881 and was formed by a legislative act by the State of Alabama. Featured individual is Booker T. Washington, the university's first president. It notes that the germination of the university's College of Engineering can be traced to the second Morrill Act of 1890.