Faculty Support Ideas :

Satisfactory relationships with faculty and staff facilitate the retention of minority students. "Faculty are the models, agents of change, mediators, and translators in the college environment" (Taylor, 1990).

"Faculty and staff must understand behavioral systems as they relate to ethnic minorities in full context, especially noting the specific differences between educational institutions and minority cultural values; the impact of class, ethnicity, and gender on achievement; personal attributes that determine success of minority students; the developmental issues in education; and the organizational culture of the institution" (Taylor, 1990).

The culture and gender of faculty/staff should reflect the diversity of the campus. Students' identification with significant others is important in retention.