ARTICLE REVIEW: HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION 2

Article Review: History of Higher Education

McCoy, D. L., Luedke, C. L., & Winkle-Wagner, R. (2017). Encouraged or Weeded Out:
Perspectives of Students of Color in the STEM Disciplines on Faculty
Interactions. Journal of College Student Development, 58(5), 657.
Students’ interactions with faculty members have been vital in assisting students to go
through their undergraduate programs. The interactions become even more critical as students
enroll and aspire to join graduate programs. Faculty members serve as role models and guide the
students through the programs and often support research and career. For students of color, they
need the faculty’s support as they navigate educational systems that had historically cut them out.
Some disciplines, such as engineering, science, technology, and mathematics, have few students
of color. The support of faculty members in these disciplines is critical to students. McCoy et al.
(2017) have found evidence showing that students of color experience disparities in their
experience with faculty members with predominantly white institutions. However, students of
color have admitted to getting support from faculty members within historically black
institutions. The author’s purpose was to compare students’ experiences with faculty members in
engineering, science, technology, and mathematics disciplines at a predominantly white
institution (PWI) and a historically black college and university (HBCU) in the same state.
The authors begin by first defining the process of mentoring. Mentoring is the process by
which an individual with more experience supports a protégé or a person with less experience.
The aim is to assist the protégé gain and develop skills and competency in a particular field. The
process of mentoring is essential for undergraduate students and, in particular, students of color.
Mentoring has been found to enhance the transition to higher education, GPA, retention,

ARTICLE REVIEW: HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION 3
graduate student training, and self-efficacy among students of color. Thus, the interaction of
faculty members with students of color and establishing positive relationships among them is
critical in equipping students with norms and the culture of specific academic disciplines and
higher education in general. The author’s found a statistical relationship between Black student’s
satisfaction with college and faculty mentoring.
Students from underrepresented groups such as Latino/Hispanic and Blacks value the
benefits of socializing and interacting with faculty members. Also, discipline-specific norms are
acquired by interacting with faculty members. Such interactions can influence the perspective of
a student on fitting on campus. When students participate in research initiatives, they learn
discipline-specific norms. Participation in such initiatives has been an essential factor that
contributes to the retention of students of color. Research in undergraduate programs can
enhance the aspirations of students of color to pursue graduate education. Some of the reasons
attributed to this phenomenon include the fact that students acquire research experience and
desire to learn more about a certain field or discipline and get attached to an academic
community.
The findings of the research revealed that there exist differences in student-faculty
interactions in PWI and HBCU. Students of color who attended PWI stated that they felt that
faculty members made attempts to weed them out of the institution. Faculty members in these
institutions were hard to reach, did not show interest in mentoring them professionally, and were
not even open to questions. Faculty members in specific disciplines did not offer support to
students. Students felt left out in discussions led by faculty members in undergraduate research
experiences due to nontraditional career goals.

ARTICLE REVIEW: HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION 4
Students of color in HBCU had very different experiences. The students found faculty
members very warm and inviting. They had access to experiences in their undergraduate research
that enhanced their chances of pursuing graduate education and preparing them for better
opportunities in the job market. Students were greatly encouraged to pursue engineering, science,
technology, and mathematics disciplines. Students developed close relationships with faculty
members, which led to an increase in retention, a rise in their GPA, and aroused their interest in
continuing with education in these fields. Faculty members were open to questions. They
encouraged them to enter engineering, science, technology, and mathematics disciplines and
pursue their interests.
Faculty members are poised to serve as mentors and gatekeepers within engineering,
science, technology, and mathematics disciplines. These disciplines are censored and shaped y
faculty members. They have a role to play and can either impede or encourage students’ entry
into these disciplines. They can either enhance racial and ethnic diversity or hinder equal
representation of all groups through their interaction with students. Therefore, to enhance racial
and ethnic diversity in disciplines that have been traditionally inaccessible to students of color,
there is a need for change in how faculty interacts with students. Faculty members must value the
diverse backgrounds of the students they encounter and equitably provide access to learning
materials and opportunities.
The article greatly contributes to the analysis of racial and ethnic diversity in higher
institutions. It sheds light on how race and ethnicity affect student retention in colleges as well as
their interest in continuing with further education. Prior to reading the article, I had beliefs that
racial and ethnic diversity is an issue that can only be addressed through changes in policies by
the government. However, I have come across information that has made me abandon this

ARTICLE REVIEW: HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION 5
viewpoint. First, faculty interactions are crucial to the success of students on campus. Faculty
members play vital roles in creating supportive environments within which students of
underrepresented groups can thrive within the campus. When this support is missing, access to
resources and the success of students is limited. Students of underrepresented groups are
discouraged from continuing with education. Retention rates may decline as some may drop out
when they realize that they are not getting the support that they require to thrive in the campus.
Overall, the issue of racial and ethnic diversity can be addressed. Faculty members need
to provide supportive and equitable educational opportunities to their students. Consequently,
institutions have a role in ensuring that faculty members work to support the entry of students
into all disciplines, depending on their interests and qualifications. Institutions should not watch
as their faculty members impede and deter students from underrepresented groups from entering
certain disciplines due to certain traditional norms within those disciplines. The departmental
culture and student-faculty interactions should be in such a way that every student is supported to
reach their full potential regardless of their racial and ethnic background. Equitable opportunities
are key in ensuring that all disciplines across an institution are racially and ethnically diverse and
that all students are thriving and growing within their fields of research.

ARTICLE REVIEW: HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION 6

References

McCoy, D. L., Luedke, C. L., & Winkle-Wagner, R. (2017). Encouraged or Weeded Out:
Perspectives of Students of Color in the STEM Disciplines on Faculty
Interactions. Journal of College Student Development, 58(5), 657.