Majority as Temporary Minority: Examining the Influence of Faculty-Student Relationships on Satisfaction Among White Undergraduates at Historically Black Colleges and Universities

Using a sample of 215 White undergraduates attending HBCUs, this study examined through multilevel regression analyses the impact of faculty-student relationships on satisfaction with college. Faculty-student interactions were positively related to participants' subjective evaluation of their experiences in college, indicating that White undergraduates at HBCUs who engaged faculty frequently and in varied ways were more satisfied than their disengaged or less-engaged peers. Age and academic major also emerged as significant predictors. Taken together, the regression equation accounted for 19% of the variability in satisfaction scores. Implications for future policy and practice are highlighted, as well as recommendations for extending this important line of inquiry on "temporary minorities" in higher education.