This study examined whether and how an institution of higher education's emphasis on diversity affects students of color differently from white students. Data, which were drawn from the Cooperative Institutional Research Program, involved 15,600 students who were freshmen in 1985 and were followed up in 1989 and who identified themselves as belonging to one of the following four groups: African American, Mexican American/Chicano, Asian American, or White. Students who reported high levels of satisfaction with college were those who attended racial/cultural awareness workshops and socialized with someone of a different race/ethnic group. Students from all four groups benefited equally from participating in these workshops. Every group of students was positively affected by faculty's use of instructional methodology that included content on ethnic and racial issues, as well as research or writing addressing women, ethnicity, or race. A college's or university's commitment to increasing their numbers of women and minority faculty and students and commitment to creating a diverse multicultural environment and an appreciation for multiculturalism also had a strong effect on students' satisfaction with college. Environmental measures that demonstrated effects on student satisfaction are also analyzed. (Contains 25 references.) (JDD)