But it's so important just to spend time chatting or loitering in the hallway with students. Like money attracts money, a critical mass of female students acts as an excellent recruiting tool. John Birge, dean of the McCormick School of Engineering at Northwestern University, says his school's open house activities for prospective students and parents are heavily weighted with women students. One recent weekend, says Birge, two out of three students involved were female, and parents reacted positively. They are the best salespeople we can find.
Classes loaded with women can also aid retention rates.
The more female students enrolled in a class, the more confident they feel in their major and their career choice. Outside organizations such as the Society of Women Engineers can also foster a supportive environment by sponsoring clubs and functions on and off campus for female students. Some engineering schools say their strong numbers are partially due to plain old luck luck to be part of a university that has no trouble attracting a diverse population. At the University of Notre Dame, for example, the university student population is almost evenly divided between the sexes. John Uhran, associate dean of the College of Engineering.