This paper reviews the research on the effects of differential computer background on the short- and long-range success of minority students, identifies some strategies Glendale Community College (Arizona) has used to encourage minority students' use of computing, specifically computer conferencing, and explains the measures constructed to track institutional progress in providing equal access. The computer conferencing activity of nearly 12,000 community college students over a two-year period is analyzed. Results show that minority enrollment in classes incorporating electronic conferences seems to match or exceed general enrollment demographics of the community college with respect to ethnicity. Ten tables provide data for college demographics compared with electronic conferencing demographics and minority electronic conferencing demographics compared with general electronic conferencing demographics for each of the five semesters studied, according to the following ethnicities: Native American, Asian, Black, Hispanic, and White, or Non-Hispanic. In an attempt to discover which minority groups find which learning environments more engaging, the number of students participating in one environment, Internet Relay Chat (IRC), was analyzed for 15 weeks, and that distribution was compared with the campus population as a whole. Two tables summarize findings on demographic analysis of IRC participants compared with both general college enrollment and electronic conferencing user demographics. Results show that Asian and white students were over represented among IRC users. Minority faculty are discussed as role models, and a table summarizes demographics of the instructional associates, according both to ethnicity and gender. Both Native Americans and women were found to be under-represented. Fifteen tables illustrate findings. The "works cited" section offers a 16-item annotated bibliography. (MAS)