In this article the argument is made that student success should be the foundation for college student retention efforts. Utilizing a “black box” approach, together with a theoretical framework derived from expert systems thinking and the application of qualitative research methods, it is shown that the knowledge base and behavioral repertoire of successful students can be identified systematically and used to help students succeed in college. The information is locally derived and locally relevant, thus insuring that successful students can be identified for a given campus. To illustrate the approach, results are presented from a study involving Chicano students in the Southwest.
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