Methodology and findings are summarized for a three-year research project undertaken by a consortium of 28 Northern California (Nor Cal) community colleges to identify and help the potential dropouts among full-time, entering freshmen. The report first discusses the creation of the Nor-Cal consortium and then examines each of the three research phases: (1) a descriptive phase (1968-1969), in which the persistence of 28,000 entering students who had completed a biographical questionnaire based on a review of attrition literature was monitored; (2) a predictive research phase (1969-1970), in which an instrument to identify dropout potential was developed on the basis of Phase I findings; and (3) an experimental phase (1970-1971), in which the effectiveness of various techniques used to reduce attrition among identified high-risk students was tested. Results for each phase are summarized. The report concludes with a statistical examination of the validity of the predictor instrument, and a discussion of the techniques employed and the success achieved by each of the colleges in their attempts to aid potential dropouts during the experimental phase. Bibliographies dealing with the Nor Cal project and attrition in general are appended. (JP)