This paper is based on a study conducted among Asian American students, most of them Vietnamese refugees, at the University of Minnesota between 1980 and 1982. The study focused on the academic performance of students affiliated with the Office of Minority and Special Student Affairs (OMSSA) program, and examined some of the factors that may have influenced their academic progress. Transcripts of 498 students were analyzed to determine retention, and two questionnaires were administered to the students. Results indicate that: (1) between fall 1980 and spring 1982, the retention rate of OMSSA students fell to 74 percent; (2) the students maintained a grade point average of about 2.80; (3) 86 percent of the freshmen and 54 percent of the upperclassmen qualified for financial aid in 1981-82; (4) financial and family problems were the main causes of some of the students' poor academic performance; and (5) positive attitudes toward work were responsible for many of the students' positive performance. The paper concludes that only about 58 percent of the OMSSA students made adequate progress toward graduation, suggesting that as this group moves into the academic mainstream, its members encounter more difficulties and competition from majority students. (GC)