A nationwide study was conducted to examine how U.S. colleges and universities organize, staff, and operate their various programs to meet the needs of the low-achieving student and to document the extensive literacy problem facing all institutions of higher education. Every two- and four-year college in the country was surveyed, and 58% (N=1,452) responded. Selected findings included the following: (1) only 160 institutions reported that they had no basic skills programs, courses, or alternatives for meeting literacy needs; (2) public institutions and larger colleges were more likely to respond to low-achieving students; (3) basic skills courses were the most typical response to low-achieving students; (4) academic officers were generally responsible for policies regarding the evaluation of student assessment and success; (5) student follow-up policies existed only to a limited extent in all reporting institutions; (6) peer counseling was not well accepted among the respondents; (7) more than 50% of the institutions offered orientation programs for low-achieving students; (8) the most common retention strategies included orientation programs, special services for low-achieving students, and institutional self-study; and (9) respondents reported plans to improve programs, though they projected staff reductions in some areas. (LAL)