This report is an abridged version of work performed for the National Postsecondary Education Cooperative to synthesize the relevant literature and emerging findings related to student success, broadly defined (Kuh and others, 2006). The author's purpose is to provide an informed perspective on policies, programs, and practices that can make a difference to satisfactory student performance in postsecondary education. The monograph is divided into seven sections with an extensive bibliography. The authors take a cumulative, longitudinal view of what matters to student success, recognizing that students do not come to postsecondary education as tabulae rasae. Rather, they are the products of many years of complex interactions with their family of origin and cultural, social, political, and educational environments. Thus, some students more than others are better prepared academically and have greater confidence in their ability to succeed. At the same time, what they do during college--the activities in which they engage and the company they keep--can be the margin of difference as to whether they persist and realize their educational goals. The following questions guided this review: (1) What are the major studies that represent the best work in the area?; (2) What are the major conclusions from these studies?; (3) What key questions remain unanswered?; (4) What are the most promising interventions before college (such as middle school, high school, bridge programs) and during college (for example, safety nets, early warning systems, intrusive advising, required courses, effective pedagogical approaches)?; and (5) Where is more research needed and about which groups of students do practitioners especially need to know more? The authors use a "weight of the evidence" approach, emphasizing findings from high-quality inquiries and conceptual analyses, favoring national or multi-institutional studies over single-institution or state reports. (Contains 1 table, 8 figures,4 exhibits, and 2 notes.)