A student-oriented curriculum approach was developed at Edison Community College to encourage retention and sustain students' interest in classes. The five elements of the program are student tutoring, a tournament, attendance monitoring, relaxation training, and retention goals (STARR). The tutorial component involves study teams of four or five students who utilize a "think-tank" approach to in-class and out-of-class problem solving, and student pairs of "study buddies." The teams and study buddies ensure that students have a strong support network, receive immediate feedback, and get to know each other. The attendance component of STARR involves the use of incentives for perfect attendance, such as giving students who do not miss any classes before a test five extra points on that one test. Students are permitted to make up an absence by attending a lecture on the same material that they missed, and many attend optional lectures for extra help. The relaxation training component was developed to reduce students' anxiety about course work and especially about tests. Special anxiety reduction seminars were prepared to train students in progressive muscle relaxation, proper breathing techniques, and test-taking and study techniques. The final component of STARR is a tournament approach to preparing students for the final examination. Using a college bowl format, teams compete for extra credit points by answering true-false and multiple-choice questions, and applied problems. Studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of the various components of STARR. (GFW)