A study was conducted to compare the attrition rates at Vancouver Community College (VCC) with those of other British Columbia two-year institutions; to determine the effects of factors such as program duration and employment outlook on attrition; and to identify ways of minimizing the negative effects of attrition. Outcomes factors were calculated using data obtained from the ongoing survey administered to all discontinuants roughly 4 weeks after their departure from the college. For the 1982-83 to 1984-85 period, 36% of the 7,824 discontinuants surveyed responded. Study findings included the following: (1) most VCC attrition rates were lower than the average for two-year colleges in the United States; (2) employment rates were positively correlated with attrition rates, confirming the influence of the labor market conditions on enrollment; (3) VCC's lower than average unit costs of operation served to discount concerns about the potential cost-contributing effects of attrition at the college, though the reputational costs of discontinuants who left VCC as "dissatisfied customers" was seen as a matter for renewed concern. Attrition data by program is appended. (LAL)