Ranken Technical College, a small, private, non-profit, two-year technical college in St. Louis, developed a plan whereby at-risk students would be flagged, their needs assessed, and programs put into place to meet those needs. The desired result was a higher retention rate, especially among minorities. The following components were found to be essential to the drop-out prevention program: (1) an extended orientation; (2) a freshman survival course; (3) identification of at-risk students; (4) assessment of at-risk students; (5) specific prescriptions for remediation of weaknesses; (6) collaboration among faculty, staff, and administration; (7) immediate, consistent, and on-going feedback among Learning Resource Center specialists, faculty, tutors and students, and, when necessary, administration and staff; (8) the ability to respond immediately to perceived trends; and (9) the flexibility to make ongoing changes in the program itself. The entire program works because the whole college is involved in the effort. A community of relationships and bonds for the students have been created for the students. (RS)