The relationship between a student's "significant others" and academic persistence or attrition was studied at Spring Arbor College, Michigan, and activities were instituted at the college as a result of study findings. "Significant others" was defined as those who interacted with and influenced the individual's conceptions. A modified form of the Wisconsin Significant Other Battery (Haller and Woelfel, 1972) was administered to 181 of the 279 new 1974 freshmen. Fifty-four percent of the respondents indicated that they had at least one significant other affiliated with the college (student, faculty, staff); 46 percent had none. The average number of significant others for each student was 3.7. Of the 54 respondents who left the college during or at the end of their freshman year, 75 percent had no significant others on campus, while 63 percent of the 137 respondents who persisted into their sophomore year had at least one significant other at the college. Based on these findings, a program incorporating the significant others model was developed. All on-campus activities were reviewed in respect to their facilitation of significant other relationships for the student. Faculty were asked to provide additional time and attention outside the classroom to a few students. Since parents are significant others for many students, they were included in the summer orientation weekend and freshman parents day. Finally, extracurricular activities and admissions were redesigned. (SW)