In this article, I describe how policy changes instituted by our State Board of Education prompted the composition faculty at Boise State University to develop a Stretch program. Our goal was to support basic writing students by linking two writing courses (one of which is non-credit-bearing) , thus allowing students to remain with the same classmates and professor for a full year instead of just one semester. I discuss the history and challenges of our Stretch program and detail our assessment of it, which reveals a positive impact on student retention, G.P.A, and writing ability. While there are too many variables to claim that the Stretch program alone is responsible for the positive outcomes, research shows that increased student-faculty interaction, a significant feature of the Stretch program, does reinforce student learning. We are using evidence of this research and our assessment to develop the program and advance the argument that students should receive full credit for both semesters of the Stretch sequence. (Contains 2 notes.)