A study was conducted in the Virginia Community College System (VCCS) to identify changes in student retention rates since a marketing and retention initiative was undertaken in 1985. The study also sought to determine factors that may have affected retention and colleges that showed exceptionally high, low, or improved retention rates. The enrollment files of the VCCS colleges were examined to identify each individual enrolled in fall quarters between 1985 and 1987, to determine full-/part-time enrollment status for each student, and to tabulate the number of productive grades earned. Enrollment files for the following winter and spring quarters were checked to determine whether the student was still present. Study findings included the following: (1) in 1987-88, 73% of the full-time students enrolled in the fall quarter were still enrolled in the spring quarter; (2) during this year, retention was higher for students enrolled in a degree-granting program (75%), than for those who were not (65%); (3) for the VCCS as a whole, full-time student retention remained nearly constant between 1985-86 and 1987-88, increasing slightly from 72% to 73%; (4) overall, part-time student retention remained fairly constant at 37%; (5) the three-year average retention rate of full-time degree students was 76%, with occupational degree students having a higher retention rate (77%) than university-parallel students (74%); and (6) factors affecting the retention rates of full-time degree students included smaller college size and higher grades, though these factors did not seem to have an effect on part-time non-curricular students' retention. Numerous charts and graphs are provided. (AAC)