A longitudinal study was undertaken to assess the effect of a one-credit, 8-week freshman seminar on student development and retention. The study sought to measure student outcomes related to knowledge of college resources and services, utilization of academic support services, increases in self-assessed learning skills, increases in students' career maturity, and retention of students from the first to second semester of their freshman year. For 4 years beginning in spring 1992, students in the course and in a control group completed a questionnaire during the first and last weeks of the semester. Results suggest positive effects of seminar participation on all of the measures specified in the project objectives. With respect to student development and integration into the campus culture, students in the seminar scored consistently higher than students in the control group. In addition, while seminar students rated their own learning skills lower on the pretest than control students, they showed greater gains during the course and had posttest ratings that equaled or exceeded control group self-assessments. Students in the seminar were also far more likely to use tutoring and other academic support services than control students. However, while incremental improvements in retention and academic performance were shown by seminar students, they fell short of the project's goals. Includes detailed tables. Contains four references. (TGI)