Concerned about the lack of focus on students' needs for support in order to meet rigorous academic standards at the secondary and postsecondary levels, the Pathways to College Network--a partnership of national organizations and funders working to improve postsecondary opportunities for underserved populations--is undertaking a national initiative to ensure that such student needs are addressed. The initiative will engage policymakers and education leaders in providing academic, social, and financial support as a major strategy to increase the numbers of underserved students graduating from high school college-ready and completing college degrees. As a first step in this effort, Pathways commissioned a paper to focus on one piece of this initiative: an understanding of what it means by "academic and social support" that enables students from economically and educationally disadvantaged backgrounds to succeed in academically rigorous programs. This paper offers a unifying framework in which academic and social support policies and practices go hand-in-hand with increased expectations and student success. It proposes a broad definition of integrated academic and social support that helps all students meet the demands of rigorous academic curricula. To inform policies and practices, the paper also provides examples of effective academic and social support strategies at both the secondary and postsecondary levels. (Contains 36 notes, 5 tables, and 2 footnotes.)