The Foundations of Excellence in the First Year of College Project was formed in 2002 by the Policy Center on the First Year of College for the purpose of assisting institutions of higher education create a first-year experience for their students that is meaningful and can lead to an increase in retention rates for the institutions. To date, no independent research has been completed to examine the impact the Foundations of Excellence in the First Year of College Project has had on an institution of higher education's first-year student's retention. The focus of this study is to determine the factors that impact an institution of higher education's retention of first-year students after it participates in the Foundations of Excellence in the First Year of College Project. Specifically, I examined the relationships between the Foundation of Excellence in the First Year of College Project's nine (9) Foundational Dimensions and their perceived impact on a student's first-year college experience as evidenced by retention. Furthermore, I tested the hypothesis that institutions of higher education on average experienced change in their reported retention over the amount of time they participated in the Foundations of Excellence Project. I utilized a mixed method, ex post facto research design to inquire if statistical relationships exist between the nine (9) Foundational Dimensions in the Foundations of Excellence in the First Year of College Project and institutions of higher education's retention rates from the first-year to the second-year of college. My sample consists of 51 subjects whose institutions of higher education participated in the Foundations of Excellence Project. I administered a survey containing questions that gathered information regarding the relationship between the nine (9) Foundational Dimensions of the Foundations of Excellence in the First Year of College Project and student retention from the first-year to the second-year of college. A repeated measures Analysis of Variance was applied to the retention data over time. All nine of the Foundational Dimensions in the Foundations of Excellence in the First Year of College Project were perceived as at least somewhat effective on each of the self-reported outcomes. The results show that a combination of the Project's Foundational Dimensions account for a small but significant portion of the overall variance in an institution's retention rates. The results also showed a variance in the rating of each of the Foundational Dimensions on their perceived effect to impact an institution's first-year experience. Lastly, the results showed that while some Foundational Dimensions were rated high on impacting an institution's first-year experience, a few of the Foundational Dimensions were not even mentioned. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]