The purpose of this qualitative descriptive design study was to explore the perceptions of faculty, staff, and students regarding how academic and social integration affected student retention. The theoretical framework used for this study was Tinto's theory of student integration. The two research questions focused on how faculty, staff, and students perceived academic integration affecting student retention and how faculty, staff, and students perceived social integration affecting student retention. The research questions were answered by employing the purposive criterion sampling technique to select participants, conducting semi-structured individual interviews with four faculty members, four staff members, and four students, and convening a focus group with two faculty members, two staff members, and two students at a small, rural community college in Texas. The researcher applied the MAXQDA software and Braun and Clarke's six phase thematic analysis process to organize code and analyze the data. Four thematic categories emerged: (a) faculty and staff interacting academically with students is effective for increasing student retention; (b) students interacting academically with one another is effective for increasing student retention; (c) faculty and staff interacting socially with students is effective for increasing student retention; and (d) students interacting socially with one another is effective for increasing student retention. The results showed faculty, staff, and students shared the perception that when a faculty member, staff member, or another student engages a student academically or socially, the interaction has a positive effect on the retention of that student. [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.]