The purpose of this quantitative, comparative study was to determine the relationship between retention and academic success of students who participated in a College to Career Navigation exploration course and students who did not participate in the course at a rural, community college serving a 14-county area in the Southeast U. S. Archival data were collected from the participating community college's student information system. Other data examined for this study included the student's gender, at-risk status, and age. Retention data of the first-year, full-time students were collected and measured in accordance with the enrollment requirements of the community college's governing board. Data for academic success were collected and measured by student's cumulative final GPA. Chi-square tests of independence and independent sample t tests were used to analyze the relationship of the College to Career Navigation exploration course with outcomes that measured student success. Overall findings from the chi-square tests indicated, that participants of the College to Career Navigation exploration course had significantly higher retention rates than those students who did not participate in the College to Career Navigation exploration course. The independent sample t tests indicated students who participated in the College to Career Navigation exploration course at significantly higher cumulative GPAs than those who did not participate in the course. [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.]