The connections we establish in college are transformative and redirect our lives to make lasting impacts on others around us and in the world. Student affairs and academic support services can make the difference in whether students drop out, fail academically or succeed in their college and career aspirations and realize a personal vision for their future. This research examines the impact of these connections on student retention in college when controlling for common predictors, and reminds us that retention is a campus-wide effort, with student affairs and academic support services serving critical roles. The article also discusses how a large open-admissions university utilized these services to promote student success.

我们在大学中建立的联系具有变革性，可以改变我们的生活，对我们周围和世界的其他人产生持久的影响。学生事务和学术支持服务可以改变学生是否辍学，学术失败或在大学和职业理想方面取得成功，并实现对未来的个人愿景。这项研究检查了在控制共同预测因素时这些联系对大学留学生的影响，并提醒我们留住是整个校园范围内的工作，学生事务和学术支持服务起着关键作用。本文还讨论了大型开放式录取大学如何利用这些服务来促进学生的成功。