This research investigated whether or not freshman success courses have an effect on persistence and/or academic achievement of freshman attending two large, urban, less selective WICHE (Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education) institutions, Metropolitan State College of Denver, and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. More specifically, this study set out to analyze the participation in a freshman success course with persistence and academic achievement of nor-traditional freshmen at these WICHE Urban Universities. Finally, the study was also designed to identify the type or types of freshman success course(s) specifically offered at the WICHE Institutions participating in the study; The findings of this study indicated that there were no statistically significant differences in the persistence rates or GPAs between students who participated in a freshman success course and those students who did not. Similarly there were no statistically significant differences in the persistence rates or GPAs between nontraditional students who participated in a freshman success course and those nontraditional students who did not. However, the persistence rates of participants, including non-traditional student participants, were slightly higher, though not significant than those of non-participants. In addition, although no significant differences were found between the GPAs of participants and nor-participants, at either of the institutions in the study, the average GPA, for both sub-groups, was above 2.5 Moreover, interpretation of survey data suggested that the freshman success courses, found in the present study, were designed to foster a sense of community, encourage involvement and promote integration into the social and academic life of their campuses
