This research study conducted by the Bureau of Higher Education Opportunity Programs and supported by the Bureau of Research in Higher and Professional Education attempted to gain a longitudinal perspective on the effectiveness of Higher Education Opportunity Programs (HEOP) established in 53 private institutions of higher education aimed to the educationally, economically, and socially disadvantaged. Marking the first large scale attempt of its kind, this study compared measures of academic success in terms of grades, graduation, and retention of two groups of 644 students who attended these institutions prior to 1967 and after HEOP inception in 1970. A Likert-Type Scale questionnaire administered to key officials was designed to gauge the degree of change occurring in the college environment during the 1967-1970 period which could have affected the quality of educational experience for the disadvantaged. External changes were found to be minimal, indicating HEOP as the determining agent. Results indicated higher grade point averages and higher retention and graduation rates for program students despite their shared similarity with non-program students in economic and academic backgrounds. Given the overwhelming positive results, funding of other opportunity programs was highly recommended. Appendices include sample characteristics, demographic data, entrance criteria, performance data, statistics used, instruments, and an annotated bibliography. (AM)

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