The NCHEMS Information About Students (IAS) project has as one of its primary goals the development of procedures and materials to assist institutions of postsecondary education in conducting attrition studies. It was the intent of the IAS project to develop and pilot test a questionnaire and accompanying procedures that would help institutions understand and explain their individual attrition problems and proceed to appropriate corrective action where possible. Toward this goal, four diverse institutions participated in pilot test attrition studies during 1975. In each case, NCHEMS staff and the institutional administrators in charge of the survey worked closely together to resolve problems as they arose as well as to ensure that the questionnaire met the needs of the individual institution. This manual was written as a guide for institutional practitioners to conduct their own attrition studies, and was based on a year of pilot test effort and the successful completion of four attrition studies. (Author)