Following a brief history of literacy from the dawn of civilization in Egypt to the founding of the community college movement in the United States in 1945-55, this paper describes the Guided Studies Program at Clackamas Community College. The aim of the program is to increase literacy, which is viewed as a means to help students' self improvement by increasing their ability to express desires and opinions coherently and convey feelings about themselves positively. Every student is pretested upon entrance to the college to determine the eligibility for admittance into regular courses. Those students not achieving a minimum score on the American College Test or the Scholastic Aptitude Test, approximately 20-25% of all students, are strongly directed and counseled into the Guided Studies Program. The program consists of three components: a testing phase; counseling, to advise students into a program tailored to meet their individual needs; and a humanities experience which introduces the student to the world of the arts. As a result of this program, the attrition rate for the lower quartile of the student population was reduced by 75%, and students' sense of individual responsibility increased. A discussion of the role of the general academic faculty in maintaining high academic standards, a table outlining indicators used to determine skill deficiency and level-appropriate courses, and a bibliography are included. (MB)