Perceptions of a sample of professors at Indiana University concerning the competencies of freshman students in the basic skills of reading, writing, mathematics, and study skills were investigated. Interviews were conducted with 77 professors who teach lower division courses. Results were tabulated for the total group and separately for the three academic divisions: humanities, social sciences, and sciences. Reading was the basic skill receiving the highest rating from all professors. Writing and study skills were rated as adequate by fewer than half of the interviewees. Humanities professors tended to give higher ratings to reading, writing, and study skills than did professors in the other two academic divisions. The majority of the professors felt that basic skills have declined in the past five years and they attributed the decline to the lack of preparation at the high school level. Based on the survey results, it is concluded that: most faculty members are in favor of having remedial courses in the basic skills; understanding the main idea was the specific reading skill considered most important to successful achievement; undergraduate students are required to write in classes in all departments and special attention is being directed to improving the quality of students' writing; faculty members are more concerned with students' proficiency in the basic mathematical operations than with their proficiency in algebra and geometry; students' study skills are considered extremely important to success in college; and a sizable proportion of the faculty members consider their students' study skills to be inadequate. (SW)