Special Services for the Disadvantaged Students (SSDS) is a federally funded three-year college retention program initiated at a Texas community college. The program's objectives include improving reading and math levels, improving achievement of handicapped students, and increasing skills in English as a second language. To accomplish these objectives, the college provides six professional developmental education instructors. The need for the program was indicated by a 1982 survey, which indicated nine common learning problems: lack of academic skills, poor attitude, low aspirations, cognitive styles, handicapped students, low income, limited English speaking ability, lack of college survival skills, and a lack of counseling. Special services of the program include (1) "success sessions" (consisting of an interview and career and academic needs assessment, a review of testing results, and a prescriptive learning plan); (2) study centers; (3) regular contact between the program's developmental instructors and the participating students' regular teachers; (4) field trips to work sites in the students' major areas of study; and (5) providing a mentor for each student in the program, who gives students individualized academic and emotional support. During its first semester, the program met its assigned objectives with few exceptions. (HTH)