A research guide on student access to the Arizona University System, with studies of retention and persistence, is presented as one working paper in the final report of the Arizona Board of Regents' Task Force on Excellence, Efficiency and Competitiveness. Six topics of discussion, covering areas to be investigated, are as follows: academic preparation (persistence and minority status); familial/peer influence; university community influence; demographic (urban and rural); the future (Hispanic students, Native American students, and Black students); and social factors (economic and cultural). Five methodologies recommended to accomplish these tasks are: (1) selected groups of professional and lay people will meet with Task Force staff members to gather information, comments, and suggestions impinging directly on the areas of concern; (2) literature will be searched to obviate redundancy and unnecessary effort; (3) all data collected will be subjected to statistical analysis; (4) once a body of information is assembled, consultation will be sought with professional personnel, both teaching and staff, as well as nationally known experts in the field; and (5) throughout the above steps, appropriate staff colleagues will be consulted to critically evaluate process, procedures, and results. (SM)