Designed for the community college practitioner who may be considering initiating a student tracking system, this report draws upon selected writings and other sources to examine the potential role of student tracking systems in student outcomes research. The report examines the limited scope of community college longitudinal studies conducted to date, reviews the problems encountered by those who have worked on the development of student tracking systems, and outlines many of the factors to be considered in longitudinally tracking student progress. The report is organized in four parts. Part 1 discusses the challenge of accountability, examining the relationship between matriculation policies and enrollment trends, and advocating research into student flow and progress as a corollary to reform. Program implementation problems are also reviewed in this section. Part 2 reviews selected longitudinal and student flow studies that have been conducted at the national, state, and local levels. Part 3 considers the concept and interpretation of "indicators," data used in longitudinal and non-longitudinal studies as proxy measures for student success. Part 4 examines student tracking systems themselves, suggesting useful models, discussing potential and identified problems, and proposing solutions. The report concludes with two appendixes, the first outlining the components of the Texas Longitudinal Student Tracking and Reporting (LONESTAR) system, and the other outlining a closely related system suggested by a panel of experts convened by the American Association of Community and Junior Colleges. (GFW)