The Faculty of Public Administration at the University of Twente in Enschede (Netherlands) asked for a course in study skills to improve the passing rates of public administration (PA) students. Interviews with students and a questionnaire about study skills confirmed the need for such a course, but the University's previous experience suggested that existing courses were note adequate. The PROcedure to Promote Effective and efficient Study skills (PROPES) was developed and implemented in 1991. PROPES involves teacher mentoring, early confrontation with study pace (a measure of the number of examinations, weighted by difficulty that a student has to pass, divided by the number he or she must pass to finish in 4 years) changing attitudes, submitting a diagnostic questionnaire, and giving short courses in study skills training. Research results indicate that the PROPES group of 136 students improved their study pace and study effectiveness more than did the equivalent control group. PROPES students improved in experiencing less stress, using knowledge more often, receiving more signals about the learning process, and more often studying with friends. A screening function was partially met by PROPES, in that very high-performing students did not make use of PROPES because they did not need help, and low-performing students would not participate because of lack of motivation. Three figures and five tables present study findings. (SLD)