This study, conducted by Regents College (New York), a virtual university founded to serve the needs of adult learners, sought to determine factors associated with student retention in an external degree program. Assessment data for students enrolled in the Regents College undergraduate liberal arts program was derived solely from the student database for cohorts over a time period from July 1988 through June 1998. A wide range of demographic, academic, financial, and administrative variables that might be related to retention were examined. The study found that retention in the liberal arts program was influenced by demographic characteristics such as educational background, ethnicity, gender, military status, and the number and types of credits transferred in by the student. Graduation rates for Regents College bachelor of liberal arts degree seekers were found to be higher than those for nontraditional students nationally. (Contains 14 references.) (CH)