In 2001, the Louisiana Board of Regents adopted the "Louisiana Master Plan for Public Postsecondary Education: 2001" as a signal for new accountability standards in Louisiana institutions of higher education. The purpose of this study was to examine the power of the academic criteria utilized by the "Master Plan" to predict second year college persistence at regional public, four-year universities in Louisiana. Academic variables from the "Master Plan" included the study were cumulative high school GPA, ACT composite score, percentile class rank, and number of developmental courses taken in the first year of postsecondary enrollment. Demographic variables were ethnicity and gender. Data for the population of 9960 first-time full-time freshmen at regional public four-year universities in Louisiana was collected for the fall 2009 term, and enrollment status in fall 2010 term served as the dependent variable. Using zero-order correlational analysis and logistic regression methods, the researcher found that limited prediction of second year college persistence could be attributed to academic and demographic predictor variables in the study. High school GPA was the only significant academic predictor of second year college persistence. Evidence also suggested that log odds for persistence into the second year of college were higher for Black students than White counterparts when other variables in the model were held constant. Finally, high school GPA was more predictive of college persistence for females than for males. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]