An important component of the transition program at Monash University is the development of strategies to combat the problems of student attrition and failure at the earliest possible stage. In 1999 and 2000, the Faculty of Arts took significant steps towards the earlier identification of students at risk of breaching academic progress regulations and more effective intervention at an earlier stage in their academic career. These included encouraging students to identify the causes of their predicaments, bringing to their attention the range of solutions available within the faculty and the university, and offering them a range of academic supports such as mentoring, course advice and referrals to student services. This paper is a study of the results of these initiatives among over 250 undergraduate students first contacted in the middle of 1999. Those results strongly suggest that early identification and especially intervention have a marked impact on retention, improved academic performance, institutional and course commitment, and integration into the university learning environment