Purpose . The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between communication apprehension and factors of student success for first-semester community college students. Specifically, this study was to determine the relationship between levels of students' communication apprehension as determined by the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension, the PRCA-24, and indicators of student success as measured by GPA, completion of classes, and persistence to enroll in the next semester. Methodology . The PRCA-24 instrument was provided to students during pre-enrollment activities conducted for the fall 1998 semester and during the first few weeks of that semester. This communication apprehension data collected, along with student demographic information, pre-enrollment assessments, GPA, hours attempted and completed, and reenrollment (persistence) information were analyzed. The analyses included bivariate Pearson's correlation, analysis of variance, multiple regression, and discriminant function analysis. Results . The results of the study pointed to variables that indicated student success. One analysis identified variables that predict academic performance as measured by GPA. It was found that (a) completion ratio, (b) age, and (c) gender were significant in explaining approximately 25% of the variance of the academic performance variable. A second analysis identified variables that predicted who would persist and those who would not persist by reenrolling in the subsequent semester. These predictor variables included (a) completion ratio, (b) GPA, and (c) age. Using these variables, the variate accounted for a correct prediction of over 80% of the cases in the sample. There was no indication of a significant relationship between the communication apprehension and any of the academic or demographic variables. This contradicts some studies performed at four-year institutions. Given that this study found no significance for communication apprehension in the questions studied and given the limitations of the sample and other parameters, further studies that take into consideration the activities and processes used by an institution are recommended. The data from this study suggest more complex, yet richer possibilities for encouraging student success. What initially appeared to be inconsistent with previous research may be found to be consistent with documented and documentable intervention strategies important for all students in higher education. This study does offer the possibility that the student support strategies practiced by many community colleges may be addressing issues not previously identified. The community colleges' strategies may have been created to solve a particular problem or need not widely recognized as related to communication apprehension, yet are now serving to ameliorate that same communication apprehension. These practices may have important potential for all institutions of higher education.