In 2017, the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning (IHL) and the Mississippi Community College Board (MCCB) adopted a program developed in 2010 by the National Governors Association titled Complete 2 Compete (C2C). The C2C program was created to combat the disparities in educational attainment and to meet the demand for a more educated workforce. In addition to fulfilling these social and economic needs, the engagement of C2C students also address the problem of declining numbers in traditional students.The majority of C2C students participating at the University of Mississippi (UM) are adult students who face different barriers in their return to higher education than traditional students. These barriers necessitate the review of and changes in student services. To better understand this population, an analysis was conducted of 582 C2C participants who had already acquired some college credit at UM. The purpose of this study is to develop a sustainable program that assists more students to successfully return and complete a degree. The study looked at students' ages, overall earned credits, gender, overall grade point average, ethnicity, number of credits to completion, and existence of a bursar bill prior to enrollment and compared the characteristics of C2C participants who had engaged in the process of completing their degree as compared to those who did not. [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/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]