The declining retention rates of students are the current focus of community colleges throughout the United States, with two-year community colleges' retention rates dropping significantly. One reason for declining retention may be the lack of meaningful connections students have with faculty. Current literature lacks information about student views regarding student-faculty relations because little to no exploration has been conducted. The problem is the lack of exploration into the students' perceptions regarding relationships building with faculty. The study aimed to investigate students' perceptions and beliefs about how building relationships with faculty influence their persistence in college. Tinto's theory of departure is presented to support the concept of student persistence linked to positive and frequent faculty interactions. Two considerations drive the study. The first consideration includes exploring students' perceptions about the influence faculty have on their desire to stay in college. The second consideration is exploring students' challenges in building relationships with faculty. The research methodology and design were qualitative case study. A purposeful sampling strategy was utilized to select and identify a sample size of 15 students. Instrumentation included interviews and a survey. After the thematic analysis was used to analyze data, four themes emerged to answer the research questions. The themes provided recommendations to college leaders to help faculty become better student advocates by building positive relationships in the academic environment. Participants gave evident characteristics they wished to see from faculty members to help foster a successful educational journey. [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.]