PCF3 // Recently, New Zealand government policy has placed a renewed emphasis on students completing courses, by changing the way tertiary institutions are funded. This has resulted in increased importance being placed on this aspect in the administration and teaching of the courses. According to Seidman’s retention formula for student success, early and regular tutor contact makes a significant difference in keeping students motivated and bringing them to the classroom. Nowadays communication technology by itself is not a guarantee of a successful learning experience. It is the way we use this technology, the timing of interactions and an optimal mixture of online tools that makes an impact on student persistence and retention. In this paper we are addressing these issues and providing data to show how effective our approach was.