During 2011 an intensive (four-day) academic upskilling programme (WaiBoost) was trialled at the University of Waikato for students whose Faculties deemed them to be under-achieving during their first or second year of undergraduate study. The first trial ran in one Faculty before the beginning of ‘A’ semester, while the second was offered later in the year to Maori students in a different Faculty. WaiBoost’s design was informed by research into cohort learning, the nature of academic literacy, and student engagement. In addition, its delivery was characterized by team teaching, practical tasks, student reflection, and group discussion of concepts. Regular followup was conducted after completion of the programme. Students’ affective response to WaiBoost was extremely positive, but perhaps more interesting were the successful academic outcomes. This paper describes the overall successes and challenges of the WaiBoost approach and concludes with recommendations for intensive upskilling programmes of a similar nature.