Historical overview of the academic skills center at the University of Wisconsin - La Crosse from Fall 1975 to Spring 1985

Abstract

The historical study of the University of Wisconsin La Crosse's (UW-L) Academic Skills Center's (ASC) birth, development and closing spans an eleven-year period from the fall of 1975 through the spring of 1985. The ASC was created out of a need to reduce the high attrition rate among freshman and sophmore students at UW-L. Through a reallocation of existing programs and personnel, a Center was created to assess and advise academically high-risk students. The ASC grew in the early years through the addition of two federally funded grants: Special Services and Upward Bound. Two events combined to bring about the closing of the ASC: Fiscal shortfall in the state and UW-System, and the movement to upgrade admission requirements at all Systems schools. This upgrading caused a relocation of remediation programs from college and university settings to elementary and secondary schools. The ASC closed in part from this event, and UW-L's unique fiscal problems and needs.