Mainstreamed academic assistance and enrichment for all students: The historical origins of Learning Assistance Centers

Abstract

Learning Assistance Centers (LACs) have become one of the most widely adopted approaches for providing academic support and enrichment for all students enrolled at a postsecondary institution. LACs were a natural product of historical forces influencing the college environment such as changes in federal policies, increases in federal economic resources, rapidly increasing enrollment, increased diversity of the student body, and mutually supportive alliances with other campus entities. Understanding the external and internal forces that helped to create LACs can also provide insight into new venues for transformation of them to meet future needs.