[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 225 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 225

 Expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the 35th anniversary of 
      the founding of the North Carolina Community College System.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 7, 1998

   Mr. Faircloth (for himself and Mr. Helms) submitted the following 
    resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the 35th anniversary of 
      the founding of the North Carolina Community College System.

Whereas the General Assembly of North Carolina adopted the first Community 
        College Act and provided funding for community colleges in 1957;
Whereas Governor Terry Sanford appointed a Governor's Commission on Education 
        Beyond the High School in 1962, that brought about the unifying of 
        industrial education centers and community colleges into 1 system;
Whereas the General Assembly of North Carolina enacted legislation in 1963 
        establishing a State Department of Community Colleges, under the State 
        Board of Education;
Whereas in the early 1970's, the growth rate of community colleges exceeded 10 
        percent annually, and in 1974 the growth rate reached 33 percent;
Whereas the General Assembly of North Carolina reestablished the State 
        Department of Community Colleges in 1979, and made the department 
        independent of the State Board of Education, effective on January 1, 
        1981;
Whereas in 1983, the North Carolina Community College System celebrated the 
        system's 20th anniversary, having emerged as the Nation's third largest 
        State network of community colleges;
Whereas the North Carolina Community College System began with 6 community 
        colleges and has grown to include 59 post-high school learning 
        institutions;
Whereas in 1997 Congress passed the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 that established 
        the Hope Scholarship Credits which provided a $1,500 tax credit for 
        community college students to help defray the cost of their education, 
        thus allowing many more students the opportunity to attend classes;
Whereas by attracting more students to community colleges with the Hope 
        Scholarship Credits, a larger number of students are being taught 
        valuable job skills;
Whereas by improving the training and skills of our Nation's workers in 
        community colleges, our Nation is creating better jobs in manufacturing 
        and technology throughout the United States, thus keeping our Nation 
        competitive in the global marketplace;
Whereas by recruiting businesses to locate or expand their operations in North 
        Carolina with the promise that North Carolina community colleges will 
        train their workforce, hundreds of thousands of jobs in North Carolina 
        have been created;
Whereas 1 out of every 6 adults enrolls at a community college each year;
Whereas enrollment in community colleges is expected to exceed 800,000 students 
        by the end of the year 2000;
Whereas community colleges train 95 percent of North Carolina's firefighters and 
        more than 80 percent of North Carolina's law enforcement officers;
Whereas basic law enforcement training students from community colleges show a 
        98 percent passing rate on North Carolina licensing and certification 
        exams;
Whereas community colleges educate 65 percent of North Carolina's registered 
        nurses, and since 1990, community college nursing graduates have 
        achieved a nearly 95 percent passing rate on the North Carolina 
        licensure exam;
Whereas the North Carolina Community College System has created a world-class 
        workforce, with almost 297,000 adults trained in 1997 through 
        occupational extension classes and in-plant training courses;
Whereas The Wall Street Journal, the Associated Press, Business Week magazine, 
        and Fortune magazine all recognized the excellent business and industry 
        services in the North Carolina community colleges in 1997;
Whereas North Carolina's community colleges confer 1 out of every 5 of North 
        Carolina's high school diplomas;
Whereas more than 127,000 adults in North Carolina enroll annually in various 
        basic skills programs in community colleges;
Whereas nearly 13,000 literacy classes are offered annually by North Carolina 
        community colleges at approximately 2,000 community sites; and
Whereas more than 13,600 of North Carolina's community college students 
        increased their income by millions of dollars last year and saved North 
        Carolina $450,000 in welfare payments: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that the people of the 
United States should celebrate the 35th anniversary of the founding of 
the North Carolina Community College System, and all that this great 
system has done to educate and train the people of North Carolina.
                                 <all>