III

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;
2

•SRES 225 IS

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,
3

•SRES 225 IS

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;
4

•SRES 225 IS

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

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that the

2 people of the United States should celebrate the 35th an3 niversary of the founding of the North Carolina Commu4 nity College System, and all that this great system has

5 done to educate and train the people of North Carolina.

Æ