II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1299 

To encourage partnerships between community colleges and 4-year institutions 

of higher education. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 23, 2005 

Ms. CANTWELL introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL

To encourage partnerships between community colleges and 

4-year institutions of higher education.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Community College 

5 Partnership Act of 2005’’. 

6 SEC. 2. COMMUNITY COLLEGE OPPORTUNITY; COLLEGE 

7 PREPARATION PROGRAMS AUTHORIZED. 

8 Subpart 2 of part A of title IV of the Higher Edu9 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a–11 et seq.) is 

10 amended— 
2

•S 1299 IS

1 (1) by redesignating section 407E as section 

2 406E; and 

3 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘CHAPTER 4—COMMUNITY COLLEGE 

5 OPPORTUNITY 

6 ‘‘SEC. 407A. PURPOSE. 

7 ‘‘It is the purpose of this chapter to enhance— 

8 ‘‘(1) the retention of students at community or 

9 technical colleges; 

10 ‘‘(2) the opportunities for students to transfer 

11 to 4-year institutions of higher education and com12 plete baccalaureate degrees; and 

13 ‘‘(3) the preparation of students for high-qual14 ity and high-demand emerging and established occu15 pations. 

16 ‘‘SEC. 407B. ACTIVITIES. 

17 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this chapter: 

18 ‘‘(1) COMMUNITY OR TECHNICAL COLLEGE.—

19 The term ‘community or technical college’ means an 

20 institution of higher education— 

21 ‘‘(A) that admits as regular students, indi22 viduals who are beyond the age of compulsory 

23 school attendance in the State in which the in24 stitution is located and who have the ability to 
3

•S 1299 IS

1 benefit from the training offered by the institu2 tion; 

3 ‘‘(B) that predominately does not provide 

4 an educational program for which it awards a 

5 baccalaureate degree (or an equivalent degree); 

6 ‘‘(C) that— 

7 ‘‘(i) provides an educational program 

8 of not less than 2 years that is acceptable 

9 for full credit toward a baccalaureate de10 gree; or 

11 ‘‘(ii) offers a 2-year program in engi12 neering, mathematics, or the physical or 

13 biological sciences, designed to prepare a 

14 student to work as a technician or at the 

15 semiprofessional level in engineering, sci16 entific, or other technological fields requir17 ing the understanding and application of 

18 basic engineering, scientific, or mathe19 matical principles of knowledge; and 

20 ‘‘(D) that is accredited by a regional ac21 crediting agency or association recognized by 

22 the Secretary under section 496. 

23 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en24 tity’ means— 
4

•S 1299 IS

1 ‘‘(A) a statewide governance or coordi2 nating board with jurisdiction over community 

3 or technical colleges and institutions of higher 

4 education that offer a baccalaureate or 

5 postbaccalaureate degree; 

6 ‘‘(B) a partnership between— 

7 ‘‘(i) a statewide governance or coordi8 nating board with jurisdiction over commu9 nity or technical colleges; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) a statewide governance or coordi11 nating board with jurisdiction over institu12 tions of higher education that offer a bac13 calaureate or postbaccalaureate degree; or 

14 ‘‘(C) a partnership between— 

15 ‘‘(i) 1 or more community or technical 

16 colleges; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) 1 or more institutions of higher 

18 education that offer a baccalaureate or 

19 postbaccalaureate degree which is not 

20 awarded by a college described in clause (i) 

21 with which the institution is partnered. 

22 ‘‘(b) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—From the amounts ap23 propriated under section 407C, the Secretary shall award 

24 not less than 6 and not more than 12 grants to eligible 

25 entities. 
5

•S 1299 IS

1 ‘‘(c) APPLICATIONS.—Any eligible entity that desires 

2 to obtain a grant under this chapter shall submit to the 

3 Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, 

4 and containing such information or assurances as the Sec5 retary may require. 

6 ‘‘(d) AWARDING OF GRANTS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) CRITERIA.—The Secretary shall establish 

8 criteria for awarding grants under this chapter. 

9 ‘‘(2) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this 

10 chapter, the Secretary shall give priority to eligible 

11 entities that demonstrate the capacity to identify 

12 and address systemic problems related to college re13 tention and the transfer of community or technical 

14 college students to institutions of higher education 

15 that offer a baccalaureate or postbaccalaureate de16 gree. 

17 ‘‘(e) DURATION.—A grant under this chapter shall 

18 be awarded for a period of 5 or 6 years, which period shall 

19 include a planning and implementation phase. 

20 ‘‘(f) USE OF FUNDS.—Grants funds awarded under 

21 this chapter shall be used for— 

22 ‘‘(1) the development of policies to expand op23 portunities for community or technical college stu24 dents to earn baccalaureate degrees, including pro25 moting the transfer of academic credits between in-
6

•S 1299 IS

1 stitutions and expanding articulation and guaran2 teed transfer agreements; 

3 ‘‘(2) support services for students participating 

4 in the program, such as tutoring, mentoring, and 

5 academic and personal counseling, as well as any 

6 service that facilitates the transition of students 

7 from a community or technical college to an institu8 tion of higher education that offers a baccalaureate 

9 or postbaccalaureate degree; 

10 ‘‘(3) academic program enhancements at a com11 munity or technical college that result in increas12 ing— 

13 ‘‘(A) the quality of the program offered; 

14 ‘‘(B) the connection to high-quality and 

15 high-demand emerging and established occupa16 tions; and 

17 ‘‘(C) the number of student participants in 

18 a dual degree program offered in conjunction 

19 with an institution of higher education that of20 fers a baccalaureate or postbaccalaureate de21 gree; and 

22 ‘‘(4) programs to identify barriers that inhibit 

23 student transfers. 
7

•S 1299 IS

1 ‘‘(g) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall prescribe 

2 such regulations as may be necessary to carry out this 

3 chapter. 

4 ‘‘SEC. 407C. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

5 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

6 this chapter $70,000,000 for fiscal year 2006 and such 

7 sums as may be necessary for each of the 3 succeeding 

8 fiscal years.’’.

Æ