II 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1677

To encourage partnerships between community colleges and 4-year institutions 

of higher education. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 29, 2003

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 2003’’. 

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) is amended—
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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) retention of students at community or 

9 technical colleges; 

10 ‘‘(2) opportunities of students to transfer to 4-

11 year institutions of higher education and complete 

12 baccalaureate degrees; and 

13 ‘‘(3) preparation of students for high-quality 

14 and high-demand emerging and established occupa15 tions. 

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 
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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—
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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 a statewide 

7 governance or coordinating board with jurisdic8 tion over community or technical colleges and a 

9 statewide governance or coordinating board 

10 with jurisdiction over institutions of higher edu11 cation that offer a baccalaureate or 

12 postbaccalaureate degree; or 

13 ‘‘(C) a partnership between—

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

15 colleges; and 

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

17 education that offer a baccalaureate or 

18 postbaccalaureate degree not awarded by 

19 the institutions described in clause (i) with 

20 which it is partnered. 

21 ‘‘(b) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—From the amounts ap22 propriated under section 407C, the Secretary shall award 

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

24 entities. 
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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.—Grants under this chapter shall be 

18 for a period of 5 or 6 years in duration, which period of 

19 time shall include a planning and implementation phase. 

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

21 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-
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1 stitutions and expanding articulation and guaran2 teed transfer agreements; 

3 ‘‘(2) support services to 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; 

9 ‘‘(3) academic program enhancements at a com10 munity or technical college that result in increasing 

11 the quality of the program offered, the connection to 

12 high-quality and high-demand emerging and estab13 lished occupations, and the number of student par14 ticipants in a dual degree program offered in con15 junction with an institution of higher education that 

16 offers a baccalaureate or postbaccalaureate degree; 

17 and 

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

19 student transfers. 

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

21 such regulations as may be necessary to carry out this 

22 chapter. 

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

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

25 this chapter $70,000,000 for fiscal year 2004 and such 
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1 sums as may be necessary for each of the 3 succeeding 

2 fiscal years.’’.

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