Whereas the first public community college, known today as Joliet Junior College in Illinois, opened its doors to 6 students in 1901 as an experiment to accommodate those who wanted to pursue a college education without leaving their community;

Whereas the term community college was popularized by the President’s Commission on Higher Education in 1947 in recognition of the community-centered nature of the emerging sector of institutions;

Whereas local community and educational leaders throughout the Nation developed community colleges at a dramatic pace over several decades to meet their people’s needs for educational and economic opportunity;

Whereas today 1,024 community colleges, including 924 public, 36 Tribal, and 64 independent colleges, serve 10,500,000 credit and noncredit students;

Whereas recent enrollment data show that community colleges are leading postsecondary growth, with enrollment increasing by 4 percent, demonstrating continued progress in student access and participation;

Whereas public community colleges are an affordable option charging average annual tuition and fees for in-district students of $4,050, have an average student age of 27, and serve students who often are working, low-income, parents, veterans, or the first in their family to go to college;

Whereas community colleges are the primary educational institution serving workforce development needs in the United States and are responding to current economic conditions by educating professionals in fields ranging from the semiconductor and construction industries to nursing and other health care professions;

Whereas 49 percent of all students who completed a bachelor’s degree at a four-year institution in the 2015–2016 academic year had been enrolled at a two-year public institution in the previous decade;

Whereas the median distance from a student’s home to a community college was only 10 miles as of 2023;

Whereas 82 percent of public high schools offer dual enrollment programs, allowing their students to take college classes, usually at their local community college, offering opportunity to save time and money in college and jumpstart career exploration;

Whereas alumni of America’s community colleges generated $898,500,000,000 in added income to the national economy in fiscal year 2020, or 4.1 percent of the total gross domestic product;

Whereas every dollar of public funding for community colleges returns $6.80 in tax revenue generated; and

Whereas celebrating Community College Month in April provides the people of the United States with an opportunity to recognize the value of institutions that have long supported American prosperity, competitiveness, and community vitality and that will be important to the Nation’s economic future: Now, therefore, be it