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 this emerging sector of institutions;

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

Whereas today 1,026 community colleges, including 921 public, 36 Tribal, and 69 independent colleges, serve 10,200,000 credit and noncredit students;

Whereas public community colleges are an affordable option, charging an average annual tuition and fees for in-district students of $3,990, 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 community colleges enrolled 43.1 percent of all undergraduate students during the 2022–2023 academic year;

Whereas the median distance from the home of a student attending community college to the community college is only 10 miles;

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

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

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

Whereas celebrating Community College Month in April 2025 provides the people of the United States with an opportunity to recognize the value of institutions that have long supported the prosperity, competitiveness, and community vitality of the United States and that will be important to the economic future of the United States: Now, therefore, be it