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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Community colleges play a vital role in the Lone |
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Star State, and on this day, representatives of the Texas |
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Association of Community Colleges, Texas Community College |
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Teachers Association, and Texas Junior College Student Government |
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Association, as well as students from Texas community college |
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honors programs and Phi Theta Kappa members, are visiting the State |
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Capitol to show their support of these essential institutions; and |
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WHEREAS, Higher education affords significant benefits to |
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both individuals and to society at large; those who complete |
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postsecondary degrees generally enjoy more employment |
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opportunities, higher salaries, and greater job satisfaction than |
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those who do not, while states with a well-educated citizenry see |
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such positive gains as increased tax revenue, improved health, and |
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reduced poverty, crime, and unemployment; and |
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WHEREAS, Students attending Texas community, junior, and |
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technical colleges receive instruction from highly dedicated and |
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knowledgeable faculties; teachers of academic transfer courses are |
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required to possess the same minimum credentials as university |
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faculty in order for their colleges to be certified by the Southern |
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Association of Colleges and Schools, while instructors in workforce |
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disciplines must also meet the rigorous standards of accrediting |
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agencies; and |
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WHEREAS, Texas community colleges constitute a critical |
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component of the state's system of higher education; currently, |
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these schools are educating 74 percent of all freshmen and |
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sophomores and 76 percent of all minority freshmen and sophomores |
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attending Texas public postsecondary institutions; moreover, most |
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of the growth in the state's higher education enrollment is taking |
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place in the community colleges, whose enrollment in the fall of |
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2005 accounted for 67 percent of that increase; and |
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WHEREAS, The ethnic composition of the community college |
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student bodies almost exactly mirrors the ethnic profile of the |
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state, signifying the importance of these schools to communities |
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that have traditionally had less access to higher education; and |
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WHEREAS, Increasingly, states need well-educated workforces |
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to attract and retain high-paying businesses and industries; for |
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Texas to prosper in the years ahead, it will be necessary for still |
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greater percentages of all ethnic groups, and especially of |
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traditionally disadvantaged populations, to acquire higher |
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education than are presently enrolled in postsecondary |
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institutions; and |
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WHEREAS, If Texas and its citizens are to meet the challenges |
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of the new global economy, it is crucial that quality higher |
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education be accessible to all who need and want it, and a strong |
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system of community colleges will be instrumental to achieving that |
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goal; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 80th Texas |
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Legislature hereby recognize February 22, 2007, as Texas Community |
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Colleges Day in tribute to the immeasurable contribution those |
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schools are making to the well-being of this state and its citizens. |