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 country developed community colleges at a dramatic pace over several decades to instill civic pride and 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 of $3,990 for annual tuition and fees for in-district students, have an average student age of 27, and often serve students who are employed, low-income, parents, veterans, or the first in their family to go to college; Whereas community colleges are the primary educational institutions serving the workforce development needs of the United States and respond 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 in the United States who completed a bachelor’s degree at a 4-year college in 2016 had, in the last decade, been enrolled at a 2-year public college; Whereas the median distance from a student's home to the student's local community college is only 10 miles; Whereas 82 percent of public high schools offer dual enrollment programs that allow students to take college classes, usually at their local community college, thereby offering them the opportunity to save time and money in college and jumpstart career exploration