Bill Text: NJ ACR94 | 2010-2011 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requests and encourages institutions of higher education to become members of the Servicemembers Opportunity Colleges Consortium.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 7-1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-05-20 - Substituted by SCR40 [ACR94 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2010-ACR94-Introduced.html
ASSEMBLY CONCURRENT RESOLUTION No. 94
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
214th LEGISLATURE
INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 8, 2010
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman JACK CONNERS
District 7 (Burlington and Camden)
Assemblyman HERB CONAWAY, JR.
District 7 (Burlington and Camden)
Assemblywoman ANNETTE QUIJANO
District 20 (Union)
Assemblyman PATRICK J. DIEGNAN, JR.
District 18 (Middlesex)
Assemblyman PAUL D. MORIARTY
District 4 (Camden and Gloucester)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblywomen Greenstein, Wagner and McHose
SYNOPSIS
Requests and encourages institutions of higher education to become members of the Servicemembers Opportunity Colleges Consortium.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
A Concurrent Resolution requesting and encouraging institutions of higher education to become members of the Servicemembers Opportunity Colleges Consortium.
Whereas, In order to enhance their military effectiveness and to achieve their educational, vocational, and career goals, servicemembers should share in the same postsecondary educational opportunities that are available to other citizens; and
Whereas, To enhance access to undergraduate educational opportunities for servicemembers, institutions should maintain a necessary flexibility of programs and procedures, particularly in admissions, credit transfer, and recognition of other applicable learning, including that gained in the military; in scheduling and format of courses; and in academic residency requirements to offset servicemembers' mobility, isolation from campuses, and part-time student status; and
Whereas, The Servicemembers Opportunity Colleges (SOC) Consortium, which was created in 1972 to provide educational opportunities to servicemembers who had trouble completing college degrees because of their frequent relocations, today includes more than 1,800 colleges and universities among its members; and
Whereas, The SOC Consortium is a vehicle to help coordinate voluntary postsecondary educational opportunities for servicemembers by: advocating for the flexibility needed to improve access to and availability of educational programs for servicemembers; helping the military and higher education communities understand and respond to each other's resources, limits, and requirements for meeting the education and training needs of servicemembers; and strengthening the working relationships among military and higher education representatives; and
Whereas, Each year, hundreds of thousands of servicemembers and their family members enroll in associate, bachelor, and graduate-level degree programs offered by SOC Consortium members on school campuses, military installations, and armories within the United States and overseas; and
Whereas, SOC Consortium member institutions, including 27 institutions of higher education in New Jersey, provide flexibility to servicemembers, their families, and veterans seeking college degrees and, in turn, these institutions benefit from the enrollment of mature, highly-motivated adult students who are making use of tuition assistance or Montgomery G.I. Bill benefits to pay their education costs; and
Whereas, In gratitude and respect for their service to their country, all institutions of higher education in the State should strive to provide our servicemembers with the tools and opportunities they need to achieve their educational, vocational, and career goals; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey (the Senate concurring):
1. This House respectfully requests and encourages each institution of higher education in the State to seek membership in the Servicemembers Opportunity Colleges (SOC) Consortium.
2. Duly authenticated copies of this concurrent resolution, signed by the President of the Senate and attested by the Secretary of the Senate and signed by the Speaker of the General Assembly and attested by the Clerk of the General Assembly, shall be transmitted to the governing board of each institution of higher education in the State.
STATEMENT
This concurrent resolution requests and encourages each institution of higher education in the State to seek membership in the Servicemembers Opportunity Colleges (SOC) Consortium. The SOC Consortium was created in 1972 to provide educational opportunities to servicemembers who had trouble completing college degrees because of their frequent relocations. The SOC Consortium serves as a vehicle to help coordinate voluntary postsecondary educational opportunities for servicemembers by: advocating for the flexibility needed to improve access to and availability of educational programs for servicemembers; helping the military and higher education communities understand and respond to each other's resources, limits, and requirements for meeting the education and training needs of servicemembers; and strengthening the working relationships among military and higher education representatives. Today, the SOC Consortium includes more than 1,800 colleges and universities among its members, including 27 institutions of higher education in this State.
