A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT establishing the "no adult left behind" initiative to expand economic opportunities for working adults and achieve statewide workforce development goals.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  The General Assembly finds that:
(1)	No initiative could be undertaken by higher education that offers greater potential for a positive impact on workforce and economic development than the continued education of the adult citizens of this State.
(2)	The State's Departments of Labor and Commerce are instrumental in the economy of the State, and their collaboration with the State's institutions of higher education could greatly benefit adults in need of additional educational opportunities and job training.
(3)	There are community‑based nonprofit organizations around the State that successfully increase access and foster success for working adults and other nontraditional students. These resources, when coordinated on a statewide level, could greatly benefit working adults and their families to achieve their economic goals.
SECTION 2.  The Department of Labor, with the cooperation of the Department of Commerce, the Employment Security Commission, the North Carolina Community College System, and The University of North Carolina shall initiate the "No Adult Left Behind" Initiative ("Initiative") geared toward achievement of major statewide workforce development goals. The Initiative may also include community‑based nonprofit organizations that provide services or assistance in the areas of worker training, development, and transitioning between industries in the current global labor market.
SECTION 3.(a)  The first goal of the Initiative is to increase dramatically from twenty percent (20%) to forty percent (40%) the percentage of North Carolinians who earn baccalaureate degrees – especially in selected fields. The lead participating institutions for this part of the Initiative are the North Carolina Community College System and The University of North Carolina. The lead participating institutions shall:
(1)	Collaborate to provide model evening‑weekend degree programs designed specifically for working adults and other nontraditional students.
(2)	Work together to promote systemic changes designed to increase access and foster success among adult workers and other nontraditional students.
(3)	Provide, as appropriate, model evening‑weekend degree programs in one or more of several high‑demand disciplines, including:
a.	Education.
b.	Business.
c.	Information systems.
d.	Mass communications.
e.	Criminal justice.
(4)	Offer classes via the eight‑week compressed block format and other nontraditional delivery formats (including online and hybrid formats) as well as internships and special courses that may be scheduled to span the entire semester, but in a manner not in conflict with the eight‑week compressed block format.
(5)	Offer coordinated schedules that will permit students to complete bachelors degrees, from start to finish, in four to five years with students enrolling normally in two courses during each eight‑week block and four courses each semester with the aim to allow working adults to attend full‑time.
(6)	Develop and implement a working adult‑oriented pipeline of related institutional services and activities including recruitment, matriculation efforts, application and admissions processes, transcript evaluations, placement testing, orientation, financial aid services, degree audits, academic advising, registration, preregistration, drop‑add, and billing.
(7)	Assist working adult students with formulation of "individualized educational plans" covering the entire time frame of their enrollment, especially the final two to three years.
(8)	Develop and implement student retention and success strategies geared toward the needs of working adults and provided at appropriate times.
(9)	Develop and implement faculty development initiatives designed to foster the greatest possible success when presenting courses to working adults and other nontraditional students in a variety of formats and settings.
(10)	Conduct fall and spring marketing and public relations campaigns to generate enrollment growth.
SECTION 3.(b)  The lead participating institutions may enter into contracts with other qualified organizations, especially community‑based nonprofits, to carry out components of the Initiative set forth in subsection (a) of this section.
SECTION 3.(c)  The Department of Labor and the Department of Commerce shall provide assistance to the participating institutions in carrying out the provisions of this act.
SECTION 4.  By March 1, 2008, the Department of Labor, in conjunction with the North Carolina Community College System and The University of North Carolina, shall submit a detailed report to the General Assembly on the status of the "No Adult Left Behind" Initiative established by this act.
SECTION 5.  This act is effective when it becomes law.