H.R. 4767 — Community College Educational Exchange Act

This section defines terms for purposes of the Act as follows: (1) appropriate congressional committees as the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations; (2) educational exchange as an activity listed in section 102(a)(1)(B) of the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2452(a)(1)(B)); (3) eligible institutions as U.S. junior or community colleges and U.S. postsecondary vocational institutions identified by the Secretary of State and USAID Administrator that have entered into a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement with the Department of State or USAID or are eligible to participate in such agencies' programs and initiatives; (4) junior or community college as an institution of higher education (as defined in section 312(f) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002(c))) that admits students beyond the age of compulsory school attendance with ability to benefit from its training, does not award a bachelor's degree or equivalent, and provides a two-year program acceptable for full credit toward a bachelor's degree or a two-year program in engineering, mathematics, or physical or biological sciences to prepare students as technicians or semiprofessionals; (5) postsecondary vocational institution as a school providing an eligible training program for gainful employment in a recognized occupation, meeting requirements of paragraphs (1), (2), (4), and (5) of section 102(c) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002(c)), and in existence for at least two years; and (6) relevant Federal departments and agencies as the Department of State, USAID, and other Federal entities engaged in U.S. foreign assistance (including development finance) as determined by the President.

This section directs the Secretary of State and USAID Administrator to strengthen and expand educational exchange partnerships with U.S. community colleges and postsecondary vocational institutions to build capacity in 11 key development sectors (1) food systems and agriculture-led economic growth; (2) microenterprise business development and entrepreneurship; (3) early childhood education; (4) engineering; (5) information technology; (6) media; (7) social services, health, and public safety; (8) tourism and hospitality management; (9) water, sanitation, and hygiene; (10) water security; and (11) environmental resilience. The section also establishes, in the Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the Community College and Postsecondary Vocational Institution Initiative Program to provide scholarships for students, scholars, and technical experts from underrepresented backgrounds to study up to one academic year at such institutions for training in those sectors.

This section establishes a capacity building program in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the Department of State to increase the capacity of eligible institutions—U.S. junior or community colleges and postsecondary vocational institutions—to create and expand study abroad programs for their students, with a focus on fields critical to U.S. national and economic security. The Secretary of State may award grants, provide technical assistance, and develop resources to support the following activities: (1) increasing eligible institution student participation in study abroad programs; (2) training faculty and staff to design, implement, and sustain such programs; (3) creating and disseminating toolkits, curriculum guides, and program templates; (4) funding faculty and staff training workshops on best practices; (5) supporting development of study abroad programs aligned with workforce needs in STEM, technical, and vocational fields; (6) piloting hybrid exchange models combining virtual and short-term in-person components; (7) developing outreach and advising resources for underrepresented students; and (8) other activities to strengthen eligible institutions' capacity to administer study abroad programs.

This section directs the Secretary of State and the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development to advance outreach to and communications with eligible institutions by (1) providing technical assistance in the development of grant and partnership applications and (2) upon request, providing feedback after a grant rejection to improve future applications, to the maximum extent practicable.

This section directs the Secretary of State, in consultation with the USAID Administrator, to consult with the appropriate congressional committees not later than one year after enactment regarding implementation of (1) countries prioritized for the program established by section 3; (2) existing partnerships and programs between relevant federal departments and agencies and eligible institutions and efforts to expand them; (3) efforts to strengthen the capacity of eligible institutions to participate in relevant programs and initiatives; and (4) progress toward developing partnerships or programs with eligible institutions not currently engaged, identifying plans for their participation, and other relevant information.