Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 106 Part 3.djvu/504

 106 STAT. 2298 PUBLIC LAW 102-476—CKJT. 23, 1992 to associate-degree-granting colleges, and consortia thereof, to assist them in providing education in advanced-technology fields. The grant program shall place emphasis on the needs of students who have been in the workforce (including work in the home), and shall be designed to strengthen and expand the scientific and technical education and training capabilities of associate-degree-granting colleges through such methods as— (1) the development of model instructional programs in advanced-technology fields; (2) the professional development of faculty and instructors, both full- and part-time, in advanced-technology fields; (3) the establishment of innovative partnership arrangements that— (A) involve associate-degree-granting colleges and other appropriate public and private sector entities, and (B) provide for private sector donations, faculty opportiuiities to have short-term assignments with industry, sharing of program costs, equipment loans, and the cooperative use of laboratories, plants, and other facilities, and provision for state-of-the-art work experience opportunities for students enrolled in such programs; (4) the acquisition of state-of-the-art instrumentation essential to programs designed to prepare and upgrade students in scientific and advanced-technology fields; and (5) the development and dissemination of instructional materials in support of improving the advanced scientific and technical education and training capabilities of associatedegree-granting colleges, including programs for students who are not pursuing a science degree. (b) NATIONAL CENTERS OF SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL EDU- CATION.— The Director shall award grants for the establishment of centers of excellence, not to exceed 10 in number, among associate-degree-granting colleges. Centers shall meet one or both of the following criteria: (1) Exceptional instructional programs in advanced-technology fields. (2) Excellence in undergraduate education in mathematics and science. The centers shall serve as national and regional clearinghouses and models for the benefit of both colleges and secondary schools, and shall provide seminars and programs to disseminate model curricula and model teaching methods and instructional materials to other associate-degree-granting colleges in the geographic region served by the center. (c) ARTICULATION PARTNERSHIPS.— (1) PARTNERSHIP GRANTS. —(A) The Director shall make grants to eligible partnerships to encourage students to pursue bachelor degrees in mathematics, science, engineering, or technology, and to assist students pursuing bachelor degrees in mathematics, science, engineering, or technology to make the transition from associate-degree-granting colleges to bachelordegree-granting institutions, through such means as— (i) examining curricula to ensure that academic credit earned at the associate-degree-granting college is transferable to bachelor-degree-granting institutions;

�