After the North Carolina General Assembly passed a bill creating the statewide Community College System in 1963, Fayetteville Area IEC officially became Fayetteville Technical Institute (FTI) that July. Mr. Howard Boudreau was the first president of the institution. Accreditation was first received by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) in 1967. Through encouragement by the North Carolina Department of Community Colleges and the North Carolina General Assembly, FTI became Fayetteville Technical Community College in January 1988. The purpose of the name change was to broaden and enhance the public image of technical and vocational postsecondary education and job training opportunities to new and expanding industries.