Distance Learning Funding Will Extend GBC's Educational Reach

(ELKO, NEV.) Great Basin College has been awarded nearly $1 million in federal funding to expand access to distance learning and skills training for rural Nevada residents.

The US Department of Agriculture Distance Learning and Telemedicine (DLT) grant will help the college upscale many of its current interactive video technologies as well as install new locations to better connect with secondary, postsecondary, tribal and incarcerated students across its vast 86,500-square-mile service area.

Dr. Amber Donnelli, Great Basin College Interim President, said because of the isolated and remote nature of the GBC service area, rural students must overcome challenging geographical and financial barriers to education.

"Education is key to closing those gaps," she said. "This funding will allow us to modernize and expand our technologies and counter the challenges to distance, cost and earning ability that rural students face."

Great Basin College utilizes distance education to provide associate and baccalaureate level instruction in numerous career and technical education, and academic areas. Each year, the college hosts an average of 72 distance learning classes that allow well over 2,000 rural students to work toward a credential of value.

Dr. Karl Stevens, Dean of Business, Computer Technologies, and Online Education, said the new equipment will be a game changer for students.

"For many years, GBC has had interactive video equipment at all its locations as well as partnering high school sites for broadcasting and receiving live class sessions," said Stevens, "but it typically required students to come to a specific classroom to attend the session in person. This updated equipment will make it possible to outfit classrooms at a much lower equipment cost and, more importantly, extend the reach of a professor's live instruction to students' personal computers or handheld devices."

Dr. Donnelli said the USDA's rural investment in Great Basin College will enhance the college's ability to provide highly collaborative educational experiences to students in order to help them fill high-skill, high-wage and in-demand positions.

"This is such an exciting win for us," she said. "We are committed to helping our students remain in their rural communities to live and work, while building a fulfilling and family-sustaining career."

For more information on the US Department of Agriculture Distance Learning and Telemedicine (DLT) grant, please contact Great Basin College Grants Director Nicole Maher at nicole.maher@gbcnv.edu.

Great Basin College, "The Gold Standard in the Silver State", offers associate and baccalaureate level education in academic, career and technical fields. Welcoming over 4,000 students annually from all corners of the country, both online and at our various campuses and centers, GBC's presence extends across two time zones and spans more than 86,000 square miles throughout Nevada. A leader in rural higher education, GBC takes pride in developing students who are well-prepared to meet the demands of industry and who contribute to the success and prosperity of the local economy.

For More Information Contact

Great Basin College
1500 College Parkway
Elko, Nevada 89801

Return to top

Why Great Basin College

Great Basin College, "The Gold Standard in the Silver State", offers associate and baccalaureate level education in academic, career and technical fields. Welcoming over 4,000 students annually from all corners of the country, both online and at our various campuses and centers, GBC's presence extends across two time zones and spans more than 86,000 square miles throughout Nevada. A leader in rural higher education, GBC takes pride in developing students who are well-prepared to meet the demands of industry and who contribute to the success and prosperity of the local economy.