10/26/2009 6:00:00 AM $500K grant funds MCC's ITV classes Students in rural areas will benefit
KINGMAN - Instructors from Mohave Community College will be teaching residents in 10 rural Mohave County locations next fall due to a $499,253 grant recently awarded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Utility Services Distance Learning and Telemedicine.
The grant will fund the establishment of Interactive Television classrooms for college-level instruction at three schools - Black Mountain Elementary in Golden Valley, Beaver Dam High School in Littlefield and Owens Elementary School in Wikieup - as well as at the Golden Shores, Yucca and Oatman fire departments and on the Fort Mohave, Hualapai, Chemehuevi and Kaibab Paiute nations' reservations.
"Serving the fifth largest county in the nation presents unique challenges in accomplishing our goal of bringing higher education to all citizens," said Chuck Spotts, vice president of Instruction and Student Services for MCC. "This grant will make it possible for MCC to deliver higher education in a fully interactive environment, giving students an experience that is as close to the traditional classroom as possible."
In addition to providing the remote classrooms, the grant will fund an upgrade of the college's ITV hub from which all the learning will be delivered - a hub that is reaching its maximum lifespan.
Once the system has been established, countywide agencies will also be able to use the ITV system for meetings and training sessions with their employees in outlying areas.
