Merced College gets $436K federal grant to expand opportunities in rural communities

Merced College officials announced this week the campus has received a $436,772 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to expand education and outreach to rural areas and health care entities.

The grant is part of the USDA’s Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grants program, which has a total investment of $42 million, according to a campus news release.

In addition to aiding rural education and health, the project is also geared toward providing resources for increasing access to workforce development courses and training for first responders.

Merced College President Chris Vitelli says the grant will extend more resources in particular to areas of the county that are in need of better technology to enable distance learning and telemedicine.

“This funding will allow us to provide even more robust offerings for Merced College students as well as rural high school students and adult learners in our region,” Vitelli said.

The project is expected to serve around 4,000 students, including more than 1,600 students at Granada, Mariposa, Le Grand, and Dos Palos high schools.

The project will aid in offering video conferences to the four high schools, as well as dual credit courses offered by Merced College and high school courses shared between the schools.

The shared courses may also include: Advanced Placement courses, core courses, and electives. The program is also expected to serve nearly 800 adults with professional development, workforce development and first responder training.

The funding is also expected to help limit the need to travel in order to complete degree requirements.

This story was originally published March 24, 2021 at 11:37 AM.