Arkansas State University-Mountain Home Receives $720,298 USDA Grant: Distance-Learning Upgrades at Four Sites for About 14,319 Rural Residents
Arkansas State University-Mountain Home (ASUMH), in Mountain Home, Arkansas, announced on November 4 that it has received a $720,298 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to expand rural distance learning and workforce training.
The funding comes through the USDA's Distance Learning and Telemedicine (DLT) program, with the university adding $108,045 in matching funds for a total investment of $828,343. The money will upgrade classroom technology, videoconferencing and collaboration tools at four sites: the ASUMH campus, Marshall High School, the North Central Career Center, and the Benny Magness Unit correctional facility in Calico Rock, which will receive virtual-reality welding simulators for vocational training of incarcerated people.
The Arkansas State University System says the project will serve about 14,319 rural residents in north-central Arkansas and expand virtual tutoring, enrollment and financial-aid advising.
Chancellor Dr. Bentley Wallace and Provost Dr. Robert Shurley took part in the announcement, alongside USDA Arkansas State Director David Branscum and U.S. Representative Rick Crawford. The university says rural students often miss courses and credential programs because of distance, and the upgraded classrooms will let them join classes from local sites.
(Source: Arkansas State University System)
Source: Arkansas State University System
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: Mountain Home市所在的巴克斯特县法院（资料图）。Public domain，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / The Baxter County Courthouse in Mountain Home, Arkansas (file photo). Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
