Despite facing a 20 percent cut to its budget, Great Basin College is maintaining and even expanding its outreach effort to communities in rural Nevada.
Great Basin College offers two-year and four year degrees in a variety of disciplines. It offers Associate of Applied Science degrees in the areas of business, computer office technology, criminal justice, early childhood education, industrial technology, and nursing. Additionally, it offers four year degrees in elementary and secondary education, applied science, nursing, and integrated studies. As a comprehensive college, the institution provides instruction and training for students interested in career and technical education, or those on an academic track towards an advanced degree. Certificate programs and short-term training programs also exist in several business, secretarial/administrative assistant, and industrial arts fields.
Community colleges like Great Basin are considered the best value in the ever increasing costs of a college education.
In addition to costing a fraction of what is charged per credit hour at private and public universities, community colleges are located much closer to home. For instance, GBCC’s main campus is in Elko, just two hours away from Wendover, while the nearest university is in Reno 400 miles away.
Despite or perhaps because they are a good alternative to the much more expensive state university, funding for community colleges is often first to be cut from the overall education budget when times are tough.
Just this year GBC was told to expect a 20 percent budget cut.
“It is absolutely outrageous,” said Assemblyman John Ellison, “there is nothing better than the community college system. At Great Basin, a high school graduate can study two years and walk out with a degree that will get him or her a $88,000 a year salary. That is more than double and half the time as the average four year degree. But we cut the funding of the community colleges in favor of the universities. And I will tell you that most of the funding doesn’t go to the students but to pay the salaries of the professors.”
Ellison says he remains committed to funding higher education with a goal of restoring the budget for Great Basin College and other community colleges in the state. An assemblyman in District #33, Ellison was also picked as Speaker Pro Tempore by GOP lawmakers, a position he says should give rural Nevada more clout going into a tough budget cycle.
Great Basin College has its main campus in Elko, in northeastern Nevada. Residence halls are available at the Elko campus. Branch campuses also serve the communities of Battle Mountain, Ely, Pahrump and Winnemucca. Satellite centers are located in nearly 20 communities across rural Nevada.
Yet even while facing sever budget cuts, GCB administrators are planning an ambitious outreach to those 20 satellite communities in the Great Basin network.
In Wendover, for example, popular West Wendover High School Science teacher Brian Kelly will take on new duties as the lab instructor for Great Basin College’s introduction to Cell and Molecular Biology, this spring semester.
The college course will be offered at the West Wendover High School. BIOL 190 is one of the science courses that meets the general education requirement for associate of arts, associate of science, and associate of applied science degrees. For students interested in the GBC Associate of Applied Science, and Nursing degree, BIOL 190 is a Science Department requirement to be taken prior to or concurrently with Human Anatomy and Physiology I (BIOL 223). Dr. Rita Bagwe will be instructing the lecture portion of the class on Mondays and Wednesdays from 3:30-4:15 p.m. (Mountain Time) via interactive video in the GBC modular at West Wendover High School. Brian Kelly (West Wendover High School science instructor) will be teaching the lab on Thursdays from 4:30-7:15 p.m. (Mountain Time) in the West Wendover High School science lab. Students interested in taking BIOL 190 must sign up for both the lecture (class number 34842) and lab (class number 34843) courses.
NV DCFS 10.25×10.5 MixSiblings AdAdditional interactive video spring semester courses include:
CRJ 220 (class #34569) Criminal Procedures – R. Mackay, Monday & Wednesdays 5-6:15 p.m.
CRJ 265 (class #34570) Intro to Physical Evidence – D. Zumwalt, Wednesdays 8-10:45 a.m.
ECE 262 (class #32881) Early Lang/Literacy Develop – M. Macfarlane, Thursdays 5-7:45 p.m.
ENG 102 (class #34806) Composition II – S. Davis, Tuesdays & Thursdays 12-1:15 p.m.
INT 100 (class #34645) GBC Orientation – A. Rogers, Saturday 10 a.m.-5 p.m. (1/10/15)
MATH 120 (class #34762) Fund of College Math – J. Paxton, Tuesdays & Thursdays 3:30-4:45 p.m.
MATH 91 (class #34667) Basic Mathematics – R. Latham, Mondays & Wednesdays, 12-1:15 p.m.
MATH 95 (class # 34671) Intermediate Algebra – R. Anttila, Tuesdays & Thursdays, 6:30-7:45 p.m.
MATH 96 (class #34671) Intermediate Algebra – J. Jung, Mondays & Wednesdays, 2-3:15 p.m.
MATH 96 (class #34746) Intermediate Algebra – R. Anttila, Tuesdays, Thursdays 5-6:15 p.m.
wrecaquaMany of the interactive video courses above are Internet enhanced, using an Internet-based classroom to do all or some of the following: exchange or “hand in” documents, take tests, and communicate with the instructor and other students outside of the “live” television class.
Community colleges like Great Basin are considered the best value in the ever increasing costs of a college education.
In addition to costing a fraction of what is charged per credit hour at private and public universities community colleges are located much closer to home. GBCC for instance main campus is in elko just two hours away from Wendover while the nearest university is in Reno 400 miles away.
GBC’s Spring Semester 2015 Course Schedule will arrive shortly. Please take a look at the online (Internet) selection of classes as well or go to gbcnv.edu and click on Spring Schedule. For academic advising information, please call 775.753.2180 or call the Admissions & Records office at 775.753.2102.
Great Basin College is a member of the Nevada System of Higher Education and governed by the Board of RegenThe college is regionally accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities.
