ELKO, Nev. (AP) - Great Basin College plans to use almost $7 million in federal stimulus funds to fill budget gaps and operate several programs through its Pahrump branch campus.

Institutional advancement director John Patrick Rice says the federal funds have helped maintain staffing levels while student enrollment has increased by 25 percent since 2007.

The college received $3.45 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding in the 2009-10 budget, and expects another $3.5 million in 2010-11.

One program teams with Valley Electric Association in Pahrump to train students to install and maintain solar hot water heating systems.

Rice says that program is projected to create 178 new jobs in Nye County, where the unemployment rate in September was 15.8 percent.

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Information from: Elko Daily Free Press,
http://www.elkodaily.com