PEPNet-South

Known previously as the Postsecondary Education Consortium (PEC), PEC was established in 1983 as one of four regional model programs for students who are deaf and hard of hearing. In 1996, the PEC was named one of the four regional centers on postsecondary education for individuals who are deaf and provided extensive personnel development and technical assistance activities across the region; these efforts continued when the project was funded for the 2001-06 cycle. The Southern Region has a long history of collaborative efforts, and the PEC has become an integral part of many of these efforts.

PEPNet-South serves institutions, agencies, and individuals in the Southern Region of the United States, comprised of thirteen states (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia). The guiding philosophy of PEPNet-South is that the success of students who are deaf or hard of hearing is greatly enhanced when readily accessible systems are in place and professionals possess the skills necessary for effective service delivery. The main project goal is to expand and enhance transition services and access to postsecondary education opportunities for persons who are deaf. PEPNet-South promotes quality service access and educational equity through personnel development activities, technical assistance and dissemination activities, and technology use activities to secondary and postsecondary education institutions, vocational rehabilitation agencies, community services organizations, centers for independent living, and One Stop Centers funded under the Workforce Investment Act, and their stakeholders.

PEPNet-South is housed at the Center on Deafness in the College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. In addition to the PEPNet-South, the university has been the host to many projects and programs related to services to individuals who are deaf and hard of hearing. These include: (1) a teacher preparation program in deaf education currently leading to a Master's degree; (2) an educational interpreter program leading to a Bachelor of Science in Education; (3) a Master of Science in Rehabilitation Counseling Education with a focus area in Deafness; (4) the Orientation to Deafness project (funded by RSA, 1965-2005); (5) the Southeast Regional Interpreter Training Consortium (funded by RSA, 1975-2005); and other programs and projects over the past 30 years. There is a strong commitment toward cooperative and supportive relationships among personnel in the programs related to deafness at the University of Tennessee. As a result of working within the Center on Deafness, the project is able to draw upon the expertise of the faculty and staff from these programs at no additional cost. In addition, the university hosts a variety of other projects and programs that offer the possibility of collaborative activities. The PEPNet-South is able to take advantage of the expertise of many professionals, including those in distance learning, telecommunications, and disability services to further advance the outcomes of the project.

The PEPNet-South is pleased to have the opportunity to utilize the facilities of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville as the host for the project. According to its mission statement, "... the University of Tennessee's primary purpose is to move forward the frontiers of human knowledge and enrich and elevate society." Part of the mission of the University of Tennessee is to "... offer a wide variety of off-campus educational and training programs, including the use of information technologies, to individual and groups; and partner with communities to provide educational, technical and cultural support to increase the livability of those communities..." As a multi-campus university with more than 25,000 students enrolled at the Knoxville campus, the University of Tennessee is recognized as a leader within the State of Tennessee and among colleges and universities in the Southern Region.