Vanderbilt Kennedy Center (VKC TN UCEDD) Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Offers First Postsecondary Education Program for Students With Intellectual Disabilities in Tennessee

November 24, 2008

The Tennessee Council on Developmental Disabilities awarded a 3-year grant to the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center to plan and coordinate a model Postsecondary Educational Program that is integrated, successful, sustainable, and replicable by other Tennessee colleges and universities.

The program will accept its first students in January 2010, after an initial planning year. Working with both Vanderbilt and community disability organizations, the program will begin as a day program lasting two years per student.  Each year, 8 young adults will take a mixture of undergraduate, life-skills, and technical courses, as well as partake of campus extracurricular activities with Vanderbilt undergraduates. "We are thrilled to offer a postsecondary option in Tennessee for individuals with intellectual disabilities," said Elise McMillan, VKC TN UCEDD co-director. "Not only will it be the first in the state, it also will serve as a model for potential programs at other universities and colleges. We are very eager to see more postsecondary education options in Tennessee." For more information contact [email protected]