Agency Description: Postsecondary Education Programs Network (PEPNet) is a national network whose mission is to improve services and educational access to those who are deaf, hard of hearing (D/HH) or have co-occurring disabilities to improve educational and vocational training opportunities. The organization is made of four regional centers (Rochester Institute of Technology, Saint Paul College, University of Tennessee at Knoxville, and California State University at Northridge) providing resources and training to professionals in secondary, postsecondary, and rehabilitative settings to enhance educational and vocational opportunities for individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have co-occurring disabilities.

Project Description: PEPNet has a 10 year history of coordination and collaboration of providing services to educators of students who are D/HH or have co-occurring disabilities. PEPNet is currently in their third grant cycle (2006 to 2011) and is funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services. In this grant cycle, PEPNet is emphasizing: 1) Technical assistance and information dissemination; 2) Personnel training and development; 3) Technology use to increase access to educational and vocational programs and as a mechanism for providing accommodations to individuals who are D/HH or have co-occurring disabilities better access to the programs; and 4) Collaboration with local, regional, and national groups.

ACET services: In 2007, PEPNet hired ACET to provide national and regional evaluation services for their current grant cycle. ACET collaborated with the PEPNet regional directors and their evaluation staff to develop both regional and national logic models and regional and national evaluation plans. ACET also worked with the PEPNet directors to develop an online survey and a focus group script to identify PEPNet’s strengths and opportunities for improvement among PEPNet professionals; an online survey and focus group script was also developed for the PEPNet staff to gain feedback on the transition to a national collaboration. Over the last 3 years, ACET has collected evaluation data from the online surveys and focus group scripts, analyzed the data, and summarized the results in five reports (one for each region and one national report). At the end of each grant year, ACET and the PEPNet directors debrief on the reports and refine all of the instruments.

Date of Service: 2007-Present