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The Veterans’ Pre-College Program (VPC)

The VPC program supports veterans while pursuing their educational, career, personal, and social goals. VPC provides intensive basic skills development, short-term refresher courses, and intensive individualized tutoring to help veterans successfully transition to postsecondary education. Academic subjects covered in the instructional component include math, algebra, pre-calculus, lab sciences, English, writing skills, literature, and personal computer literacy. The program also advises veterans on career exploration, postsecondary selection and application processes, financial aid and application procedures, and college life adjustments. In addition, staff assists veterans in learning how to secure support from available resources such as the Veterans Administration, veterans associations, and various state and local agencies.

Eligibility

VPC accepts applications from military veterans (except those dishonorably discharged) who are residents of one of the 14 counties in our service area, who are low-income and/or first-generation (no one with a four-year degree in their family), and who demonstrate an academic need for services. The goal of VPC is to increase the rate at which veteran participants enroll in and graduate from postsecondary institutions.

Service Area

A young enlisted Ernest Brewer The VPC program serves military veterans in the following Tennessee counties: Blount, Campbell, Cocke, Grainger, Hamblen, Jefferson, Knox, Loudon, Monroe, Roane, Sevier, Morgan, Scott, and Union.

Ernest W. Brewer, an Army veteran, knew there was a need to assist military veterans from disadvantaged backgrounds to enter postsecondary education institutions. Often, many veterans are academically unprepared to meet the requirements of college-level courses. In 1989, Brewer wrote the first VPC grant, which was funded to serve 120 military veterans each year. Today, VPC can serve 150 veterans each year in 14 East Tennessee counties.