The University of Texas Center for Collaborative Educational Research and Policy (UTCCERP)

 The University of Texas Center for Collaborative Educational Research and Policy (UTCCERP) is a jointly established research collaborative comprised of three University of Texas System campuses (Austin, San Antonio and Pan American) and Texas State University - San Marcos. The UTTCERP is funded by a $1 million grant from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) to establish a research center that will report findings on critical education issues in Texas.

The center is administered from the University of Texas at Austin, College of Education’s Cooperative Superintendency Program, which is in the Department of Educational Administration. Dr. Ruben Olivarez, director of the Cooperative Superintendency Program, is the lead investigator. Dr. Julian Vasquez Heilig, an assistant professor in the Department of Educational Administration, is co-director for The University of Texas at Austin branch of the collaborative. Dr. Baltazar Acevedo (University of Texas - Pan American), Dr. Encarnacion Garcia (University of Texas at San Antonio) and Dr. Larry Price (Texas State University - San Marcos) are the co-directors at the partner institutions.

The one-year grant is funding 13 projects that are examining effective curriculum and instruction programs, components of exceptional teacher preparation programs, school finance and allocation of resources at the district level, academic achievement of English Language Learners and developmental education courses that successfully prepare minority students for college.

The center will be a focal point for state policymakers, institutions of higher education and school districts to access collaborative research, and there will be a marked emphasis on designing, implementing and evaluating education programs that address the needs of a growing and diverse Texas student population. The research findings will inform interested parties of policy outcomes and “best practices” that will eventually close the achievement gap between low-income minorities, English Language Learners and other students.