The Emergence of University-Based Education Policy Centers. ERIC/CEM Trends and Issues Series, Number 2.

A closeup look is provided of a trend in the field of educational policy in the 1980's: the establishment of university-based centers that have a mission of providing state policymakers with nonpartisan, reliable data on education policy options. The development and characteristics of education policy centers are examined. The first section briefly describes the context out of which education policy centers have emerged to link universities and policymakers. The next section provides descriptive data on 16 university-based policy centers that are currently operational in 14 states and highlights commonalities and differences across centers as well as pitfalls that have been encountered. The final two sections address initial efforts to establish a network among these policy centers and the prognosis for such centers to serve the state policymaking community. Appended is a list of university-based education policy centers and a 47-item bibliography. (SI)