Education Policy Center Joins Other Top University Centers to Form Education Policy Alliance

Tuscaloosa, AL—The University of Alabama Education Policy Center has joined 32 other leading university education research centers from 23 different states to form the Education Policy Alliance. The EPA website is highlighted by a free internet search engine, now available to those looking for instant access to high-quality educational policy research.

“EPA places research from some of the country’s most expert sources into the hands of journalists, policymakers, researchers and concerned citizens,” said Kevin Welner, a professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder and one of the co-founders of EPA. “It’s a straightforward but extraordinarily useful resource,” added Professor Alex Molnar of Arizona State University, the other co-founder.

"Policy centers like ours joined EPA because we are committed to making scholarly research accessible to a broader policy audience and increasing its impact in educational policy debates," said Steve Katsinas, Director of the UA Education Policy Center. “Leading universities like Alabama need to be involved in policy-based research and the discussions related to formulating policy,” added Katsinas.

“I am pleased to see our Education Policy Center partnering with other policy research centers around the country to share their expertise among one another and to magnify the impact each of them has on state and national policy issues,” stated Jim McLean, dean of the College of Education.

The Education Policy Alliance was developed by the Education and the Public Interest Center (EPIC) and the Education Policy Research Unit (EPRU) and the Commercialism in Education Research Unit (CERU) at Arizona State University to further democratic deliberation regarding educational policies. Fellows of EPRU and EPIC produce educational policy expertise, analysis and insight through Policy Briefs and Think Tank Reviews.

On the Web: http://education.ua.edu/edpolicycenter/

Education Policy Alliance: http://educationpolicyalliance.org
CU’s Education and the Public Interest Center: http://education.colorado.edu/epic
ASU’s Education Policy Research Unit: http://educationanalysis.org
Think Tank Review Project: http://thinktankreview.org