ERC advisory board approves multiple research proposals; requests additional state files and linkages for several projects

The Education Research Center advisory board on Sept. 25 approved a broad set of proposals to use ERC data for studies of college choice and wage inequality, student debt and major choice, P‑TECH outcomes, rural innovation zones, teacher certification and incentives, pandemic impacts, and other higher‑education topics. For multiple projects the board required additions to remote access forms to ensure adequate analytic files. Presenters from universities and research organizations summarized proposed studies and their benefits to Texas. Among presenters were Brian Prescott (Washington University in St. Louis) on incomplete information and college choice; Anne Marie Schweinert (University of Missouri) on student debt and major choice; Dr. Rachel Rosen (MDRC) on a Texas P‑TECH evaluation; Elise Swanson (Harvard‑affiliated center) on rural schools innovation; Meredith (American University) on peer influence and male underinvestment; Ethan Lewis (Boston University) on quick‑admit master’s programs; and other teams addressing COVID‑19 impacts, college and career readiness models, teacher certification, and unconventional postsecondary enrollment pathways. Board members and staff repeatedly advised researchers to include additional state files to strengthen analyses. Common requests included the CBM OO2 file and TSI or SAT/ACT proxies where applicable; for several K–12‑focused projects the board asked to add CBM OC1 (or note it was the replacement) and to include all three special‑education files and teacher linking/roster files to permit student–teacher linkages. Where remote forms listed one year for remote access, staff asked researchers to correct durations (for example, change 1 year to 4 years where appropriate). Where proposals evaluated programs established by Texas law, presenters cited the FERPA audit/evaluation exception; board members asked that researchers specify which FERPA exception they will use in final paperwork. Several researchers were told that some supplemental files may not be available immediately and to plan for phased provisioning. All discussed proposals were approved as amended on the record, with motions passing for each project after the requested file additions and clarifications were noted on the record.