The University of Texas at San Antonio has established a new center designed to research how certain factors affect the academic success of key student groups.

The Center for Research and Policy in Education will work with local, regional and national education experts to see how students of all ages and grade levels to examine a variety of topics including diversity in education, first-generation college student support and educational costs. 

"South Texas, and particularly San Antonio, has a population that demographers expect to see mirrored across the nation over the next decade, so it seems fitting to establish a center here to focus on educational processes and policies that will affect the next generation of students,” Betty Merchant, dean of the UTSA College of Education and Human Development, said in a statement. "At the end of the day, we hope to have a positive impact on education policy."

The Center is partnering with the American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education and Educational Testing Service to develop educational policy briefs on topics related to Latino college students.  The center will also play a role in the school's efforts to be a Tier One research institution.

“Human and social development is one of the five major research areas we are focusing on to push UTSA to Tier One,” Robert Gracy, UTSA vice president for Research, said in a statement. “The Center for Research and Policy in Education is a critical building block for us. Through the center’s work, we expect to develop new and exciting research partnerships that will improve education for our children and for their children.”