Leveraging Technology and Engaging Students (LTES)
Our Research
LTES addresses four research strands:
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Influences of the Covid-19 pandemic on LACCD, particularly student enrollment, academic success, and decision-making around engagement with LACCD
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Responses of LACCD to the challenges of Covid-19, particularly innovations in course modality and the relationship of those changes with student psychosocial outcomes and faculty wellbeing
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Impact of these changes on students, with a focus on the impact of online and hybrid course modalities on student academic outcomes
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Continued improvements and scaling, with a focus on costs, optimal proportion of distance education course offerings in LACCD’s overall schedule, and considerations for students choosing between modalities for a given course
We are using a mix of causal, descriptive, and mixed methods to answer our research questions, drawing on LACCD administrative data, student and faculty survey responses, student and faculty focus groups, observations, and public data.
LTES is a member of the Accelerating Recovery in Community Colleges (ARCC) Network, a collaborative of partners working on nine projects in total.
The Leveraging Technology and Engaging Students: Evaluating Covid-19 Recovery Efforts in the Los Angeles Community College District project is fully funded by the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, through Grant R305X220018 to the President and Fellows of Harvard College.
About LACCD
The Los Angeles Community College District consists of nine campuses in the Los Angeles area. In fall 2022, LACCD enrolled over 90,000 students, making it one of the largest individual community college districts in the country. LACCD serves a diverse population of students and offers a range of educational opportunities and programs of study.
New Brief and Blog
Elise Swanson, Rachel Worsham, and Soumya Mishra
A new brief on findings about community college efforts to offer effective distance learning is now available from the LTES team.
Elise Swanson and Rachel Worsham
Meet the LTES Team
Our project team is comprised of experts in community colleges, higher education, program evaluation, and course modalities. Project team members are currently at research institutions, community colleges, and local non-profit organizations. Each brings expertise and practical experience invaluable to LTES. To learn more about our team members, read below!
Principal Investigators
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Christopher Avery, PI
Dr. Avery the Roy E. Larsen Professor of Public Policy at Harvard University, studies rating and selection mechanisms, focusing on the college admissions system. His current work considers college application patterns and college enrollment choices for high school students. -
Maury Pearl, co-Pl
Dr. Pearl is the Associate Vice Chancellor, Educational Programs and Institutional Effectiveness at the Los Angeles Community College District. He leads the Office of Institutional Effectiveness, Office of Attendance Accounting, and Office of Student Success to inform data collection, analysis, program evaluation, and dashboard creation for data reporting as well as strategic planning and decision-making by the LACCD. -
Deborah Harrington, co-PI
Dr. Harrington is the Dean for Student Success at the Los Angeles Community College District and Executive Director of the California Community Colleges’ Success Network (3CSN). She brings together faculty, administrators, staff, and students to design and implement programs that effectively support student equity, access, persistence, and success.
LACCD Team
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Maury Pearl
Dr. Pearl is the Associate Vice Chancellor of Institutional Effectiveness at LACCD. -
Deborah Harrington
Dr. Harrington is the Dean for Student Success and Executive Director of 3CSN at LACCD. -
Nicole Albo-Lopez
Dr. Albo-Lopez is the Interim Vice Chancellor of Educational Programs and Institutional Effectiveness at LACCD.
CEPR Team
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Chris Avery
Dr. Avery is the Roy E. Larsen Professor of Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School -
Jon Fullerton
Dr. Fullerton is the Executive Director of CEPR. -
Elise Swanson
Dr. Swanson is a Senior Research Manager at CEPR. -
Rachel Worsham
Dr. Worsham is a Senior Research Analyst at CEPR. -
Brian Johnson
Mr. Johnson is a Research Analyst at CEPR. -
Anthony Bald
Mr. Bald is a doctoral student and IES PIER Fellow at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. -
Victoria Varlack
Ms. Varlack is a Project Coordinator at CEPR.
USC Team
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Soumya Mishra
Dr. Mishra is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Pullias Center for Higher Education
- Tatiana Melguizo
In January 2024, the LTES team tragically lost one of its Principal Investigators, Dr. Tatiana Melguizo, who unexpectedly passed away. Tatiana was a leader in community college research, a dedicated mentor, and partner of the Los Angeles Community College District for over 15 years. She was an energetic researcher who always had a welcoming and warm word for her colleagues, and whose commitment to doing rigorous work that directly speaks to and informs the pressing questions facing community colleges is a model for researchers throughout the field. Her loss will be felt deeply by the LTES team and the higher education research community broadly. To read more about her life and legacy, please see this tribute from the USC Rossier School of Education.
Advisory Board
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Sara Ellison
Massachusetts Institute of Technology -
Sarah Roberts
Nashville State Community College -
Dan Levy
Harvard Kennedy School -
Mike Kofoed
United States Military Academy at West Point -
Alysia Bell
Unite LA
Contact LTES
If you have questions about the study, please reach out to ltes@gse.harvard.edu