# Leveraging Technology and Engaging Students (LTES) ## Leveraging Technology and Engaging Students (LTES) LTES is a collaboration between the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD), the Center for Education Policy Research (CEPR), and the Pullias Center for Higher Education at the University of Southern California. Our goal is to provide actionable insights into the challenges and responses of LACCD to the Covid-19 pandemic. ![people talking in a meeting](/sites/g/files/omnuum9881/files/styles/hwp_21_9__1920x825/public/cepr/files/about-hero.jpg?itok=e28XB9Ng) ![Accelerating Recovery in Community Colleges logo](/sites/g/files/omnuum9881/files/styles/hwp_1_1__720x720_scale/public/cepr/files/arcc-logo-primary.png?itok=6OFdUX5N) **LTES is a member of the Accelerating Recovery in Community Colleges (ARCC) Network, a collaborative of partners working on nine projects in total.** [Learn more about the network](https://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/arccnetwork) 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](https://ies.ed.gov/funding/grantsearch/details.asp?ID=5828) to the President and Fellows of Harvard College. ### About LACCD [The Los Angeles Community College District](https://www.laccd.edu/Pages/default.aspx) 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. ![accessible-research](/sites/g/files/omnuum9881/files/styles/hwp_1_1__480x480/public/cepr/files/accessible-research.jpg?itok=QlejgwSf) ## Our Research ## LTES addresses four research strands: - Influences of the Covid-19 pandemic on LACCD, particularly student enrollment, academic success, and decision-making around engagement with LACCD - 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 - Impact of these changes on students, with a focus on the impact of online and hybrid course modalities on student academic outcomes - 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. ## 2026 Research and Reports [### Financing Community Colleges: Current Landscape and Future Directions ](/resource/financing-community-colleges-current-landscape-and-future-directions)This chapter describes the community college landscape with a focus on state funding formulas, enrollment declines, and federal recovery investments during the COVID-19 pandemic. ![Financing Community Colleges: Current Landscape and Future Directions](/sites/g/files/omnuum9881/files/styles/hwp_scale_small/public/2026-02/Screenshot%202026-02-13%20164401.png?itok=TLpxLyg_) arrow\_back arrow\_forward ## 2025 Research and Reports [### Delivering at Scale: Implementation Integrity of Enhanced Success Coaching in a Community College Promise Program ](/resource/delivering-scale-implementation-integrity-enhanced-success-coaching-community-college)This brief examines the implementation of an enhanced student coaching pilot for the Los Angeles College Promise in LACCD, finding strong implementation fidelity but limited student take-up, which may constrain impacts on persistence and completion. ![front cover of this resource](/sites/g/files/omnuum9881/files/styles/hwp_scale_small/public/2025-12/Screenshot%202025-12-27%20180510.png?itok=7trTcAUD) [### The Price of Flexibility? Evaluating the True Cost of Distance Education ](/resource/price-flexibility-evaluating-true-cost-distance-education)This brief analyzes the costs of distance education in LACCD, finding that asynchronous courses require the most faculty time and that faculty labor dominates instructional costs across modalities. ![front cover of this resource](/sites/g/files/omnuum9881/files/styles/hwp_scale_small/public/2025-12/Screenshot%202025-12-27%20175444.png?itok=O85NWcRL) [### How Remote is Success? The impact of course modality on community college student success ](/resource/how-remote-success-impact-course-modality-community-college-student-success)This brief examines how online and hybrid course modalities affect student outcomes in LACCD, finding small but persistent negative impacts on GPA and persistence that have diminished since the pandemic and vary by modality and course mix. ![How Remote is Success? The impact of course modality on community college student success](/sites/g/files/omnuum9881/files/styles/hwp_scale_small/public/2025-12/Screenshot%202025-12-27%20182906.png?itok=Gev5le5P) [### Going the Distance or Growing More Remote? The Academic Impacts of Course Modality following Pandemic-Era Investments ](/resource/going-distance-or-growing-more-remote-academic-impacts-course-modality-following-pandemic)This brief examines how online course participation affects student outcomes in LACCD, finding slight GPA reductions, no effect on credits earned, and moderate negative impacts on persistence that vary by modality, dosage, and course subject. ![EdWorking Paper](/sites/g/files/omnuum9881/files/styles/hwp_scale_small/public/2025-06/Screenshot%202025-06-17%20at%203.47.45%20PM.png?itok=921Bap-p) [### Navigating the Path to Success or Drifting Off Course? Analyzing the Impacts of Online Course Formats in LACCD ](/resource/navigating-path-success-or-drifting-course-analyzing-impacts-online-course-formats-laccd)This brief examines faculty perceptions and student outcomes related to online education in LACCD, finding that course modality influences academic success in ways that vary across subjects despite expanded investments in online learning. ![navigating brief cover.png](/sites/g/files/omnuum9881/files/styles/hwp_scale_small/public/2025-12/Screenshot%202025-12-27%20181231.png?itok=ANtwb7p5) [### The Los Angeles College Promise ](/resource/los-angeles-college-promise)This brief examines the Los Angeles College Promise in LACCD, finding that participating students show stronger enrollment intensity, persistence, and completion outcomes than other first-time students, with ongoing efforts to further improve persistence. ![The Los Angeles College Promise Brief Cover](/sites/g/files/omnuum9881/files/styles/hwp_scale_small/public/2025-12/Screenshot%202025-12-27%20180856.png?itok=t3IXYMo6) arrow\_back arrow\_forward ## 2024 Research and Reports [### Labor Market Opportunities and Declining Community College Enrollment in the Pandemic Era ](/resource/labor-market-opportunities-and-declining-community-college-enrollment-pandemic-era)This brief shows that stronger post-pandemic labor market opportunities—especially higher earnings and increased workforce participation—likely contributed to declining community college enrollment in Los Angeles County. ![Labor Market Opportunities](/sites/g/files/omnuum9881/files/styles/hwp_scale_small/public/2025-12/Screenshot%202025-12-28%20184449.png?itok=v1hzhNj5) [### Regaining Ground: Enrollment Trends in the Los Angeles Community College District in the Wake of COVID-19 ](/resource/regaining-ground-enrollment-trends-los-angeles-community-college-district-wake-covid-19)This brief examines enrollment trends in LACCD before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic, finding accelerated enrollment declines and uneven recovery across student populations, with important equity and fiscal implications. ![Regaining Ground](/sites/g/files/omnuum9881/files/styles/hwp_scale_small/public/2025-12/Screenshot%202025-12-28%20185221.png?itok=pLWxyrg6) arrow\_back arrow\_forward ## 2023 Research and Reports [### "We Will Not Go Back to What We Had”: Faculty’s Efforts to Deliver Effective Distance Education in the LACCD ](/resource/we-will-not-go-back-what-we-had-facultys-efforts-deliver-effective-distance-education)This brief shows that while LACCD faculty are deeply committed to making distance education work for students, sustaining high-quality online and hybrid instruction requires stronger institutional supports for faculty practice and well-being. ![front cover of this resource](/sites/g/files/omnuum9881/files/styles/hwp_scale_small/public/2025-12/Screenshot%202025-12-28%20191523.png?itok=gA4JpIj7) [### Four Lessons on Remote Learning: Los Angeles Community College District Faculty Share Strategies for Student Engagement in Distance Education Courses ](https://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/arccnetwork/2023/08/25/four-lessons-remote-learning/)This brief examines faculty experiences with distance education in LACCD, drawing on focus groups conducted as part of the LTES study following significant pandemic-era investments in online learning. ![Four Lessons on Remote Learning: Los Angeles Community College District Faculty Share Strategies for Student Engagement in Distance Education Courses](/sites/g/files/omnuum9881/files/styles/hwp_scale_small/public/2025-12/ltes_quotes.png?itok=wVjkzJAF) arrow\_back arrow\_forward ## In the News [### Navigating the Path to Success or Drifting Off Course? Analyzing the Impacts of Online Course Formats in LACCD ](/news/2025/04/navigating-path-success-or-drifting-course-analyzing-impacts-online-course-formats) April 29, 2025 While online courses may increase access to higher education, providing the flexibility students need to balance the competing demands of school, work, and caregiving, previous research suggests that participation in online coursework may come at an... [### Are Labor Market Opportunities Diverting Potential Community College Students? Lessons From Los Angeles County ](/news/are-labor-market-opportunities-diverting-potential-community-college-students-lessons-los) July 15, 2024 Nationwide, the COVID-19 pandemic pushed preexisting declines in community college enrollment into overdrive, leaving enrollment levels far below what they once were. This is a cause for concern. Community colleges aren’t just institutions—they’re... [### Examining Losses and Recoveries in Community College Enrollment: Lessons From the Los Angeles Community College District ](/news/examining-losses-and-recoveries-community-college-enrollment-lessons-los-angeles-community) July 15, 2024 Community colleges play an important role in the higher education ecosystem. In addition to serving as affordable gateways for students to enter four-year universities, they offer career-focused degrees and credentials which can significantly drive up... [ View All LTES News arrow\_circle\_right ](https://prod-cepr.drupalsites.harvard.edu/news?f%5B0%5D=hwp_c_projectname%3A179396) ## 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 expand\_more - **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. - **Jon Fullerton, co-PI** Dr. Fullerton is the Executive Director of the EdPolicy Hub at the University of Southern California. He has decades of experience working with education agencies to develop analytic capacity, evaluate intervention, and analyze the costs associated with these efforts. - **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 expand\_more - **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 expand\_more - **Chris Avery** Dr. Avery is the Roy E. Larsen Professor of Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School - **Elise Swanson** Dr. Swanson is the Associate Director of Research at CEPR. - **Rachel Worsham** Dr. Worsham is a Senior Research Analyst at CEPR. - **Brian Johnson** Mr. Johnson is a Senior 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 expand\_more - **Jon Fullerton** Dr. Fullerton is the Executive Director of the EdPolicy Hub - **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](https://harvard.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=fddc7d065f0875c27404af0f3&id=4b929d39d1&e=9b7b9ac3fe). ### Advisory Board expand\_more - **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 See also:- [ COVID-19 Impact ](/focus-areas/covid-19-impact) - [ Postsecondary Access & Success ](/focus-areas/postsecondary-access-and-success) - [ Project ](/page-type/project) - [ Current ](/project-status/current)