Researchers
Marc Levis-Fitzgerald, Director
Marc is the director of the Center for Educational Assessment. He earned a B.A. in Economics and French at UCLA, as well as a M.A. and Ph.D. in Higher Education at UCLA. His research interests include curriculum reform and evaluation, student and faculty development, and institutional transformation. He is particularly interested in documenting the experience of undergraduate students through exit surveys, and directs the development and implementation of the UCLA Senior Survey. In addition, he leads the center’s efforts related to the Transfer Alliance Program, a partnership between UCLA and community colleges in California. Marc also teaches courses in the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies at UCLA. Currently he is part of the instructional team for the “Understanding the Collegiate Experience” course. Prior to his work with the center, Marc coordinated the Undergraduate Council for the Academic Senate at UCLA.
Email: mlevis@college.ucla.edu
Phone: (310) 206-5409
Alice Ho, Postdoctoral Scholar
Alice is a postdoctoral scholar at the Center for Educational Assessment. She earned a B.A. in Psychology and a M.A. and Ph.D. in Psychological Studies in Education at UCLA. Her research interests include the psychosocial adjustment and achievement of ethnically diverse students. She is particularly interested in ethnic identity development, school diversity, and the effects of school context on student development. Prior to joining the center, Alice coordinated a large, longitudinal study at UCLA that tracked student development across middle and high school to one year post-secondary school. She also has research and evaluation experience from her work with the Los Angeles Unified School District Program Evaluation and Research Branch. Her current projects at the center include the assessment of undergraduate science initiatives supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute grant, development and analysis of the Senior Survey, and an effort to document the experiences of students who participate in the UCLA Academic Advancement Program.
Email: aho@college.ucla.edu
Phone: 310-206-2792
David Kasch, Research Analyst
David is a research analyst at the Center for Educational Assessment. He earned a B.A. in Music and a B.A. in Recording Arts at Loyola Marymount University, a M.S. in College Student Personnel at Miami University of Ohio, and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Higher Education and Organizational Change at UCLA. His research interests include socio-cultural foundations in higher education and gender issues in college student development. Prior to his work at the center, David worked in student affairs at Art Center College of Design, Miami University, and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. His current projects at the center include data analysis of the Senior Survey and the Undergraduate Student Initiated Education (USIE) Program.
Email: dkasch@college.ucla.edu
Phone: (310) 794-0025
Moon Ko, Research Analyst
Moon is a research analyst at the Center for Educational Assessment. She earned a B.A. in Economics at UC Davis, a M.A. in Applied Linguistics at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, and is pursuing a Ph.D. in Social Research Methodology at UCLA. Her research interests are assessment and program evaluation of education programs. Her current projects at the center include: Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics course evaluation; Senior Survey; and the University of California Undergraduate Experience Survey.
Email: mko@college.ucla.edu
Phone: (310) 794-4098
Casey Shapiro, Research Analyst
Casey is a research analyst at the Center for Educational Assessment. She earned a B.S. in Cognitive Science from UCLA and a M.Ed. in Postsecondary Administration and Student Affairs from USC, and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Higher Education and Organizational Change at UCLA. Her research interests include undergraduate science education, gender differences in college student development, and issues related to women faculty. Prior to joining the center, Casey worked as an academic advisor at USC and as a graduate student researcher and counseling assistant at UCLA. Her current projects at the center include the assessment of undergraduate science initiatives supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute grant, specifically the Biomedical Research Minor (BRM) and Howard Hughes Undergraduate Research Program (HHURP), and analysis of the Senior Survey.
Email: cshapiro@college.ucla.edu
Phone: (310) 825-3180
Shannon Toma, Research Analyst
Shannon is a research analyst at the Center for Educational Assessment. She holds a B.A. in psychology, a M.A. in philosophy, and a M.A. in education. She is pursuing a Ph.D. in education at UCLA. Her research interests include at-risk students and their access to higher education. Her current projects include analysis of the Senior Survey, reviews of colleges in the Transfer Alliance Program (TAP), and assessment of TAP community college best practices.
Email: stoma@college.ucla.edu
Phone: (310) 794-7862
De'Sha Wolf, Research Analyst
De'Sha is a research analyst at the Center for Educational Assessment. She earned a B.A. in History from Northwestern University. She has completed a M.A. and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Higher Education and Organizational Change at UCLA. Her research interests center on factors that promote college access and persistence of underserved college students and on family interactions during the college years. Her dissertation project focuses on support exchanges between underserved college students and their families and on how those exchanges influence students' college persistence. Prior to joining the center, De'Sha worked as a graduate student researcher at UCLA. Her current project at the center is the assessment of the Program for Excellence in Education and Research in the Sciences (PEERS).
Email: dwolf@college.ucla.edu
Phone: (310) 206-7434