Alumni Spotlight

Ipek Ozer-Guclu

“My degree in Evaluation and Measurement, and my professors and colleagues at KSU provided me the opportunity to be an expert in the field.  During my education at KSU, I had chance to do research and co-teach courses as a graduate teaching assistant.  My education deepened my appreciation for academia, and helped me develop excellent research, teaching, and leadership skills.”

Ipek graduated with her Ph.D. in Evaluation and Measurement in 2014. In her dissertation she developed a cross-cultural comparison of Structural Equation Models that examined the relationship between the social media usage and academic achievement. As a doctoral student, she collected and analyzed large data sets using both quantitative and qualitative methods.

Since August 2016, Ipek has served as an Educational Program Manager at the Evaluation Systems group of Pearson. She supports the development and administration of criterion-referenced teacher licensure tests for state departments of education, and provides quality control for test products, processes, and project activities. 

“In my current position, I enjoy developing high quality large-scale assessments for teacher candidates.  I have chance to implement expertise in test development, administration, and scoring.”

Anthony Shreffler

“My degree in evaluation and measurement has been invaluable to my career.  Through the program I was exposed to topics and content that I’m passionate about and I’m grateful for the opportunity to be able provide my assistance to help others with their research.”

Anthony graduated with his M.Ed. in Evaluation and Measurement in 2013. When he was a student in the program, he worked with faculty and colleagues to publish an article in the peer-reviewed International Journal of Cyber Behavior, Psychology and Learning. (“United States and European students’ social-networking site activities and academic performance” in volume 6 of the journal).

Anthony currently works as a Program Evaluator with the Research and Evaluation Bureau at Kent State University. In this work, he has two primary roles. First, he provides research consultation to faculty and students within the College of Education, Health, and Human Services.  This can include assistance with survey development, database development, data analysis, and interpretation of results.  Second, he is also responsible for providing evaluation services to external clients.

“What I enjoy most about my job is getting to work with a lot of different people, whether it’s students, faculty, or other organizations needing assistance.  I enjoy learning about different research being conducted and about programs that are being implemented throughout Northeast Ohio.” 

Abdulelah Alqarni

“Earning the PhD in Measurement and Evaluation helped me a lot to improve my skills and extend my knowledge. I also got the sense that I can improve myself and the way that I can investigate and approach the issue that I have faced!”

Abdulelah earned his Ph.D. in Evaluation and Measurement in 2015. The title of his dissertation was “The Relationship Between Student Evaluations and Teacher Quality in High School in Saudi Arabia: Item Response Theory Analysis and Multilevel Modeling”.

Abdulelah currently works as an Assistant Professor in Evaluation, Measurement and Statistics major at Educational Graduate Studies department at King Abdulaziz University (KAU). He teaches Inferential Statistics, Psychological Tests, and Measurement and Evaluation courses. In addition to his teaching role, Dr. Alqarni works as an advisor on graduate students’ projects and organizes training sessions for university staff about test design for all disciplines through The University Education Development Center at KAU.

Patricia Albert

Patricia graduated with her M.Ed. in Evaluation and Measurement in 2012. She was able to complete the program while working full time for the School of Theater and Dance at Kent State University.  When she was a student in the program, she co-authored (with program faculty and colleagues) the peer-reviewed article, “United States and European students’ social-networking site activities and academic performance,” published in the International Journal of Cyber Behavior, Psychology and Learning.

Currently, Patricia works as a director of assessment activities at Greensboro College, Greensboro, NC. In her role, Patricia oversees the college’s assessment activities, measuring the institution’s educational activities as needed for compliance with standards of the college’s accrediting body, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools’ Commission on Colleges, and other standards.

Eddie Bolden

“My degree is the reason I have this career! It gave me all of the skills I needed, as well as the experience at working so closely with faculty that I became comfortable approaching well-respected faculty I don't know that well. The skills I acquired through the program are perfect for the evaluation work I am doing right now, as well as a foundation for other skills I may choose to learn and jobs I may pursue in the future.”

Eddie earned his Ph.D. in Evaluation and Measurement in 2015. For his dissertation, he developed an instrument to measure service behaviors of healthcare providers. He worked with Cleveland Clinic's Office of Patient Experience to measure expected service behaviors that are the focus of their department's employee training and development. He wrote the items, tested them, and did several types of advanced analyses on the data he collected.

Eddie currently works at Case Western Reserve University as the Educational Research and Assessment Specialist in University Technology. His role is to conduct evaluations of technology initiatives across campus. That includes student satisfaction with technology, research on current trends, and faculty development related to using technology to enhance teaching and learning. He organizes and runs a lot of faculty development related to technology and active learning, and to measure the impacts of changes in teaching on students.

“My favorite part is the people with whom I work. I get to meet a lot of faculty members from a variety of different backgrounds- we have a major STEM focus on campus, but get to work with some in the humanities and schools of law, dentistry and medicine as well. It's great to see so many that are passionate about teaching at such a research-intensive university and I am so lucky that I get help them improve for their students.”