Meet the OIE Team

Terrance Cao (EdD '24), joined the OIE team in August 2024. Previously, Dr. Cao served as the Senior Certification Manager in the Education Division at the Pepperdine Graduate School of Education and Psychology (GSEP) since December 2018. He managed assessment processes and program reviews for all 11 programs in the Education Division. He successfully led a reaccreditation cycle for the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing during this time. Dr. Cao has extensive and diverse experience in education, having also served as a Science Teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District and a New Student Advisor in the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He holds a Doctor of Education in Organizational Leadership from Pepperdine University and both a Masters of Education and Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science from UCLA. Dr. Cao currently shares his expertise with students at GSEP by teaching Research Capstone courses. He has previously taught GSEP courses in Developing Teaching Methods and Instructional Design. In his spare time, he enjoys following his favorite sports teams, playing video games, and leading his bible study group for church.

Arturo Covarrubias-Paniagua joined the OIE in August 2021 as a research associate/institutional research analyst, and then became assistant director of institutional research in August 2023. Arturo brings a wealth of higher education experience, predominantly in admission-related analytics and operations management. Arturo served as an administrative support coordinator at California State University, San Bernardino, and as an enrollment systems analyst at Pitzer College. Arturo also has expertise in research methodology from his brief tenure as a research methods instructor and personnel analyst. A California State University, San Bernardino alumnus, Arturo earned his master's degree in industrial/organizational psychology in June 2020.

Dr. Melanie Hogendorp joined the OIE in 2025 as the Senior Manager of Assessment. She brings over 15 years of higher education experience, encompassing various academic and student affairs roles at different institutions, collaborating with faculty. Her expertise includes college student development, admissions, mixed-methods research, and assessment.  Dr. Hogendorp has collaborated with leading educational experts, published original research, served as a proposal reviewer for ASHE and AERA, and presented to diverse audiences, including scholars, practitioners, and non-academic groups.  She holds a Ph.D. and Ed.M. in Educational Organization and Leadership from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a B.S. in Finance and Statistics from Winona State University.

Yingying Hong (MPP '19, MDR '19) joined the OIE in 2017 as a graduate student researcher, and formally became an OIE staff member in 2020. Yingying has excelled throughout her tenure in the OIE, serving as the OIE's WSCUC accreditation assistant until 2021, and then research assistant/institutional research analyst until July 2023. In August 2023, Yingying became the OIE’s first-ever manager of research and analytics. Yingying’s expertise includes qualitative and mixed-methods research, data visualization (Tableau), and designing user-friendly/visually appealing data-related graphics.

Kailee Rogers (BA '16, MA '23) began her assessment work as a student at Seaver College and joined the OIE in 2016 as coordinator of assessment. Kailee's expertise includes assessment methodologies, program reviews, annual assessment, and assessment-related reporting. In 2021, Kailee became the OIE's manager of assessment, and in 2023, the assistant director of assessment.