Jenna R. Sablan

3470 Trousdale Parkway
Waite Phillips Hall 701
Los Angeles, CA 90089
Jenna R. Sablan
office (213) 740-7218
fax (213) 740-3889
jrsablan@usc.edu
EDUCATION
PhD, Urban Education Policy
Rossier School of Education
University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
Chair: William G. Tierney, PhD
Dissertation: No Student is an Island: College Readiness on Guam
MA, Economics
Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences
University of Southern California
Expected May 2015
Expected December 2014
BA, Interdisciplinary Studies: Social Policy
American University, Washington, DC
May 2010
BA, Political Science
American University
May 2010
Certificate, Advanced Leadership Studies
American University
May 2010
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Provost Fellow
August 2010–present
Pullias Center for Higher Education, Rossier School of Education, University of Southern California.
Research Assistant
August 2013–present
Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL). Regional Education Lab (REL) Pacific.
Pacific Center for Changing the Odds. Honolulu, HI.
Retention Assistant
Multicultural Affairs, American University. Washington, DC.
August 2009–May 2010
Program Assistant
May 2009–August 2009
Summer Transition Enrichment Program, American University. Washington, D.C.
Junior Associate, Critical Response Team
Office of the Chancellor, DC Public Schools. Washington, DC.
September 2008–May 2009
Research Assistant
May 2008–July 2008
Woodrow Wilson School of Public & International Affairs, Princeton University. Princeton, NJ
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS
American Educational Research Association (AERA)
AERA Division J: Postsecondary Education
AERA Division L: Educational Policy & Politics
Special Interest Group (SIG): Indigenous Peoples of the Pacific
Association for Education Finance and Policy (AEFP)
Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE)
National Pacific Islander Educator Network (NPIEN)
RESEARCH
Research Interests
Improving college access and college readiness
Analyzing K–16 Policy
Facilitating high school to college transitions for underrepresented students
Using quantitative methods to evaluate college access programs and policies
Pacific Islander/Asian American students in the U.S. and the Pacific islands;
Chamorro education
Research Experience
Co-Principal Investigator with William G. Tierney. Mid-Continent Research for Education and
Learning, Pacific Center for Changing the Odds Contract Grant. Honolulu, HI. August 2013–present.
Funding pertained to research related to college readiness among high school and community college
students in American Samoa and Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
Program Evaluator. SummerTIME program evaluation. Pullias Center for Higher Education, University of
Southern California. September 2011–September 2013. Oversaw program evaluation of summer bridge
program.
Research Assistant. Collegeology Games Project. Principal Investigators: William G. Tierney, Tracey
Fullerton, Gisele Ragusa, & Zoe Blumberg Corwin, Pullias Center for Higher Education, University of
Southern California. January 2011–June 2012. Assisted with survey design, recruitment, and analysis for
project on a college access social media game.
Authored/Co-Authored Research and Program Evaluation Reports
An evaluation of the SummerTIME Program 2013. (September 2013). Pullias Center for Higher Education,
University of Southern California. With William G. Tierney.
An evaluation of the SummerTIME Program 2012. (October 2012). Pullias Center for Higher Education,
University of Southern California. With William G. Tierney.
Assisted Research Reports
Provided research support for the following reports:
What do we know?: Exploring the academic readiness of incoming students to Northern Marianas College. (in
progress). Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning. Pacific Center for Changing the Odds.
Honolulu, HI.
What do we know?: Exploring patterns of success at Northern Marianas College. (in progress). Mid-Continent
Research for Education and Learning. Pacific Center for Changing the Odds. Honolulu, HI.
What do we want to learn?: Exploring patterns of success at Northern Marianas College. (in progress). MidContinent Research for Education and Learning. Pacific Center for Changing the Odds. Honolulu, HI.
What do we want to learn?: Exploring the academic readiness of incoming students to Northern Marianas College. (in
progress). Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning. Pacific Center for Changing the Odds.
Honolulu, HI.
What do we know?: College readiness among high school completers in American Samoa and the Commonwealth of the
Northern Mariana Islands. (November 2013). Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning.
Pacific Center for Changing the Odds. Honolulu, HI.
What do we want to learn?: College readiness among high school completers in American Samoa and the Commonwealth
of the Northern Mariana Islands. (September 2013). Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning.
Pacific Center for Changing the Odds. Honolulu, HI.
Making it happen: Increasing college access and participation in California (2011). Authors: William G. Tierney &
Guilbert C. Hentschke. National University System Institute for Policy Research. La Jolla, CA.
RESEARCH PUBLICATIONS
Edited Books, Monographs, and Journals
Tierney, W.G. & Sablan, J.R. (Eds.) (2014). Examining college readiness. American Behavioral Scientist,
58(8).
Under Review
Sablan, J.R. & Tierney, W.G. (under review). Evaluating college ready writing and college knowledge in
a summer bridge program.
Papers and Publications
Sablan, J.R. & Tierney, W.G. (2014). The changing nature of cultural capital. In M.B. Paulsen (Ed.),
Higher Education: Handbook of Theory & Research, 29, 153–188.
Sablan, J.R. (2014). The challenge of summer bridge programs. American Behavioral Scientist, 58(8),
1035–1050.
Tierney, W.G. & Sablan, J.R. (2014). Introduction: Examining college readiness. American Behavioral
Scientist, 58(8), 943–946.
Green, A.G. & Sablan, J.R. (2014). Social capital. In D. Brewer & L. Picus (Eds.), Encyclopedia of
Education Economics and Finance. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
Reviews and Commentary
Tierney, W.G. & Sablan, J.R. (2014). Completing College: Rethinking Institutional Action (review). The
Journal of Higher Education 85(2), 280–282.
RESEARCH PRESENTATIONS
Paper Presentations
Sablan, J.R. (under review). College readiness and cultural capital in the Pacific. Conference
proposal under review.
Sablan, J.R. (under review). A critical analysis of quantitative research and Pacific Islanders.
Conference proposal under review.
Nevárez, D.E. & Sablan, J.R. (under review). Beyond capital: Qualitative and quantitative
approaches to asset-based capital theories . Conference proposal under review.
Herman, P., Wilson, A.C., Gleason, B., Carreon, D., Scanlan, S., Sablan, R. Sablan, J.R.,
Hacskaylo, L., & Che, J. (under review). High School predictors of assignment to
remediation in college. Conference proposal under review.
Sablan, J.R. (November 2014). Conducting research with Pacific Islander communities:
Challenges and opportunities. Accepted to the Association for the Study of Higher Education
2014 Annual Meeting. Washington, DC.
Sablan, J.R. (April 2014). What is college readiness and why does it matter for Asian Pacific
Islanders? Paper presented at the 2014 American Educational Research Association Annual
Meeting. Philadelphia, PA.
Sablan, J.R. (November 2013). An examination of college readiness and academic preparation.
Association for the Study of Higher Education Annual Meeting. St. Louis, MO.
Sablan, J.R. (November 2013). Early Start: A preliminary study of a summer college readiness program
in California. Association for the Study of Higher Education Annual Meeting. St. Louis, MO.
Sablan, J.R. & Tierney, W.G. (May 2013). Assessing college ready writing and college knowledge in a
summer bridge program. American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting. San
Francisco, CA.
Relles, S.R., Sablan, J.R. & Tierney, W.G. (April 2013). College readiness and the cause of access:
Toward a new model of writing assessment. American Educational Research Association
Annual Meeting. San Francisco, CA.
Sablan, J.R. (March 2013). Evaluating college-level writing and college knowledge in a summer bridge
program. Association for Education Finance and Policy Annual Meeting. New Orleans, LA.
Corwin, Z.B & Sablan, J.R. (March 2012). Digital snapshot of urban high school students. Digital
Media and Learning Conference. San Francisco, CA.
Sablan, J.R. & Tierney, W.G. (November 2011). The changing nature of cultural capital. Association
for the Study of Higher Education. Charlotte, NC.
Sablan, J.R. (March 2010). High-achieving first-generation college students at American University.
Paper presented at the American University Robyn Rafferty Mathias Student Research
Conference. Washington, DC.
Sablan, J.R. (April 2009). But I am not a leader: Constraints on underrepresented college student
leadership? American University School of Public Affairs Undergraduate Research Symposium.
Washington, DC.
Sablan, J.R. (July 2008). The politics of special education finance. Leadership Alliance Summer
Research Early Identification Program National Symposium. Hartford, CT.
Villano, V. & Sablan, J.R. (April 2008). Experiential learning and civic engagement: A case study of the
YMCA DC Youth & Government Program. Community Research & Learning (CoRAL)
Network’s Cities, Communities, and Colleges: Collaborating for a Change Conference.
University of District of Columbia. Washington, DC.
Villano, V. & Sablan, J.R. (March 2008). Experiential learning and civic engagement: A case study of
the YMCA DC Youth & Government Program. American University Robyn Rafferty Mathias
Student Research Conference. Washington, DC.
Symposia/Session Organizer
The Ocean is in Us: Pacific Islander Student Pathways and Higher Education Research. (Accepted
2014). Symposium accepted to the Association for the Study of Higher Education 2014 Annual
Meeting. Washington, DC.
Increasing Access for Asian Pacific Islander Students: The Challenge of College Readiness. (2014).
Symposium, American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting. Philadelphia, PA.
Readiness for What? Readiness for Whom?: Interrogating the Notion of College Readiness (November
2013). Symposium, Association for the Study of Higher Education 2013 Annual Meeting. St.
Louis, MO.
Bridge to Somewhere?: Evaluation and Assessment of Summer Bridge Programs for Low-income
Students. (April 2013). Symposium, American Educational Research Association Annual
Meeting. San Francisco, CA.
RESEARCH TRAINING & PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Advancing the Democratic Mission of Higher Education: The Relevance of Asian Americans &
Pacific Islanders.
Conference Participant. June 2012. Asian Pacific Islander American Scholarship Foundation Higher
Education Summit. Washington, DC.
An Introduction to Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) for Educational Researchers.
Participant. April 2012. American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting Extended Course.
Vancouver, Canada.
Propensity Score Matching (PSM) Using R.
Participant. April 2012. American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting Professional
Development Course. Vancouver, Canada.
Relevant coursework: Advanced Multivariate Statistics (SOWK 764), Causal Inference (EDUC 790),
Hierarchical Linear Modeling (EDUC 599), Measurement Theory (EDPT-642), Practice of Econometrics (ECON
513), Program Evaluation (ECON 673), Structural Equation Modeling (PM-603),
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Teaching Assistant, Doctoral Level Coursework
EDPT 652 – Multiple Regression.
Spring 2012. Rossier School of Education, Department of Educational Psychology and Technology.
University of Southern California.
Instructor, Undergraduate Coursework
College Knowledge Seminar.
Summer 2011. SummerTIME summer bridge program, University of Southern California.
Teaching Assistant, Undergraduate Coursework
JLS 421 – Justice in the Face of Terror.
Summer 2010. School of Public Affairs (SPA), Department of Justice, Law, & Society. American
University.
GOVT 361 – Laboratory in Leadership Development I.
Spring 2008. School of Public Affairs, Department of Government, SPA Leadership Program.
American University.
GOVT 361 – Laboratory in Leadership Development I.
Fall 2007. School of Public Affairs, Department of Government, SPA Leadership Program. American
University.
INVITED LECTURES, WORKSHOPS, & PANELS
Cultural Capital Theory.
Guest Lecturer. EDUC 640: The Research University in the 21st Century. October 2013. University of
Southern California.
Using Regression and Correlations to Answer Research Questions.
Facilitator. Undergraduate research methods workshop. June 2013. University of Southern California.
Graduate School Preparation Session: Postgraduate Degree Options.
Panelist. June 2013. University of Southern California.
Graduate School Preparation Session: Personal Statements.
Panelist. June 2013. University of Southern California.
Regression, Correlation, and Statistics.
Facilitator. Undergraduate research methods workshop. June 2012. Co-facilitated with Michelle
Castellanos. University of Southern California.
T-tests and ANOVA.
Undergraduate research methods workshop. June 2012. Co-facilitated with Michelle Castellanos.
University of Southern California.
Converting Class Papers into Publications.
Panelist. May 2012. University of Southern California.
Mixed Methods and Multiple Regression.
Guest Lecture. March 2012. Co-facilitated with Michelle Castellanos. AMST 392, Undergraduate
Research Methods. University of Southern California.
Pacific Islander Student Panel.
Panelist. October 2011. Asian Pacific American Student Services Pacific Islander Student Campus Visit.
University of Southern California.
HONORS, GRANTS, AND AWARDS
Rossier School of Education Dean’s Research Assistantship Award
2014–2015
University of Southern California Provost’s PhD Fellowship
2010–2014
University of Southern California Provost Travel Grant
2013–2014
Academic Professional Development (APD) Diversity Award
2013–2014
Enhancing Diversity in Graduate Education (EDGE) Travel Grant
2012–2013
Asian Pacific Islander American Higher Education Summit Travel Grant
2012
American University Harold Johnson Award
2010
Harry S. Truman Scholar National Finalist
2009
Ronald E. McNair Scholar
2007
American University Frederick Douglass Scholar
2006–2010
Asian Pacific Islander American Scholar
2006
PROFESSIONAL AND ACADEMIC SERVICE
PhD Student Survey Task Force
2014
Student Community of PhDs in Education (S.C.O.P.E), University of Southern California
Conference Session Chair
American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting
2013–2014
Conference Proposal Reviewer
Association for the Study of Higher Education Annual Conference
2012–2013
Conference Moderator
2013
Latino Student Empowerment Conference, University of Southern California
Conference Chair
Annual McNair Scholars Symposium, University of Southern California
2012–2013
COMMUNITY AND EDUCATIONAL SERVICE
After-School Guest Speakers Program
National Pacific Islander Educator Network
2012–present
Mentor. Increasing Access via Mentoring Program
Pullias Center for Higher Education, University of Southern California
2010–present