The Postsecondary Research Collaborative (PRC) is an initiative focused on understanding and addressing the college and career opportunities, experiences, and outcomes of diverse student populations.
The PRC’s leadership brings together the expertise of NYU Metro Center’s Deputy Executive Director of Research and Evaluation, Leigh McCallen, and PRE’s Senior Research Associates Erika Abarca Millan and Wendy Y. Perez.
The PRC conducts applied research and evaluation studies in partnership with community-based organizations, non-profits, schools/districts, institutional leaders, families, and young people to better understand the programs, policies, and practices that shape students’ postsecondary pathways. Our areas of focus include:
- college advising and mentoring,
- experiential and career-connected learning,
- student inclusion and belonging,
- family engagement in higher education, and
- culturally-responsive approaches to teaching and learning.
Read below for an overview of the PRC’s current projects, select publications, and ways to stay connected!
Current Projects
Making Sense of the Value of Higher Education: How Young People Are (Re)negotiating the College Choice
We are investigating how young people today are navigating college decision-making amidst increasing public skepticism about the value of higher education. A multi-site, mixed-methods research study is being planned in partnership with community-based organizations and advocacy groups that support equitable access to postsecondary opportunities. The study will build on a pilot project that is currently being conducted in collaboration with college students in New York City.
Evaluation of a Transition Skills Program for Students with Diverse Needs
The PRC is leading a two-year evaluation study of Adaptive Design Association’s Made-To-Learn (M2L) program, which provides critical postsecondary transition skill-building to high school students with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, including autism, attending New York City Public Schools. By conducting a rigorous evaluation to generate proof of concept, the goal is to scale the M2L program to additional schools to expand the postsecondary transition opportunities for students with diverse needs.
Insights From Narrative Interviews Across Time: How Student Identity Representations Can Inform University Special-Access Program Supports In Chile
The PACE program is a Chilean government initiative that provides free tuition and comprehensive support to students from 638 schools, aiding them throughout high school and into university. Launched in 2014, it has since assisted 470,000 students, with 31,000 successfully enrolling in partner universities. This study will span three years, utilizing an exploratory, longitudinal, and qualitative approach to enhance both high school and university support systems. Data collection will include student narratives, insights from key stakeholders, ethnographic observations, and an analysis of public documents detailing the program's operations since its inception.
Family Engagement in Postsecondary Planning
While a majority of parents want to be engaged in information-gathering related to postsecondary planning for their children, schools, and communities often leave them out of college readiness data conversations.
The PRC is planning a 3-year study to engage families, college preparation organizations, and professionals working with families in college access and success roles to explore existing college readiness indicators to create a college readiness framework that resonates with families.
Select Publications
McCallen, L.S., Bloom, J., Bassett, B.S. & Yazdani, N. (2025). Credible messengers and cultural guides: how near-peers expand access to college advising in urban high schools. Urban Education.
Abarca Millán, E., Zambrano, M. V., Bahamondes, R. (2025). "I felt like I wasn't from this planet" - Amplifying neurodiverse students' voices in higher education: A case study in Amplifying student and youth voices in educational research, (E. Abarca Millan, Ed). Vernon Press.
Fernandez, L., Abarca Millán, E., Flores, A., (2025). Exploring Latinx students' mentoring experiences, bicultural identities, and responses to societal shifts in Amplifying student and youth voices in educational research, (E. Abarca Millan, Ed). Vernon Press.
Abarca Millán, E., Alvarado Vargas, C., Arriagada, S., & Cabello, P. (2024) Searching for a middle ground: Teachers’ identities and perception on the teaching and learning of writing. Teaching and Teacher Education Journal.
McCallen, L.S., Yazdani, N., Pai, G., Bloom, J., Chajet, L. & Fine, M. (2023). How a community engagement model of near-peer counseling impacts student mentors’ college outcomes. Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement.
Perez, W.Y. (2023). Greater Rochester Parent Leadership and Training Institute (PLTI) Advocates for Increasing Teacher Diversity in Monroe County, NY. Metropolitan Center for Research on Equity and the Transformation of Schools, New York University.
Perez, W.Y. (2023). Organizers in the Land of Enchantment (OLÉ): Centering Racial and Language Equity with Parent Leaders in New Mexico. Also available in Spanish. Metropolitan Center for Research on Equity and the Transformation of Schools, New York University.
Perez, W.Y., Knox, J. & Harris-Wilkerson, E. (2021). Expanding the Equity
Conversation for Pathways to College: A Literature Review of College Access and College Readiness Research 2014-2021. Metropolitan Center for Research on Equity and the Transformation of Schools.
Perez, W. Y. & McAlister, S. (2021). Youth organizing: Building critical skills for thriving in college. PRE Research Brief: Student and Families Voices #1. NYU Metropolitan Center for Research on Equity and the Transformation of Schools.
McCallen, L.S. & Johnson, H.L. (2020). The role of institutional agents in promoting higher education success among first-generation college students at a public urban university. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education.
Stay Connected!
We’d love to hear from you! Follow updates from PRE and NYU Metro Center to keep an eye out for forthcoming publications and opportunities to engage. If you are interested in partnering or learning more about the PRC, reach out to Leigh McCallen at lm4030@nyu.edu!
