In schools, I’ve seen how expanding access to postsecondary opportunities is only part of the equation; what matters just as much is whether students have what they need to persist and succeed once they get there. Access alone isn’t enough—students need intentional, aligned structures and support that help them navigate challenges, stay engaged, and follow through.

That’s what the Increasing College Access Network (ICAN) set out to address.

Led by Jobs for the Future (JFF) in partnership with FullScale, Greater Twin Cities United Way (GTCUW), and American Institutes for Research (AIR), ICAN focuses on improving how students experience online dual enrollment courses—in math and English—by intentionally integrating social-emotional learning (SEL) into instruction. The goal is straightforward: to create more equitable access to early college opportunities by increasing support for students to experience success.

Over the course of the project, we’ve worked alongside instructors to implement and refine ways of embedding SEL into online dual enrollment courses. The SEL Playbook is a result of that work—a practical toolkit designed with and for practitioners to help instructors apply these strategies in their own courses.

What’s in the playbook

This is a resource grounded in implementation. Inside, you’ll find: 

• Background on both historical challenges as well as the opportunities and potential that come with online dual enrollment
• A set of SEL strategies that can be used within instruction
• Guidance for how to implement those strategies into existing course structures
• Insights on what worked, what took time, and how their practice shifted

The focus throughout is on cohesive integration. Not adding something new, but making small, intentional shifts to how instruction already happens.

What we learned from ICAN

This project revealed several key ideas for how we better support practitioners in implementing innovative practice changes around durable skills.

Students need consistent, intentional opportunities to practice.

In my time as a high school leader, I saw how quickly students—many navigating early college for the first time—could disengage when they were expected to “figure it out” on their own. What stood out in this project was how small, consistent structures for reflection and feedback helped. Skills like self-management, responsible decision-making, and even a growth mindset don’t develop in isolated moments. They grow when they’re embedded into day-to-day learning. When instructors created regular space for reflection, feedback, and connection, students had more opportunities to engage deeply and more consistently.

Even experienced instructors need time and support to shift practice.

All instructors in this project brought strong teaching experience. Even so, integrating these strategies required adjustment. What was encouraging was that over time, confidence grew, strategies became more flexible, and instructors reported being more responsive to student needs in the moment. Every participating instructor noted that they plan to continue using these practices, indicating the  relevance and usability of these strategies.

This work is stronger with multiple perspectives.

Each partner shaped the work in important ways. JFF pushed on broader enabling conditions, supporting institutions in addressing what it takes for this kind of work to scale and sustain. AIR’s research helped us interpret and make sense of what we were seeing and adapt along the way. GTCUW grounded the work with a nuanced understanding of online dual enrollment policies and perspectives at both a state and local level. That combination made the work stronger than any one organization could have done alone.

Where this work goes next.

As ICAN wraps up its implementation, the SEL playbook is one of several tangible outputs designed to support the field. For practitioners, this offers a place to start–or refine–how SEL shows up in online dual enrollment. For systems and institutions, JFF has also released a complementary implementation guide—a roadmap for designing and scaling SEL-integrated online dual enrollment courses that outlines the enabling conditions needed at the system level, from instructor support to cross-sector coordination.

You can explore the SEL Playbook here–and if you’re trying this out in your own context, we’d love to hear what’s working, and what you’re still figuring out.