September 24, 2024
JFF’s 2023-24 rollout of Increasing College Access Network courses at three Minnesota community colleges offers insights about building innovative online dual enrollment programs that include social and emotional learning.
In the fall of 2023, the start of a new school year brought a new opportunity for high school students across Minnesota: They could take online dual enrollment courses built on a groundbreaking new model of teaching and learning that integrates social-emotional learning (SEL) into English and math curricula.
The new course offerings were made possible by the Increasing College Access Network (ICAN), whose mission is to smooth transitions to postsecondary education by increasing authentic learning, and to ensure that a wide range of students have access to innovative learning experiences that improve their chances of success.
Jobs for the Future (JFF) is partnering with Minnesota’s Greater Twin Cities United Way and national nonprofit The Learning Accelerator to provide ICAN instructors with training and ongoing support to increase their capacity to teach these courses. As part of the rollout in Minnesota, we’re working with Alexandria Technical and Community College, Northland Community and Technical College, and Minnesota West Community College to implement this model across the state.
More than 200 students from 55 high schools completed ICAN courses in the 2023-24 school year, which was ICAN’s first year.
As we head into the third semester of offering ICAN courses, we’re encouraged by this new dual enrollment model and its potential for nationwide replication. Below, we discuss three key insights we gained in the first year and share considerations that other organizations and institutions should take into account if they aspire to implement online dual enrollment in authentic and meaningful ways.
Instructors have found success in adapting the SEL strategies to suit their course designs. They also have found that students are responsive to this unique way of learning.
Instructors must be committed to providing their students with quality learning experiences, and they need to be supported in their efforts to do so. The following lessons demonstrate the need for colleges to provide the comprehensive training and support required to meaningfully embed SEL into online learning.
Under the ICAN model, instructors integrate six SEL strategies into existing courses. Instructors reported that the initial setup of materials and coursework was time-consuming, and they said integrating the SEL strategies into their curricula required additional training on modifying an online environment to focus on SEL skills. Administrators should provide instructors with ample time to refine and review lesson plans to effectively braid SEL strategies into course materials and assignments, and they should remove barriers that might prevent instructors from putting in the extra time. In addition, institutions should consider compensating instructors for this time, perhaps by offering them stipends.
As students engaged with various SEL strategies, they developed a level of comfort with their instructors that empowered them to share details of their personal lives, including topics around mental health, relationship struggles, and home life. While empathetic to what they were hearing, instructors were not fully prepared, or trained, to provide the additional mental health and social service supports students needed. Administrators can support instructors and students in navigating these conversations by providing resources and contact information for counselors, success coaches, or campus mental health services. It’s critical for institutions to fully map the services available to students and circulate information about this web of support to all staff members. Providing instructors with the information they need to confidently connect students to the appropriate resources holds them accountable to respond to what students share without the unrealistic expectation that they themselves can solve major personal struggles.
Offering courses online eliminates some systemic barriers . . . that may prevent students from taking advantage of dual enrollment opportunities, but it’s not a completely equitable solution.
Dual enrollment works. It’s a powerful strategy for improving educational outcomes in both high school and college, proven by years of rigorous research and evaluation. A February 2017 What Works Clearinghouse Intervention Report identifies five studies meeting the highest research design standards that validate these positive effects: Dual enrollment increases the likelihood of high school graduation, college access and enrollment, college credit accumulation, and college degree attainment. These positive outcomes are greatest for students who are members of populations that are underrepresented in higher education, positioning dual enrollment as a core equity strategy. Other research offers evidence that dual enrollment models like early college high school deliver financial returns that outweigh their costs, benefiting students, their families, and the public. As the cost of attending college grows increasingly expensive, positive returns on investment can be critical for students and families from low-income backgrounds.
However, where students live plays a major role in determining whether they have access to dual enrollment opportunities. Offering courses online removes the geographic barriers that prevent many students—especially those in rural communities—from taking in-person dual enrollment classes. But the remote learning model also raises new concerns: Without the opportunity to interact with peers and instructors in person, students may need extra support to navigate coursework. Embedding SEL strategies into online coursework can help address that problem. SEL can support students by helping them develop self-directedness, a critical driver of success in virtual settings. This includes students developing the self-awareness to recognize when they may be struggling, practice a variety of problem-solving strategies, and advocate for extra help if needed.
Dual enrollment provides students with opportunities to earn college credits while reducing or eliminating the cost of college enrollment. As educators consider expanding dual enrollment opportunities, the following insights from the first year of the ICAN initiative are important to consider.
High schools should make their students and families aware of the fact that they have opportunities to pursue postsecondary education while still in high school. Providing this information early and often increases the likelihood that students will enroll in these free or low-cost courses and earn college credit. This is particularly important in Minnesota, where current legislation prevents colleges from directly promoting dual enrollment options to high school students and their families.
Offering courses online eliminates some systemic barriers—such as lack of access to in-person classes due to location—that may prevent students from taking advantage of dual enrollment opportunities, but it’s not a completely equitable solution. Some students will still lack access because they don’t have reliable internet service or PCs and other devices, and others may need tutoring or other supports to succeed in online courses. Colleges must consider all of the factors that could affect a student’s ability to participate in online courses, including their technological needs and any additional supports they may require.
Instructors in the ICAN initiative reported that they often acted as guides for students who are learning to navigate postsecondary landscapes. Many said they supported students with their academic work and assisted them in using class-related technology, including college email systems and other institutional platforms. This deeper level of support enables students to complete their coursework and excel in online learning environments, but offering these types of services can’t solely be the instructor’s responsibility. High schools should offer college navigation courses and make other resources available to students.
Our research suggests that the initial rollout of the ICAN courses wasn’t just an intense experience for the instructors—students also experienced pressure. These were the first college-level classes that many students had taken, and the experience caused anxiety for some students and led to decreased academic performance—regardless of the addition of SEL strategies. Expanding the number of adult staff members could alleviate some of this pressure. For example, dedicated proctors at the high school could provide additional support and monitor students’ progress. And tutors—in-person or remote—could give students the extra boost they to pass their courses.
Driving a dual enrollment innovation at the college level eliminates the possibility that the administrative burden may fall on high schools.
A key innovation in the ICAN dual enrollment model is the role of community colleges as drivers. Three community colleges are leading the development and implementation of ICAN courses in Minnesota. They’re coordinating efforts to recruit high schools, identify instructors, and manage the initiative’s finances to ensure that the institutions, instructors, and students are all fully supported. The colleges have been key collaborators with JFF and our partners, proactively and creatively navigating recruitment challenges and ensuring that the courses are positioned for success and implemented in a way that aligns with and leverages the current policy landscape.
The model of colleges leading the implementation of dual enrollment courses ensures that students and instructors have streamlined experiences and increases access for students. As other institutions look to replicate the ICAN model, they should consider taking the following steps as they develop partnerships.
Systems and leaders interested in implementing online dual enrollment courses that include SEL instruction should take advantage of the fact that colleges typically have relationships with multiple high schools. Instead of forging partnerships with many colleges that each have a single high school partner, programs can scale more quickly by working with a few colleges that have many high school partners. In ICAN’s first year in Minnesota, that approach had an immediate impact: Students from more than 55 high schools have completed ICAN courses.
One issue that needs to be addressed is the fact that colleges offering ICAN courses currently aren’t serving as diverse a cohort of high school students as intended, and that may be an unintended consequence of this method of implementation. With as few as one or two students from high schools in each of more than 50 districts, enrollment demographics are determined passively by self-selection—which students happen to choose to enroll in the program—despite proactive efforts to recruit a diverse student body.
Community colleges interested in offering these types of courses should work closely with high school partners to develop comprehensive recruitment strategies that account for student demographics.
While community college enrollment across the country has been declining for almost the past 15 years, the number of students dually enrolled in high school and college has climbed every year in the same time. Community colleges are continually strengthening their operational efficiencies to support more dual enrollment students. Innovation requires an institution to be nimble and have the time and other resources necessary to try something new. College administrators have been managing the logistics of these new courses—making financial decisions, communicating the opportunity to high schools, and gathering a wealth of data on course enrollment and success. College instructors have dedicated their time and expertise to course design and delivery. Driving a dual enrollment innovation at the college level eliminates the possibility that the administrative burden may fall on high schools—who should remain true partners but are faced with many competing priorities.
Legislation in Minnesota prevents college employees from recruiting high school students for dual enrollment programs and other opportunities to take postsecondary classes. This creates additional barriers that further limit high school students’ access to information about their postsecondary options that are available to them. Colleges will need to be strategic and make the most of the actions they can take under existing policies and governmental structures regulating dual enrollment. One option is to partner with intermediary organizations to promote and recruit for ICAN courses.
The innovative ICAN model blends proven strategies in SEL and dual enrollment to increase student access to and success in online learning. The first year of implementation provided JFF and our partners with unique insights and revealed existing inequities that prevent students from accessing these types of opportunities. As we enter ICAN’s second school year, the colleges will continue to build capacity through instructor supports and codify the model to promote expansion.
Be sure to keep an eye out for future updates about lessons we learn as we continue to support the ICAN initiative and gain insights that can benefit others interested in replicating this innovative model.
The new ICAN model incorporates SEL to boost outcomes in Minnesota pilot participants. To better prepare high school students for college success and transform the online learning space, Jobs for the Future (JFF) has launched…
Increasing College Access Network (ICAN) redefines online dual enrollment by combining the power of social-emotional learning, community partnership, instructor preparation, and intentional recruitment to improve student outcomes and provide students an opportunity to engage in…
Our national movement transforms how U.S. education and workforce systems prepare young people for meaningful careers. With over a decade of leadership in the pathways movement, we bring incomparable expertise, collaboration, and a relentless curiosity…
Social Emotional Learning Is a Promising Strategy
The benefits of SEL coursework and activities extend beyond the classroom. The SEL skills students developed in ICAN classes, including critical thinking, problem-solving, and collaboration capabilities, lead to success in degree completion and are ultimately foundational employability skills that are in demand in the labor market. College instructors teaching ICAN courses embed six SEL strategies into coursework to equip students with skills that will have a direct impact on their ability to complete the course and will benefit them in future learning and employment experiences. Examples of these strategies include:
The SEL strategies encourage students to develop, practice and refine the skills learned through classroom activities. Students in these courses tell us they feel more connected with their instructors, and more confident in themselves echoing previous research that says SEL is impactful. These improved relationships lead to more transparency between students and instructors. Barriers can be mitigated earlier, students feel more supported and heard, and early dropout or course failure can be avoided.
It should be noted that while SEL can yield noticeable benefits, developing and administering courses that integrate SEL activities is time-consuming. There is a steep learning curve for instructors, and it can take a lot of time to plan SEL strategies and integrate them into existing courses, especially in the initial course setup phase. However, instructors have found success in adapting the SEL strategies to suit their course designs. They also have found that students are responsive to this unique way of learning.