As community colleges across the country look for ways to promote student success, the need for scaling effective approaches is critical. This guide builds on a framework of four phases of scaling developed in JFF’s previous publication, Thinking Big: A Framework for States on Scaling Up Community College Innovation: planning, initiating, expanding, and sustaining. With the aim of translating the framework to promote action on the ground, the guide outlines key concepts, questions, and action steps related to each of the four phases. The guide draws on lessons from multiple JFF initiatives designed to promote student success in postsecondary education, and offers examples of key concepts in action.

This guide is based on research funded in part by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The findings and conclusions contained within are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect positions or policies of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.