Area Report for Board of Trustees
Core Theme 1: ACCESS, Reduce Barriers and close equity gaps to access for all community members, and Core Theme 2: STUDENT LEARNING, Increase educational success, collaborate to improve
- After several rounds of discussion, Policy Development Council recommended for the approval of the Academic Standards Policy, proposed by Dean Ay Saechao from Student Services. Mosby approved the final policy to be effective in the Winter Quarter 2025.
Core Theme 3: COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS: Create a more inclusive working environment and a more valued, visible relationship with communities we serve
- As of the date of the March Board meeting, we have a group of 18 faculty and staff in Vietnam participating in the Experiential Learning Program. The program this year focuses primarily on the Vietnam history of 50 years after the end of the war. The group will be visiting various historical war sites. In addition, our faculty and staff will visit two partnered universities to engage in educational exchanges with Vietnamese colleagues and students. Similar to previous years, participants in the program utilized allotted professional development awards and personal funds to participate in the trip. Unfortunately, due to a variety of factors, I was not able to lead our colleagues on this trip. The group, however, is and has been in good hands, as I have arranged for Mina Vo, Interim Global Program Manager, and several Vietnamese partners/volunteers to assist with the entire program.
Core Theme 4: CULTURE & CAPACITY: Promote a campus culture which fosters equity and inclusivity supporting employee growth and development, and institutional capacity for transformation.
- The Student Activity Center Planning Committee toured the gym facilities at South Puget Sound Community College and Cascadia/UW Bothell on March 12th to gain additional insights into our own visioning process of a future student activity center at Highline College.
- The Welcome Center Planning Committee has continued to explore potential sites for the future Welcome Center project and to evaluate impacts on existing space. The Welcome Center project was initially awarded to replace Building 6 (Student Services) and Building 16 (Academic programs), as well as two smaller office buildings. As with most replacement projects, we are faced with the challenges of relocating and impacting existing programs before construction could begin.
- Facilities will begin the retention pond restoration project in spring to ensure the college remains in compliance with local mandates on stormwater runoff.
- Building 2, as one of our event spaces, has hosted numerous functions over the years. The building is being renovated to include much-needed restroom facilities.
FISCAL & BUDGET
- While the Washington State Legislative session is still in session, the upcoming FY26 state budget is shaping up to be quite “gloomy” due to the projected ~$16B budget deficit. In December 2024, out-going Governor Inslee announced a spending freeze (hiring, travel, etc.) for all agencies under his direction. Recently, in early March, current Governor Bob Ferguson proposed a 24-day furlough plan for state employees to deal with the budget shortfalls.
- At Highline College, we have begun our FY26 budget planning process. However, due to much uncertainty with the state budget, Executive Cabinet has adopted the recommendation from the Budget Advisory Council to not accepting any new budget requests for the time being.
- Our FY25 budget revision is being submitted to the Board to review. In addition to updating budget numbers reflecting changes during the first eight (8) months of the fiscal year, we are also revising the format to enhance clarity, in differentiating general operations budget versus restricted budget.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
- A big congratulations to Zach Lambert, our Capital Project Manager, for completing his MBA and a leadership certificate from the University of Iowa! Way to go Zach!
Report submitted by Vice President of Administrative Services, Dr. Michael Pham