Area Report for Board of Trustees

As we welcome the start of spring quarter, there is a renewed energy on campus. Students are making important strides toward completing their academic goals, and our faculty and staff continue to support their success. This time of year brings a sense of momentum—warmer days, longer daylight hours, and the excitement of seeing our students progress toward the finish line of the academic year. Across the college community, faculty and staff look forward to the opportunities this season brings as we continue to foster an environment where students can thrive academically and personally.

Student Services and March Highlights:

• Strategic Enrollment: The TRiO Talent Search program exceeded all grant benchmarks, demonstrating outstanding student persistence, graduation, and college enrollment rates. This success reflects the dedication of our TRiO Talent Search team and key partners in Highline Public Schools. The data shared in this report highlight the program’s success.
• Service Delivery Excellence: Open enrollment for spring quarter is progressing well, report data outlined in this report reflects that both FTEs and headcount surpass last year’s numbers. Additionally, the Counseling Center has successfully integrated an Electronic Health Records system, improving student privacy and clinician efficiency.

Student services staff remain deeply grateful for the Board’s ongoing leadership and commitment to student success. Your guidance and support create the foundation for the work we do every day, ensuring that Highline College continues to be a place of opportunity, growth, and achievement. Thank you for your dedication to our students and the broader community.

Strategic Enrollment

• The Talent Search program submitted its Annual Performance Report (APR) to the Department of Education. We are proud to share that the program exceeded grant benchmarks as shown below:

This accomplishment was a direct result of the hard work of the Highline College’s TRiO Talent Search team: Tony Au, Mai Xee Vang, Jan Patrick Campanano.  They worked consistently and intentionally with Highline Public School District’s Mount Rainier High School, Pacific Middle School, Why Not You Academy, and Foster High School. Highline College’ Re-engagement program was also a great partner in this work.

• Over 100 students attended the Workforce Education Services (WES) winter quarter Resource Fair. At this fair, participants were able to apply for benefits through the DSHS Mobile office. Benefits included: Food (SNAP), Cash (TANF) and Medical.
• The Center for Leadership and Service (CLS) put forward its Winter Leadership Retreat on Friday February 28^th at the Bethaday Community Learning Space.  Student Leaders and selected applicants learned about the roots of leadership, engaged with their community, and created action plans to meet their leadership goals.
• Commencement planning continues as the college moves towards honoring and celebrating graduates on Thursday June 12^, 2025 at Emerald Downs.

Service Delivery Excellence

• Corrine Soltis, Director of Financial Aid, is working with her staff review and refine the 2025-2026 FAFSA application submission process (from start to finish) so that they can better support Highline College students to receive their Fall quarter financial aid in a timely manner.
• The Counseling Center has integrated an Electronic Healthcare Records (EHR) system and no longer keeps paper records (aside from archived files until their purge date). This process began in Fall 2024. The EHR has allowed more streamlined care between clinicians and a safer platform to maintain student privacy.
• The Outreach and Recruitment team hosted a Partners Breakfast at Highline College on February 27^th. The team received had a total of 72 RSVPs, with 43 actually attending the event. Participants included twenty-four K-12 partners and nineteen Community-Based Organizations (CBOs). This was the first year that CBOs attended the breakfast. Many CBO attendees appreciated being part of the event and provided insightful feedback on how we can strengthen both the event itself and our overall collaboration from their perspectives.
• Open Enrollment for Spring quarter is in progress. Enrollment has been steady
• Admissions
  • Processed Applications (excluding fake applications)
    • Spring 2025 – 1129 as of 2/24/2025
    • Spring 2024 – 942 as of 2/24/2025
  • Spring enrollment as of day 7th of registration
    • FTEs: 1763 compared to 1326 on the same date in Spring 2024.
    • Headcount: 2340 compared to 1762 on the same date in Spring 2024.
  • Winter enrollment
    • FTEs: 6320 compared to 5749 on the same date in Winter 2024.
    • Headcount: 9157 compared to 8997 on the same date in Winter 2024.
  • The S&A Budget committee has reviewed all proposals and completed presentations. Deliberations begin the Week of March 3^rd and will go through the week of April 2^nd. S&A received about $2.8 million in requests and will be distributing around $2 million, meaning the committee will need to determine what $800,000 will not be approved

Development and Integration of EDI Framework

• The Global Student Ambassadors hosted Ramadan Nights on Tuesday March 4^th with an Iftar (breaking of the fast) gathering, education surrounding Ramadan, and community space for all who looked to celebrate and/or learn about this practice
• The Center for Cultural and Inclusive Excellence (CCIE) completed their Winter Quarter Series with Savoring HerStory: A Brunch Celebration of Women’s Stories on Wednesday March 5^th. This event includes a panel of women sharing their unique lived experiences, a brunch, and a women-focused vendor market

Additional Updates

• Athletics
  • Men’s Basketball is headed to the NWAC Sweet Sixteen in Pasco, WA.
  • Spring Sports, including tennis, softball, and golf have started
  • The Golf Tournament Fundraiser is scheduled for June 13, 2025

  Report submitted by Vice President of Student Services, Dr. Jamilyn Penn