Area Report for Board of Trustees

Good day Trustees,

Happy beginning of May.  The campus is quite busy with a number of activities and celebrations, along with finishing up coursework as we approach graduation.  I wanted to highlight some great community opportunities Highline was involved in recently.  First, I was able to attend the Black Eco Chamber spring fling last week at the Twin Lakes Golf & Country Club in Federal Way.  One of our trustees, Jesse Johnson, was a featured speaker.  The chamber is a business development incubator designed to serve black-owned businesses.  The event was heavily community focused and I remember hearing someone saying to me “Highline is the community’s college!”  That brought a big smile to my face.  Many thanks to Trustee Johnson for the invitation and opportunity to join in community.

In addition, I’m excited to mention that over 100 students, staff and practitioners gathered at the college for the first Umoja Washington Symposium.  Umoja is a community and critical resource dedicated to enhancing the cultural and educational experiences of African American and other students.  Umoja believes that when the voices and histories of students are deliberately and internationally recognized, the opportunity for self-efface emerges and a foundation is formed for academic success.  This has been a great opportunity for Highline to lead the way hosting the first statewide symposium.  The Umoja team will also be presenting at our Equity Development Institute the following day.  A special note of gratitude goes to Krystal Welch, Director of Cohort Learning Communities for her leadership and for making this day happen for Highline.

We have 3 final candidates visiting the campus in the next few weeks interviewing for the Vice President, Equity, Diversity and Transformation position.  The days are packed with campus forums, a meet-and-greet reception, and interviews with various stakeholders.  My hope is to announce a decision by end of month.

Later this month there will be a number of campus climate data and listening session opportunities for staff, faculty and students to participate in.  Please check your email for specific dates.  In addition, the month will conclude with a spring town hall that will review website updates and provide strategic planning updates.

Have a good week.

John
President
Highline College

Information Technology Services

Information Technology Services is excited to welcome Lori Evans as the new Executive Assistant to the CIO.  Lori will be supporting the ITS Leadership Team in our efforts to improve communications, processes, and documentation.

Core Theme 1: ACCESS, Reduce Barriers and close equity gaps to access for all community members

• The implementation phase for the new Recruit module of Aviso kicked off in April.  Under the umbrella of Student Success Council work, this new tool will provide communications and tracking tools to enhance the college’s outreach and recruitment efforts across all areas of campus.  ITS is leading this effort in collaboration with Student Services and other key stakeholders from around campus.  The initial implementation is scheduled to be complete by mid-July.
• ctcLink underwent an update to PeopleTools, the primary user-interface layer of the system. It was upgraded to version 8.59 which included many improvements in the areas of usability and accessibility, particularly benefiting screen-reader users.

Core Theme 2: STUDENT LEARNING, Increase educational success, collaborate to improve

• ITS is continuing to work on classroom equipment upgrades and improvements to support hyflex teaching and learning.  By the end of June 2023, Newline interactive touch display panels will be installed in Building 30 and at MaST for use by Business Technology and MaST classes; two Education classrooms in Building 21 will be renovated by the beginning of Fall 2023 to include electronic controlled projection screens and the Lightspeed system; and a project is underway to upgrade 15 classrooms in Building 29 new teaching equipment including better instructor controls, cameras, sound systems, and updated displays. 
  

Core Theme 3: COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS, Create a more inclusive working environment and a more valued, visible relationship with communities we serve

• Pat Daniels and Jennifer Jovanovich were invited by Michael Pham to participate in a meeting with the Business Affairs Commission (BAC) regarding our state Cybersecurity insurance program as well as the operational risks of ransomware and things colleges can do to mitigate those risks and prepare, based on the experience of one of our sister colleges.  BAC and the Information Technology Commission (ITC) are planning a system-wide ransomware table-top exercise in May.  Highline will be participating in that exercise with representatives from across the campus, and will work to address any lessons learned from that experience to further reduce our local risks.

Human Resources

In the last month, the Human Resources team has been focused on various recruitment activities, preparing for end of year activities, and conducting compensation reviews.  We have been cross leveling work in anticipation of a staff departure, but are excited about upcoming changes within the department.

Core Theme 1: ACCESS, Reduce Barriers and close equity gaps to access for all community members

Our recruitment team has been extremely busy working to fill campus vacancies, provide screening committee training, and working to ensure competitive compensation for newly hired staff.  We are excited to see the finalized campus budget in hopes to close additional equity gaps across the campus community.

Other Human Resources staff have been working to ensure Job Data is accurately entered, and are refining department processes for efficiency.  We have also been working closely with other campus stakeholders regarding employee accommodations, performance management and department reorganization.

Division Honors and Achievements

Lisa Russell was acknowledged through our Random Acts of Recognition site.  The submission stated that, “Within the team and the larger Highline community, Lisa consistently brings happiness and boosts team morale. I want her to know that all of the work she puts in, whether it’s helping the larger team or finishing something in the background, is appreciated and acknowledged. Thank you, Lisa! You are a true asset in our Highline College community.”

Title III

Celebrations and Accomplishments

• Disability Justice “Spill the DisabiliTea” workshop, sponsored by Title III
  • 27 attended, including a watch party by the BIRT + Title III Teams
• Annual Performance Report submitted March 13
• E-tutoring
  • Spring Quarter, so far 43 sessions used, out of 300 (if we go over 300 sessions we “owe” more tutoring time)
  • Initial roll-out Winter Quarter 78 unduplicated students with 214 sessions
  • Canvas banners alert all students to availability of e-tutoring
• Plenty of Interest in Faculty Communities of Practice for next year, including one on Trauma-responsive education for Adult Learners that prioritizes adjunct ELCAP faculty.
• Entry Advising launched Spanish New Student Orientation April 1.
  • 67 attended and completed Pathway form–63 for ECE
• Kelsey Anderson, Research Analyst, started March 13. She has already helped with grant-writing and Title III Data analysis and visualization
• Emerging Hispanic Serving Institution (EHSI) Work progressing (see p. 2)
• Survey constructed to assess whether Title III-supported tutoring innovations (E-Tutoring, Embedded Tutoring/Supplemental Instruction, Academic Excellence Workshops) are making positive impact
• Aviso trainings for Student Services staff will be offered in April and May
• Data Dashboard for individual instructor pass rates 90% complete. Training for Title III Community of Practice members will take place in April/May.

Challenges

• Departure of the Writing Center Director has slowed implementation of Embedded Tutoring. Shon Meckfessel researched and provided a summary of effective implementation.
• Title III sponsorship of Communities of Practices needs to be adjusted to align more effectively with Academic Affairs planning and impact on Gateway Courses, defined by the Community College Research Center (CCRC) and the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) as:
  • High enrollment
  • Taken within students’ first 30-45 credits OR first year
  • Inequitable success rates

Title III is focused on: ENGL& 101, MATH 111, MATH& 146, BIOL& 160, CHEM& 121, PSYC& 100, ACCTG 121, BUS& 101, CSCI 100, HOST100, HSER 101.

Emerging HSI

Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI): not-for-profit, degree-granting colleges and universities that enroll at least 25% or more Latinx students. The team read Becoming Hispanic-Serving Institutions: Opportunities for Colleges and Universities by Gina Ann Garcia and attended Alliance of Hispanic Serving Institution Educators (AHSIE) conference–at which Dr. Mosby was a panelist–to recognize and respond to our status as an Emerging Hispanic Serving Institution (EHSI). EHSI defined as 15-24%. The group’s mission now is to provide an evidence-based plan for Highline College for better serving diverse Latinx communities. Ultimately, Highline is poised to become a federally designated HSI, which opens opportunities for federal support. The group has dubbed the effort Juntos.

Juntos Team

Student Services: Mariela Barriga, Student Support (convener); Kelly Betancourt, Entry Advising

Institutional Advancement: Aleyda Cervantes, Outreach

Academic Affairs: Justin Dampeer, College & Career Readiness; Diego Luna, Faculty; George Lopez, Faculty; Krystal Welch, Cohort Learning Communities; Maribel Jimenez, Academic Transfer & Partnerships

Report submitted by Dr. John R. Mosby, President