Area Report for Board of Trustees

Core Theme 1: ACCESS, Reduce Barriers and close equity gaps to access for all community members;  Core Theme 2: STUDENT LEARNING, Increase educational success, collaborate to improve & Core Theme 2: STUDENT LEARNING, Increase educational success, collaborate to improve

• Global Programs team facilitated the third workshop for the “Follow the Supply Chain to Vietnam” study abroad students on May 21st. Former U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam, Michael Michalak did a presentation on the geopolitics of Vietnam. Dr. Bryant Nguyen, Associate Professor at Foreign Trade University, Hanoi, Vietnam, also led a discussion on “logistics and supply chain systems in Vietnam.” These workshops are designed to provide the participating students with the basic essential knowledge about Vietnam and supply chain management to get the most out of their upcoming trip to Vietnam.
• Facilities is in the process of replacing a chiller in Building 30. The project is expected to be completed by early June.
• Facilities has been working on collecting data for the state’s mandated Decarbonization and Clean Buildings programs. Highline College is scheduled to present our 15-year decarbonization plan to the State Board on June 2nd.
• Facilities, Public Safety, and ITS are continuing to troubleshoot issues with the campus fire alarm system. Certain building locations have experienced false alarms, most likely due to our aging infrastructure system.
• In an effort to improve safety and security on campus, Public Safety will be installing additional surveillance cameras in the East Parking Lot during the last week of May and first week of June.

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

• McGranahan Architects presented their first test fit (preliminary floor plan layout) of the Student Activity Center, based on various inputs from the Student Activity Center Committee (comprising of faculty, staff, and student representatives).
• I had the opportunity to serve as one of the panel speakers at the Disrupting Anti-Asian Racism forum, hosted by UW Tacoma, on May 3rd. Attendees included faculty, staff, and graduate students from the School of Education.
• Global Programs hosted a debriefing of the Experiential Learning Program to Vietnam trip participants on April 30th. The participants provided important feedback on the March 2025 trip. Mina Vo, Interim Global Program Manager, received an outstanding ovation from the participants for her efforts in leading the program.
• Global Programs has also announced our tentative planning for next year’s Experiential Learning Program to Japan. The planning is assisted by Jesse Aspree, Director of International Student Programs, who has extensive connections with our institutional partners in Japan. In addition, we have also invited Reiko Nagae Foster, Japanese Language Faculty, to be part of the planning team due to her extensive knowledge of the Japanese culture.

FISCAL & BUDGET

• The state accountability audit has been completed. Unlike the annual financial statement audit, accountability audit focuses on compliance and adherence to applicable state laws, regulations, and our own internal policies and procedures. Also, unlike an annual financial audit, an accountability audit may cover multiple years. We received a management letter from the SAO regarding two issues: internal control of small and attractive assets and internal control of extra compensation/payroll. Highline College will be reviewing the recommendations and implementing changes as necessary to ensure full compliance.
• The state auditors, however, were especially complementing our team during the audit process. An excerpt of their highlights is noted below:

• We are getting ready for the next financial statement audit. Our finance team met with the state auditors for the entrance conference on May 13th. Trustee Travis Exstrom met separately with the SAO for a risk assessment on May 16th.
• The Third Quarter Financial Report is being submitted to the Board this month for review. Highline College ended the period through March 31, 2025, in our best financial position since 2019. The College is projected to finish the current FY25 with a budget surplus.
• Highline College is in the midst of the FY26 budget planning process, using preliminary budget information from the State legislative budget released on April 26th. In fully recognizing the looming budget challenges, our planning strategies focus on the following three principles: (1) student retention, (2) protect our people and our institution, and (3) maintain and enhance infrastructure. Our current budget planning as such takes into account using budget surplus from FY25 to offset the state budget reductions next year.
• During our strategic planning retreat on May 12th and May 13th, a proposal was made for the Board to consider increasing the Board reserves from 10% to 15% (of fiscal year budget) by 2028. This increase is proposed as a strategy to ensure long-term fiscal sustainability and stability of the college, given the uncertain times ahead. Please note the current Board Reserves Policy was last adopted in 2010. It is recommended for the Board to review and update as appropriate.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

• Big congratulations to Marco Lopez, Director of Budgets & Grants, who has been appointed to serve on the Board of Directors for the Community College Business Officers (CCBO) Association. CCBO is the largest national association of community college business and finance professionals, with participating community college members throughout the U.S.

Report submitted by Vice President of Administrative Services, Dr. Michael Pham