Area Report for Board of Trustees

Dear Trustees,

I am pleased to provide you with this update from Student Services as we prepare for the upcoming fall quarter. Throughout the summer, our staff have been hard at work supporting students and strengthening programs, while also finding time to recharge and enjoy the season. Below are a few key highlights from this month’s report:

• TRIO Grant Success: Highline College received a perfect score and was awarded the 2025–2030 TRIO Student Support Services grant in the amount of $1.36 million. We are also under strong consideration for an additional $1.36 million TRIO SSS-STEM grant, which would expand services to 120 more students each year.
• Enrollment and Financial Aid Growth: Fall 2025 enrollment is tracking significantly higher than last year, with FTEs up from 3,455 to 3,995 and headcount up from 4,784 to 5,451. The Financial Aid Office has processed 17% more applications compared to this time last year, reflecting both increased student demand and the dedication of our staff to ensuring affordability.
• International Partnerships: The International Student Programs office has secured a new partnership with an agency in China, supporting both in-person and virtual enrollment opportunities. Staff will also be traveling to Indonesia, the Philippines, China, and Hong Kong to strengthen global connections and student pipelines.
• Student Support Expansion: The Counseling Center continues to increase its capacity, adding new staff and offering expanded hours of service. In the past academic year, counselors increased completed sessions by nearly 7%, further supporting student success and well-being.

As we close out the summer, Student Services remains focused on creating access, strengthening student support, and deepening partnerships that benefit the entire Highline community. We look forward to welcoming students back for fall quarter and continuing to advance the college’s mission.

Kind regards,
Dr. Jamilyn Penn, Vice President for Student Services

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

• Nationally colleges have had growing concern regarding the state of federally funded TRIO programs. I am pleased to share some recent and hopeful updates. Highline College received perfect grant scores for our TRIO Student Support Services (TRIO SSS) regular grant submission and our TRIO Student Support Services-STEM (TRIO SSS STEM) grant submission. The college has officially received the 2025-2030 TRIO SSS grant award of $1.36 million dollars. We are currently awaiting notification of our 2025-2030 TRIO SSS-STEM grant, which we’ve have been identified as being under the “funding-band”, which means we are going through an additional review process to be considered the grant. If awarded, that would provide Highline College an additional $1.36 million to expand the TRIO department. This will enable the college to serve 120 more students annually with holistic integrated academic and support services. We expect to be notified in September and are confident in our likelihood to be awarded the new TRIO SSS-STEM grant, given our perfect grant score. Many thanks to Dean Saechao, who served as the Lead Grant Writer and Chair of the TRIO SSS Grant Writing Committee and the rest of the grant writing team: Dave O’Keefe, Dr. Tolu Taiwo, Skyler Roth, and Kylie Chick.
• Fall 2025 enrollment snapshot as of 8/25/25-78 of registration
  • FTEs: 3,995 (up from 3455 in Fall 2024)
  • Headcount: 5,451 (up from 4784 in Fall 2024)
• As of early August, the Financial Aid Office has processed 17% more applications compared to the same period last year. This increase aligns with a 15% rise in enrollment among state-funded students at Highline College. This upward trend reflects both growing student demand and the Financial Aid Department’s commitment to supporting access and affordability. Special thanks to the Financial Aid team for their continued dedication and responsiveness during this busy period.
• In International Student Programs (ISP), as of the week of August 26, 2025, there are 216 completed applications (256 was the final number of completed application in fall 2024). Top countries Kenya (72); Vietnam (39); Myanmar (19); Ethiopia (8), and Japan (7).
• ISP signed an agreement with Broward agency from China. The plan is to have China send several students to Highline College, as well as to provide virtual instruction to several more students who are still in China, during the 2025-2026 academic year.
• Jesse Aspree, Director of ISP, will be travelling to Papua, Indonesia and the Philippines. His goal during these travels is to meet with government officials regarding granting another Papua student scholarship. Highline College would like to continue this scholarship and bring another cohort for summer or fall 2026. The Associate Director of ISP, Tiffany Huang, will visit China and Hong Kong to meet with agencies, schools, and prospective students.
• Throughout the past year Women’s Programs staff have worked closely with the King County Regional Homeless Authority (KCRHA) to apply for their Continuum of CARE Permanent Supportive Housing grant. The grant application was submitted in 2024. Unfortunately, Highline College received notification that funding for new applicants would not be available due to federal budget cuts within the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Our appreciation and gratitude to the grant writing team: Tina Ngo, Mariela Barriga, Dave O’Keefe, Alycia Williams, Sean Kerr, and Saido Alinur. We will continue to explore grant opportunities to increase student resources and services.

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

• Many students, faculty, and staff are unaware of the support and resources that the Counseling Center offers. The Center is doing outreach to diverse community populations to ensue that they know where the Counseling Center is, what resources are offered, who is eligible to receive the resources, and how to refer students to the Center. Counseling Center staff will track their outreach efforts to deem which are the most impactful towards getting the word out about all that it offers. For the 2024-2025 academic year, Counseling staff directly connected with 599 students and 94 staff/faculty outside of regularly scheduled appointments, groups, and classes.
• The Counseling Center has continued to expand its capacity to meet the growing needs of our student population. During the 2023–2024 academic year, the program enhanced its efforts by adding a Program Specialist II and integrating the Director of Counseling—a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist—into direct service provision. This strategic staffing increase enabled them to offer an additional 339 hours of individual counseling sessions. In the most recent academic year, the Counseling Center sustained this momentum, increasing the number of scheduled sessions by 75. Counselors achieved a 6.9% increase in completed sessions, reflecting improved student engagement and follow-through.

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

• Dean Saechao joined Executive Cabinet on Monday, August 18th to speak with Congressman Adam Smith regarding the current state of TRIO. Dean Saechao and the TRIO team also met with Senator Patty Murray’s staff on Thursday, August 21st reiterating the need for the US Department of Education to release Grant Award Notifications (GAN). As of August 26th, the college has yet to receive the GANs for the TRIO Talent Search (a continuation grant. TRIO GANs have been delayed. The funds
• The Counseling Center responded to over 24 CARE referrals, providing timely and coordinated support to students in need. These metrics underscore our commitment to proactive mental health care and its critical role in supporting student retention and success.
• Penn attended the Multicultural Student Services Directors Council (MSSDC) meeting at Whatcom Community College (August 19-22). Dr. Penn serves as the Washington State Student Services Commission’s (WSSSC) liaison to MSSDC. The focus of the meeting was to outline MSSDC’s annual workplan, which includes hosting the Students of Color Conference (SOCC) in spring 2026. All students are welcome to attend.

Division Honors and Achievements

• A new Director of Advising and Running Start has been hired. Alan Nguyen has accepted the offer and will step into his new position on September 3, 2025. He will oversee the Pathway and Running Start Advisors.
• The Counseling Center has a new team member: Jeremiah Hooks joins our team in a part-time faculty counselor capacity. He will be able to assist the team with the rising need and request for counseling appointments.
• Isha Rajvanshi, our intern therapist for 2024-2025, has completed her year with us and has graduated from her program from Seattle University as a Licensed Mental Health Counselor Associate. Highline College Counseling Center has now supported the academic completion and professional growth of four new-to-the-profession Mental Health Counselors since the pandemic. The Counseling Department will welcome Tanisha Hason, an intern therapist, in September for the 2025-2026 academic year.
• The Fall Sports Season has begun with Men’s and Women’s Soccer and Volleyball. The Fall Rosters are very full with over 60 student athletes amongst those teams. The majority of fall quarter student- athletes have arrived on campus with approximately 40 residing in Campus View housing.

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