Area Report for Board of Trustees

Good day Trustees,

I hope all is well as the summer draws to a close.  The campus is busy preparing for fall opening.  I want to personally invite all of you to some upcoming events.   Starting with opening week (Sept 19-22).  Opening week is when the entire campus come together in community to prepare for the academic year.  We will discuss all of the progress has been made the past year, what we’re doing next, updates on our strategic plan and opportunities to reconnect with campus community members.  You can access the information here: OPENING WEEK 2023.

Information Technology Services

As summer quarter wraps up and we look towards fall, ITS is working to make sure everything is in place from a technology standpoint to support a successful kickoff. In addition to normal workstation and software updates, virtual lab creations, device deployments, and helping new students get started with their accounts, this month we are finishing up a major update of classroom equipment in Building 29, which is on track to be ready for the start of fall quarter.  

Core Theme 2: LEARNING, Increase equitable learning, retention, completion and transfer rates, and improve labor market outcomes using evidence-based innovation and high-impact practices in and out of the classroom

• Our classroom update project in Building 29 is running on schedule, due to be complete by the beginning of fall quarter. This project is a significant upgrade in classroom technology and will enable HyFlex options in a number of classrooms. Opportunities for faculty training on the new equipment will be offered during opening week.
• In an effort to collaborate with departments to identify and address technology barriers, the TSS team will lead technology presentations at the ACHIEVE orientation on September 11 to assist students with navigating Highline campus resources.  Technology informational sessions for students will be scheduled throughout the first two weeks of the Fall quarter.  

Core Theme 3: COMMUNITY, Increase breadth and depths of partnerships with K-12, other postsecondary institutions, community-based organizations, employers and government that align with Highline’s strategic priorities and contribute to economic and social vibrancy of communities it serves

• On August 21, Highline hosted a system-wide Data Summit, co-sponsored by the Information Technology Commission and the Research and Planning Commission, and organized by the DataLink Steering Committee. Invitees included the Commission members, IT and Institutional Research staff who work with DataLink data, and the ctcLink College Collaboration Group regular participants. Every district plus SBCTC staff was represented at the event; 142 total, with around 60 attending in-person.
  
  A plenary session was held in the morning to ensure all participants had a common understanding about the history, functionality, and expectations around DataLink (a replication of ctcLink data for college use), BDRP (Baseline Data Replication Package, the tool used to make the data useable locally), and support and reporting structures moving forward. During the session, a panel discussion and Q&A drove good conversation on how the colleges are using these data sources and tools and what successes and opportunities have been identified. After lunch the participants participated in breakout sessions for deeper discussions into the technical needs and future support of the replication tools, Institutional Research needs across campuses, and college’s day-to-day reporting, process, and resource needs.
  
  We received very positive feedback about this event, and plan to repeat it periodically in the future to keep this vital system-wide effort sustained.

Core Theme 4: CULTURE & CAPACITY, Create capacity for meaningful strategic planning and institutional transformation through intentional development of employees, facilities, and systems that support student success and close equity gaps

• ITS staff worked closely with Enrollment Services and others on campus to respond to an IT Security incident at the National Student Clearinghouse, which affected all higher education institutions nationwide. Fortunately, the impact to Highline students was minimal, but navigating the process with an incident at an external partner taught us some good lessons about how to respond and communicate to such an incident, and highlighted some additional protections we can implement ourselves to protect student and employee data and reduce risk when working with an external partner.

Division Honors and Achievements

• Tim Wrye was invited to speak on a panel at the Amazon Web Services re:Imagine Higher Education conference in July. The topic of the panel was how institutions are utilizing cloud services to improve student success and the student experience, and Tim spoke about the ongoing project that ITS and Financial Aid are working on to improve student access to information about their status in the Financial Aid review process and make future technical improvements in the review process overall.

Human Resources

The Human Resources Department had an extremely busy and productive summer.  We had a number of staffing changes occur and have more changes in the weeks ahead.  The next few months will be an opportunity for professional growth for many in the department, and we are excited for new challenges that lie ahead. 

Core Theme 4: CULTURE & CAPACITY, Promote a campus culture which fosters equity and inclusivity supporting employee growth and development, and institutional capacity for transformation

As we plan for a period of institutional change, Human Resources must be well situated in advance of what is to come.  Over the summer, we increased our operating capacity by eliminating one administrative position in favor of a Human Resources Generalist, and an Executive Assistant.  As mentioned in July, Jordan Mellott started as our Executive Assistant, supporting both the Human Resources Department and Office of the President.

In August, Mina Vo joined the Highline College team as our new HR Generalist.  Her duties will primarily involve working with supervisory and managerial staff, ensuring sufficient training and development are provided.  She will also provide training on a variety of topics to all employee groups.  Additionally, she will work directly with staff and faculty seeking workplace accommodation or special forms of leave.

In September, Anadelia Gonzales will be joining the team as our new Human Resources Consultant Assistant 2.  She will primarily support employee benefits and part time faculty.  She is a current Highline College employee, transferring over from the Continuing Education department.

We will also be saying goodbye this month to Grace Kuhnly, Human Resources Consultant Assistant 1.  Grace has accepted an exciting opportunity locally in aerospace manufacturing.

The HR team has finalized our Institutional Effectiveness Plan for the upcoming academic year, and feel we have the right people in place to reach our goals. 

Division Honors and Achievements

Last month, the Human Resources Team held a very productive staff retreat, the first one in recent memory (maybe ever).  We were able to work on our strategic goals for the department, refine workflow processes, and build community given all of the staffing changes experienced over the last year.  Our team made great use of the time and are refreshed and prepared for the upcoming academic year. 

Report submitted by President Dr. John R. Mosby