Area Report for Board of Trustees

Academic Affairs is continuing to make measurable progress toward the College’s access and student success priorities. Hispanic student participation in ELCAP increased 30%, BAS Business Management enrollment contributed to overall BAS enrollment growth from 65 to 101 students, and new education and workforce pathways are extending access to high-demand careers. Partnerships with Puget Sound Educational Service District (PSESD), the Port of Seattle and Port Jobs, Break Reinvent Impact Change (BRIC) Foundation, and regional healthcare partners are also showing outcomes in workforce outcomes to include a pathway designed to help diversify the regional teaching workforce by 100 teachers by 2030 and a new aviation security program that launched with 29 students. Collectively, these results demonstrate the hard work in partnerships and relationship building with our communities with a focus on who we serve, increasing access to baccalaureate and career pathways, and strengthening the College’s role as a regional workforce partner.

Just as important, in Academic Affairs, the redesigned faculty advising model increased the share of eligible students connected to a dedicated faculty advisor from 50% to 68%, while 45 updated Academic Advisement Reports and stronger cross-campus advising practices are reducing administrative barriers and improving students’ ability to navigate degree completion. At the same time, Academic Affairs and the Budget Office are partnering and collaborating on strengthening data and planning systems to better align course offerings, staffing, and resource allocation with student demand and long-term fiscal sustainability.

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

• ELCAP has increased the number of Hispanic students from 192 in 2024-2025 to 255 in 2025-2026 (a 30% increase). This is in large part due to Ignacio Ramirez becoming a full time tenure track faculty member and providing leadership for our Spanish GED program.
• The BAS in Business Management program had nearly doubled Hispanic student enrollment from 24-25 to 25-26. Additionally, the Business Management program has a MOU with CWU to support students with access to graduate programs including Accounting and the MBA. Overall, enrollment in Business Management fueled the increase in BAS enrollments last year going from 65 students in 24-25 to 101 students in 25-26. Business department faculty have been dedicated to supporting students and growing the program.
• Highline College in partnership with Puget Sound Educational Service District (PSESD) will be serving working paraeducators from Auburn, Federal Way and Highline school districts with the goal of diversifying the teaching workforce and increasing the number of teachers by 100 by 2030. PSESD has been awarded a Ballmer grant to support this work and we have an additional $100,000 for student tuition for students in this pathway. The grant is a 3 year grant with increased funding through year 3.
• HOST has actively recruited Ukrainian refugees for the Ukrainian Bridge Program, partnering with the Ukrainian Association of Washington State; and to Arabic speakers, primarily to Iraqi refugees, for the Arabic Bridge Program, partnering with the Iraqi Community Center of Kent; and is developing a Dari/Persian Bridge program slated to begin in the next academic year. HOST is also working with ISP on the Japanese Bridge Program.
• The Respiratory Care program continues to be an open admission lottery based process to make the program more accessible for students who face more barriers and changed its grading policy to a 2.0 standard–resulting in increased retention of students from the first to the second year.

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

• Tech Tutor: Provided technology and testing accommodations for 13 students CNA exams. Collaborated and provided technology support on orientations/workshops for incoming students with International Student Programs, Achieve, and Paraeducator Cohort.
• The Respiratory Care program taught a new curricular element this summer in pulmonary diagnostics exposing students to additional clinical settings to open up an additional sector of employment to our graduates.Has created a system whereby faculty hold review sessions and open laboratory times to help students who need extra assistance.
• Advising Tools: Our Program Manager in Academic Services has updated 45 Academic Advisement Reports (AARs) over the summer that align with the new 2026-2027 catalog. These AARs are used by students to check their progress toward degree completion. These reports are also key documents used by advisors across campus and in offices such as the Registrar and Financial Aid. The new format is easier for students to follow and prioritizes information that has caused past administrative slowdowns for students. Many hours of meetings and productive collaboration between divisions, will help students this academic year track their progress.
• Faculty Advising: Highline’s redesigned faculty advising model is strengthening students’ connection to dedicated advisors while creating a more consistent, student-centered advising experience across campus. The percentage of eligible students assigned to a faculty advisor increased from 50% in Spring 2025 to 68% in Spring 2026. The model currently engages 112 faculty managing direct student caseloads and 71 faculty providing specialized advising support through registration, orientation, enrollment events, and other high-demand services. Quarterly cross-campus advisor meetings and shared training are further strengthening coordination and consistency so students receive timely, accurate support regardless of where they access advising.

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

• Aviation Security Training Program: Highline College, in partnership with the Port of Seattle and Port Jobs, launched a new six-week Aviation Security Training Program in August with an inaugural cohort of 29 students. Developed in direct response to regional workforce needs, the program prepares current SEA Airport workers and other eligible participants for entry-level aviation security careers. The partnership expands career pathways for community members while strengthening the pipeline of qualified workers for SEA Airport and regional employers.
• Highline College in partnership with BRIC Foundation will be serving our first apprentice this fall quarter. Highline College has agreed to provide related supplemental instruction for apprentices in this program. The apprenticeship focuses on two pathways: production and project managers and marketing and event managers.
• The Highline College Nursing program team, led by Dr. Steven Simpkins, met with key local medical partners to explore the Academic Practice Partnership model. This innovative approach seeks to address the shortage of clinical placement sites, limited faculty, and other challenges while providing opportunities for students to earn a salary while completing their nursing education program.

Core Theme 4: CULTURE & CAPACITY: Become an anti-racist college through intentional development of employees, facilities, and systems that support student success and close equity gaps

• Mark your calendars for Oct 12, 2026to celebrate Highline’s 10th Annual Indigenous People’s Day. We will welcome Dr. Denise Bill and Elise Gerrish-Bill from the Muckleshoot tribe at 10am. We will also welcome Roger Fernandes who is a Native American artist, storyteller, and educator whose work focuses on the culture and arts of the Coast Salish tribes of western Washington. He is a member of the Lower Elwha S’Klallam Tribe.
• Highline College sent 8 faculty and 12 staff (ranging from student support staff to administrators) to the Muckleshoot Effective Teaching Institute through a combination of funding sources. Thank you to our EDT and the Workforce team! The annual conference continues to strengthen the educational workforce by providing culturally grounded training, innovative teaching strategies, and opportunities to build meaningful connections across Tribal and educational communities. Participants explored topics including language revitalization, storytelling, outdoor education, disability inclusion, community engagement, and Indigenous ways of knowing. The institute provided educators with opportunities to exchange ideas, build relationships, and gain practical strategies they can apply in their schools and communities.
• Throughout the summer, Academic Affairs and the Budget Office partnered to prepare for the upcoming fiscal year, by strengthening the data, systems and planning tools to support decisions about course offerings, staffing, and resource allocation. This work will help ensure that instructional resources are aligned with student demand while supporting the College’s long-term fiscal sustainability.

Division Honors and Achievements

• The Respiratory Care program was again awarded the Commission on Accreditation on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC) a Distinguished Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) success award for excellent outcomes.
• Justin Taillon published three academic articles over the summer:
  • “Luxury is the Future of Development” in Hotel Executive
  • “Cultural Food Deserts” about halal and kosher cuisine in Hospitality Net
  • “The Future of Hospitality Accounting as a Profession” as a book chapter
• We welcomed two Program Specialists, Tasha Bentley and Janet Bradshaw. They will support the deans and associate deans of Academic Affairs, provide reception support for the division, and assist with a variety of projects.

Report submitted by Interim Vice President of Academic Affairs, Dr. Rolita Ezeonu