Area Report for Board of Trustees

Successful Opening Week

Gabrielle Bachmeier and Kevin Kalal co-chaired a robust and well-attended Opening Week that featured workshops and plenaries led by many faculty and staff at the college. In Academic Affairs, Skyler Roth and Yay Cho led a powerful workshop based on student feedback provided through Guided Pathways focus groups last year. Among the goals of the session was the aim to help participants see how the small and large actions and decisions we make can bolster student success and have strong implications for the school year. Gabrielle Bachmeier, Shawna Freeman, May Lukens, and Liz Word facilitated a workshop updating campus on what was accomplished through our Guided Pathways initiative last year, what the goals are for this year, and how this year’s work is being organized.

Aleya Dhanji, Shawna Freeman, Eileen Jimenez (Student Services), Bob Scribner facilitated a well-attended advising retreat where faculty gathered by departments to discuss strategies for practicing proactive advising at the individual and department level. In a parallel vien, Assessment Committee chair Aaron Moehlig and vice-chair Ellen Bremen facilitated the 3rd Annual Assessment Retreat for faculty focused on goals for the upcoming year, including the strategy for conducting assessment of the first core competency.

Lisa Bernhagen, Theresa Duhart (ITS), Paulette Lopez, Tanya Powers, and Shannon Waits facilitated a workshop on behalf of the Institutional Effectiveness Committee. They introduced the purpose of the Mission Fulfillment Report, the new core themes and the objectives related to those core themes, and explained the new Institutional Effectiveness reporting process.

A big thank you to the many people who helped make Opening Week such a dynamic experience.

Fall Quarter Back to Campus

This is the first quarter bringing classes back to campus apart from allied health programs. Faculty, staff, and students are all navigating the challenges associated with this: understanding the class modality on the schedule (is it online, or Zoom, or on campus?); figuring out how to teach and talk wearing a mask, learning to ask small groups of students to put on face shields when they work together for more than 15 minutes… The energy of being on campus together nearly offsets the energy required to navigate new technology (recording class sessions so if students have to quarantine or are sick they can still catch up), new physical constraints, and the overall overwhelm of dealing with the pandemic. Two breakout sessions during Opening Week allowed faculty to ask questions and share strategies for navigating these complex circumstances. On display in those sessions was an abundance of good will on the part of faculty, and also a general feeling of overwhelm. People are tired and the quarter had not yet begun.

Negotiated enrollment strategy allowed classes to run in varied modalities

HC and HCEA negotiated an enrollment strategy to account for the two-part challenge of uncertain enrollment compounded by the difficulty of predicting which modalities (on-campus, online, hybrid/on-campus, zoom/online) students prefer. Decisions to cancel sections were pushed into early September, and Division Chairs made final decisions during Opening Week. New metrics were used to justify keeping sections with fewer than 15 students on the schedule. Departments where the average enrollment for all courses was 70% of capacity (the enrollment threshold identified in the HC-HCEA collective agreement) or higher were allowed to maintain low-enrolled classes. This process allowed departments to offer courses in a variety of modalities. We will be reviewing and re-negotiating this agreement for Winter 2022 and Spring 2022.

Highline College Title III Strengthening Institutions Program

Highline College has been awarded a highly competitive U.S. Department of Education five-year Title III- Part A, Strengthening Institutions Program grant. The grant development project award of $2,249,407 is for October 1, 2021 through September 30, 2026. The project will its leverage funding to support Highline’s guided pathways and the equity first strategic plan. Its goals include:  increase pass rates in gateway courses; develop data capacity and campus data literacy to close the equity gap to student success; re-design the student onboarding experience to give students a strong start; transform advising to increase student momentum and graduation in their chosen pathway; and provide comprehensive professional development focused on closing student equity gaps. These goals will improve Highline College’s self-sufficiency and capacity to serve low-income students and close the equity gaps to stabilize student tuition revenue through improved student retention through graduation.

MaST Center Updates

• The MaST Center’s public Discovery Days reopened in mid-July and runs every Saturday from 10a-2p.  The popular opening has already had over 2500 visitors and for many was the first time at the MaST and Highline College (based on anecdotal info).  Besides a single staff person, Discovery Days run with a team of amazing volunteers.  These 20+ volunteers have already recorded over 140 hours.  A recent story (9/21/21) in the Seattle Times featured the MaST Center’s Discovery Days as a great family local adventure (link HERE).
• We’ve also hosted several meetings over the summer with two new local high schools to explore educational partnerships and opportunities for students.  A part of Highline Public School District, Maritime High School opened its doors this fall and focuses on creating a hand’s on curriculum with a focus on maritime partners in both the industry and scientific communities.  Why Not you Academy, supported by local Seahawk quarter Russell Wilson, also opened this fall and whose goal is to create an innovative network of mentorship-based with the local communities.
• In partnership with the City of Des Moines, Sealife Response Rescue and Research (SR3), Washington SCUBA Alliance (WSA) and Seattle Dive Tours, we hosted our 4^th annual “International Coastal Cleanup Day” on September 18^th with clean up both underwater using local divers and along the shoreline.  Over 400 lbs. of mostly plastic debris was removed from the Puget Sound.

Business Division News

The Hospitality and Tourism Program in partnership with Administrative Services will be opening the Fireside Bistro in building 8.  The Bistro will be used as a training facility for students to have hands-on learning experience in coffee house operations and customer service.  A Grand Opening is planned for during the second week of fall quarter.

Faculty Laureates

• Mary Weir, Criminal Justice, had a paper accepted into the Nordic Journal of Criminology entitled, “Incarcerated Women’s Cooking and Eating Practices in a ‘Humane’ Danish Open Prison.” The article is based on fieldwork Mary did in a mixed-gender Danish open prison while she was a graduate student in Copenhagen, Denmark.
• Bruce Lamb, Legal Studies, was selected to receive Oregon Law’s Minoru Yasui Justice Award for 2021. The award is presented to an Oregon Law graduate, faculty member, or friend of Oregon Law whose commitment to advancing the cause of justice on behalf of underrepresented communities brings honor to the school. The award is named in recognition of Presidential Medal of Freedom winner and Oregon Law Alumnus, Minoru Yasui.
• TM Sell, Journalism and Political Science, is moderating the civic engagement panels at the American Political Science Association’s national Teaching and Learning Conference in Seattle this weekend, October 1-3.
• Shana Friend, ELCAP, is being featured for her OER work on the CK12.org platform. Shana has curated her own Adult Education resources by optimizing them for adult students looking to gain the necessary knowledge and skills to prepare for important education goals.  CK12 Flexbooks have been developed for Foundations, Algebra Basics, Geometry, Data, Statistics & Probability and Shana is currently finishing an ABE/GED Science
• Bob Baugher, Psychology, gave four workshops in the last month: Minneapolis Chapter of the Compassionate Friends, Do Men & Women Really Grieve Differently?; Pierce County Aging & Disability, Suicide Intervention and Coping with Loss; Washington State Association of Activity Professionals, How to Successfully Worry.
• Greg November’s, English, story “Decoys” was selected as a finalist in the Missouri Review’s 2021 Miller Audio Prize Contest and will soon be featured on their Miller Aud-Cast.
• Susan Rich, English, had poems in the two anthologies that won Washington State Book Awards in September. “Alone, Together” won best non-fiction  and “Take a Stand Against Hate” won best poetry.
• Melinda Hurst-Frye, Art & Design, will have artwork hanging at the Port Angeles Center for Fine Art in the exhibition entitled ‘Chasing Shadows’ in October and at the Seattle University Faculty Exhibit at the Hedreen Gallery in October and November.
• Joshua Gidding, English, published two review articles on recent biographies of Philip Roth in the review Megapsychology Online. “The Written (and Unwritten) Worlds of Philip Roth” and “The Heartbroken Patriot.”
• Ben Kerns, Multimedia Design, is an accomplished film maker and has completed three films during the pandemic — winning various film festival accolades from around the country. “Abraham’s Land”; “Nightingale – Kiss her Shadow”; “The Office Job, Trailer.”

Report submitted September 30, 2021, by Vice President Emily Lardner, Ph.D.