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

• It was another successful program for our Follow the Supply Chain to Vietnam Study Abroad students. Nineteen (19) students and five (5) support staff completed their 8-day visit to Vietnam and safely returned to Seattle on September 18, 2025.  The Study Abroad delegation had the opportunity to visit Brooks Sports shoe factory, SSA Marine port, and a wholesale import market to learn about supply chain management, especially on products with Washington’s ties. Although Highline College took the lead in organizing the program, it was a collaborative effort of six participating community colleges (Highline, Tacoma, North Seattle, Wenatchee, Columbia Basin, and Lake Washington Technical).  The program was made possible due to the donations from various corporate sponsors (Alaska Airlines, Lynden, Port of Seattle, Transportation Club of Seattle, Transportation Club of Tacoma, UW Foster School of Business – Global Business Center, UW Center for Global Studies, and UW Center of SE Asia & Its Diasporas).  Sam Kaplan, Director of Center of Excellence for Global Trade & Supply Chain Management, single-handedly fundraised over $21K from these sponsors.  Each of the participating colleges’ Foundation also contributed $500 per student toward the trip.
• In our third year of partnership with ACHIEVE, the Bookstore is offering job training to two Achieve students through Spring Quarter 2026.

Core Theme 3: COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS: Create a more inclusive working environment and a more valued, visible relationship with communities we serve; Core Theme 4: CULTURE & CAPACITY: Promote a campus culture which fosters equity and inclusivity supporting employee growth and development, and institutional capacity for transformation

• Highline College and WPEA classified staff reached an agreement on the 2026-27 (CBA) contract. WPEA memberships at Highline College ratified the contract on September 25^th.  The new contract includes the incorporation of the two percent (2%) COLA from the Higher Education Coalition and a one-time incentive payment of $1,500 for all represented members.  The CBA has been submitted to OFM after the Board’s approval on September 29^th.  Once funded by the Legislature, the CBA will be effective July 1, 2026.
• Public Safety is working with Sound Transit and a contracted public relations firm to gather feedback about changing bus routes in South King County. We will be hosting an informational event on campus as well as distributing transportation-related materials to both internal and external community members.
• As part of our planning for the upcoming Welcome Center major project, Facilities is continuing to work with all impacted areas to identify potential relocation space. Some space currently under consideration includes B-0 (recently vacated childcare), B-23 2^nd floor, and underutilized rooms in B-4.

FISCAL & BUDGET

• The State Auditor’s Office (SAO) is about to complete their financial statement audit of FY24 books. An exit conference is tentatively scheduled for October 15, 2025.  Based on preliminary information, the college is likely to be issued a management letter in regard to some of our corrected entries.  Additional information will be provided as soon as it becomes available.

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