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May 14, 2020: Student Services

Home/Area Reports, Division: Student Services, Meeting 05-14-20/May 14, 2020: Student Services
2020-05-07T19:20:32+00:00 Print Page

May 14, 2020: Student Services

Area Report for Board of Trustees

The division of Student Services operates on three core functions: access, supporting student success and engagement with a focus on equity.

The goals of Student Services for 2019-2021:
Goal 1: Increase Access and Enrollment (Getting students on a Path – Entry & Onboarding)
Goal 2: Increase progression and completion (Keeping Students on a Path – Retention & Completion)
Goal 3: Design and implement a holistic Advising Model that supports students from entry to completion (Pathways Advising)
Goal 4: Professional Development

Student Access, Retention, and Success

 Advising, Career and Student Employment (CASE), High School Programs and Running Start

  • Advising Center collaborated with Briana Quintanilla, Program Manager of Faculty Advising to offer Academic Pathway Advising Days via Zoom to help students plan Summer/Fall courses.
  • Online New Student Orientation is being updated for 20-21 and will be available to students May 11 in Canvas. Sessions will also be offered via Zoom.
  • Online Group Advising for Pre-Nursing students was offered on May 13, 23 and 27.

Enrollment and Registration

  • Summer and Fall 2020 Class Schedule is now live and Registration Access Times are viewable through Online Student Services. Times are assigned by credits earned to students who are currently enrolled or have attended in the past year in order to facilitate timely registration for future terms and support degree attainment. Students needing assistance with enrollment processes can contact Registration staff through a Zoom lobby, by phone or email.
  • Registration & Records, Advising and Running Start staff continue to stay up to date on important changes to the AA degree for 20-21. These changes will streamline academic pathways and support student success while also reducing the amount of time needed to conduct graduation evaluations. We appreciate the collaboration and important updates just in time for summer and fall registration and advising.
  • Center for Leadership and Service: – ASHC have worked closely to identify S&A funds to utilize as leadership scholarships annually. The office has increased the visibility and access to these funds for students in need. This quarter, two scholarships in the amount of $150.00 was awarded, each scholarship recipient is asked to send in a short leadership journey essay and a reflection after completing a leadership opportunity during SQ (i.e. Attend a Unity week event, host a club meeting, attend a workshop, etc.).
  • ASHC is working to evaluate and assess the possibility of a refund for building 8 fees due to our campus closure during SQ. Clubs program continues to be active during this pandemic with a small number of club leaders offering community building through virtual lobbies.  S&A committee is on track and continuing to meet via zoom weekly.
  • Center for Cultural and Inclusive Excellence – The Inter-Cultural Center serves a critical space on campus to promote sense of belonging, community dialogue, and due to campus closure, they’ve launched virtual hours May 4 for our student campus community to engage in consistent programming Monday & Wednesdays 9:30am-11:30am and Tuesday, Thursday and Fridays  10:30am-1:30pm.

Campus View

  • With social/physical distancing measures in place, there is a continued effort to provide virtual programming for 44 residents. Along with social media engagement, there is a weekly email and bi-weekly phone call check it with residents.

Student Support and Funding Services

  • Financial Aid deadlines were  pushed back to allow students time to apply for FAFSA online without face to face contact due to campus closure. Summer quarter priority deadline was pushed back to April 28th. Fall quarter priority deadline was also pushed back to June 1st. Financial aid forms are being formatted so that students can fill out and submit their documents online.
  • A CARES Act team has been convened to develop CARES Act policy & procedures; funding eligibility & process; and communication to the campus. Students have to meet Title IV eligibility to receive emergency funds. Financial aid staff will be checking students eligibility with financial aid tools (FAM, NSLDS)

 International Student Programs

  • International student summer orientation is being planned to include zoom sessions that include both live interaction as well as videos of different services on/off campus. Due to student visas not being issued by embassies abroad fewer students are anticipated. It is likely that students who planned on coming for summer quarter will defer to fall quarter.
  • Several staff have participated in AWISA, Association of Washington International Student Advisors on May 1. Sessions included ‘Enhancing the quality of international student programs online’, F-1 Visa regulation updates, and advisor-to advisor- meetings. Most of the sessions had a COVID-related theme to it.
  • ISP has also been reaching out to students as a care/welfare check. Staff are sending emails to all international students with a survey asking how they are doing and if they have any concerns, and what they could do to help. This is supplemented by the Highline Cares campaign.

Student Engagement

  • Transfer Center piloted WA State’s first Virtual Transfer Fair via Zoom. This was a NW Step collaboration. The event was 10am-12pm, Tuesday, April 28, 5 transfer institutions were present as well as HC BAS Programs, 15 students participated and a number of colleges/community college’s joined to learn from the event. HC connected students, virtually, to transfer admissions representatives and this capability can be scaled up and replicated.
  • Career Services: Virtual Hiring Event – CASE is recruiting for Virtual Employer of the Day events starting in the middle of May. Employers are being finalized and the information will be posted soon. Furthermore, 2020 Student Employee of the Year nominations have all been turned in. The announcement of the winner will be Wednesday, May 6.
  • Admissions, the Nursing Department and the Advising Center collaborated to host the Nursing Information Session for prospective nursing students offered for the first time via Zoom.
  • Center for Leadership and Service: Global Student Ambassadors has a number of virtual engagement opportunities planned this quarter. Some of those events include Highline’s annual Globalfest and other seminar series to explore culture and traditions from around the world. The Student Legacy Awards are expected to happen virtually on May 20. The department is hard at work collecting selections from across campus and are asking selectors to submit
  • Center for Cultural and Inclusive Excellence – CCIE hosted the 23rd Annual Unity Through Diversity Week (Unity Week), Reclaiming Education. Honoring Resilience, April 27- 30. Unity Week is an educational programming series that focuses on exploring and celebrating the rich intersections of identities within our global community through workshops, lectures and performances. Due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, all four programs were held virtually via Zoom Webinar.

Counseling

  • The Counseling Center has developed additional ways for the community and students can connect to our services. They have substantially increased the outreach services to students, faculty and staff.
  • The Counseling Center has collaborated with many campus offices, departments, and individual faculty to provide direct student mental health and wellness support. A few examples include – collaborating with Marc Lentini and Gabrielle Bachmeier to create faculty and student modules in Canvas on time management and supporting student’s emotional health, facilitating a group session for TRIO, partnering with CLS/CCIE, guest class lectures, and interviews with the Thunderword. New initiatives this quarter are: Coffee with a Counselor for Faculty and Staff, increases social media presence and tele-mental health.
  • Counselors have all received tele-mental health training and certification. Counseling sessions are being conducted either by video conference or by phone. Many students are juggling childcare, work, and school – and depend on the safe physical space of counseling offices for therapy. The Counseling Center has adjusted by offering phone appointments, flexible hours, and increased psychological education via campus outreach and social media.

Staff Professional Development

  • Advising, Transfer and Career: The Advising Team participated in free online NACADA workshops, which includes, Virtual Online Advisor training and how to supervise online teams. NACADA sends out great online resources about transitioning into virtual services.
  • Chantal Carrancho, Renata Cummings and Sarah Trimm participated in the Advising Council Council Spring meeting on Friday, 5/1. Best practices for virtual advising were shared from other institutions.
  • Jennifer Scanlon, Quynh Mihara and Feney Perez participated in the Admission and Registration Council (ARC) Spring meeting on May 1st, where accommodating for COVID-19 and legislative updates was the focus.
  • Chantal Carrancho and Loyal Allen, Jr. completed the Administrators of Color Leadership Program cohort with a presentation on how COVID-19 changes Higher Education.
  • A Highline contingency of professional and staff advisors participated in the UW / Community College Advising Conference held 4/17. Patrick Fernandez was on the planning committee.
  • Registration & Records: Participated in ctcLink work session regarding Course Catalog migration alongside members of IT department, Continuing Education, and Instruction. The purpose was to audit and update data in preparation of ctcLink Go live date Feb 2021.
  • Admissions and Advising staff participated in EAP professional development webinars.
  • Center for Leadership and Service / Cultural and Inclusive Excellence: Both departments have participated in numerous free webinars focusing on microaggressions in online environments, identity based impacts of COVID-19, equity minded student services, and providing virtual student engagement experiences.
  • Doris Martinez and Iesha Valencia are members of the Equity Task Force and were on the planning committee for the 2nd Annual Equity Development Day at Highline College both facilitating a workshop for faculty and staff. http://equity.highline.edu/edi-2020/

Staffing

  • Joshua Magallanes has rejoined the Counseling Center part-time for Spring quarter, splitting his time between Puente and Counseling. Prior to his work with Puente, Josh worked as faculty counselor for over ten years. Joshua is providing direct counseling for students and assisting us in our outreach efforts and social media presence.

Other Announcements

  • The new Advising website has finally launched!
  • Registration Dates and Deadlines are now available for 20-21 posted to the Registration webpage.
  • CLS and CCIE host center office hours M-F to continue to build community with students through zoom.