Area Report for Board of Trustees

MESA

• MESA held a Q&A panel with former MESA Alumni who are working on their Masters and PhDs at UW. One of our former MESA Student Ambassadors just received her acceptance to Duke University where she’ll be studying Bioengineering.
• A STEM Core student was awarded a summer internship opportunity with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in California.

Inaugural Highline AANAPISI Scholarship Awards

The AANAPISI Scholarship was fully funded in 2019. The HC Foundation secured the funds needed to match the Department of Education AANAPISI grant’s contribution to create the $120,000 endowment. During 2020, the scholarship was established; intentionally eliminating barriers (e.g., scoring of technical writing skills) for Asian American and Pacific Islander American applicants. Thirty-five students applied. Our students’ stories are so compelling and deserving of financial support to overcome academic challenges to graduate and give back to the community! Two applicants will be awarded scholarships for the 2021-2022 academic year: one full-time ($1,500) and one part-time student ($500). The awards will go to a Pacific Islander male and an Asian female applicant. Recipients will be announced in early June.

Library

The Library has been working on many important initiatives for the benefit of the campus community:

• New Media Literacy Canvas Module: Reference librarian Deb Moore received a Highline College Teaching & Learning Enhancement grant to revise the Media Literacy Canvas module (available in Canvas Commons), and transform the Evaluating Internet Sources Canvas module into a Library Guide based on the CCOW LibGuide created by Anthony Tardiff of Foley Library at Gonzaga University.
• Virtual Outreach Programs: Highline librarians Sam Sermeño, Monica Twork, and Karen Fernandez, along with library director Gerie Ventura, have been developing a new outreach program to build a virtual campus community while the physical campus remains closed. Highline Reads/Storytime is a guest reader program spotlighting campus and community readers sharing favorite stories with campus. Readers have included multilingual faculty and staff, along with student cultural affinity groups, such as Umoja, AANAPISI, and the Arabic Club.
• Abolition LibGuide: Abolition libguide – This guide (adapted from Northwestern University’s Abolition Guide) supports Highline College’s Unity Through Diversity Week 2021 theme, Abolition as Healing: Liberating our CommUNITY. This research guide provides resources for understanding, researching, teaching, advocating for, and practicing abolition in our contemporary moment. An international movement—from Chicago to Lagos to Palestine—this guide mainly focuses on abolition in the American context. Included in this guide are links to abolitionist organizations, toolkits and study guides, journals and research databases, art and writing by incarcerated folks, community-based resources for alternatives to calling the police, and additional resources on campus and in the local area.
• Anti-Racist LibGuide: Anti-racist libguide – Developed by a coalition of librarians, the Anti-racist libguide is designed to share anti-racist resources and expand anti-racism work within Highline College and our community. The guide includes readings, media, solidarity actions, information on Juneteenth and Black Minds Matter, and racial justice for Asian Pacific Islander Americans.

Inequity by Design

In a collaborative effort between Puget Sound College & Career Network (PSCCN), the Community Center for Educational Results (CCER), and Highline College, we are excited to announce the release of a new report Inequity by Design: How College Placement Policies Perpetuate Institutional Racism. This report is the culmination of a multi-year, three-study series exploration into the enrollment and placement policies of community and technical colleges (CTCs) in the Road Map Project region, and the subsequent impacts on high school graduates seeking to enter those institutions.  From Highline College, Shannon Waits served as Senior Advisor to the study and Emily Coates was Institutional Researcher for Study 1.

CTC assessment and placement processes are meant to predict the appropriate levels of math and English classes for entering students. Yet, all too often, the approach to placement can systematically and substantially underestimate student capacity, particularly among students of color. This report explores the underlying causes that systematically sorts students of color in precollege courses, shares why our current system is not set up to address these challenges and explores the reasons why a new paradigm is necessary to address systemic racial inequities in the educational system.

On June 3, 2021 you can read this report by visiting the PSCCN website. On Tuesday, June 8, 9:30am to 11am PST, there will be a webinar release event to share the findings from this research and facilitate an important discussion regarding the current role of placement and assessment practices within Washington State.  To register, click here.

BAS News

Highline’s Bachelor of Applied Science in Teaching has been fully recommended by the State of Washington’s Professional Educator Standards Board (PESB) with all program standards being met.  Congratulations to all who worked on this review.

Report submitted June 1, 2021, by Vice President Emily Lardner, Ph.D.